Seeking the Truth

Fakeness is rampant in the world. Fake items are passed off as luxury goods and lies masquerade as truth. The whole world is filled with bogus and sham. Not infrequently, difficult to separate the fake from the true. We may think that since the present reality is such no need to distinguish and lose our peace of mind. We forget this is dangerous thinking. So begins an article in Bible and Life by a diocesan Peace and Justice Committee head.
 
The problem is that the fake passes itself as genuine. Those dealing with the counterfeit know that it is not genuine and right from the beginning are out to deceive. This is the work of evil. Sometimes it's deception about life itself. What is not God is passed off as God,  bogus love is given as true love, a life which is not life is used to deceive and harm true life. Consequently the need to distinguish between truth and the false.
 
How does one distinguish between the bogus and what is true?  We need to search for the essences of our realities. He gives the example of those who spend their time roaming the mountains to find ginseng roots. One searcher knows thousands of different herbs and plants except for the ginseng plant, the other has no such knowledge but knows the ginseng plant. It's obvious who will be finding the ginseng root. We have in Matthew's Gospel 4: 1-11, the temptation of our Lord where he knew how to distinguish between the false and the true.
 
"I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life."  "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Both from John's Gospel, however, still very difficult to distinguish.  Not only do we not know the essential we are absorbed with the nonessential. We are so busy with all kinds of complicated matters our heads are spinning and we forget who and where we are.
 
The perplexity of life clouds our minds and we don't clearly see what we are about.  Like a clean window but with time gets dirty and we can't see anything beyond the window. The bogus which finds such a favorable climate in society finds a place in our own hearts. To prevent this from happening we have to simplify our lives. We are like a person standing before the front door of our house fishing inside our pockets for the key. Too many things in the pocket and difficulty finding the key. If the key is the only thing in the pocket no problem. We have to empty and simplify our lives.
 
Our Lord  reminds us: "Yes, if you mean yes, No if you mean no anything more than this comes from the evil one." Our lives are too complicated to distinguish between 'Yes' and 'No' the genuine and the bogus. We have to rid ourselves of the non-genuine. Why is it difficult to love? Hundreds of excuses, explanations hide the simplicity of the life we should be living and see the difference between the true and false.
 
In Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale: ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ in the last scene when the king comes to visit it was a child who broke out laughing when he saw the naked king. Everybody else remained quiet but the child's simplicity was not overcome by the fear of the crowd and their thoughts. He was quickly able to see the reality of the naked king. We need to become simple as children and put aside the fakeness of much we see.

June 25, Prayer for Unification and Peace

The beginning of the Korean War began on June 25, 1950. The line between North and South Korea was made at the end of the Second World War. It was intended to be temporary but continued for 70 years. The cease-fire at the Armistice on July 1953 brought no peace treaty, consequently the state of war between the North and South still exists. We have seen over the years how this hostility has shown itself endangering the citizens of both countries and jeopardizing the rest of the world.

Most of the Koreans in the South do favor the unification of the peninsula but many of the young would not be of that mind. They see the human rights issue as a serious obstacle and also self-interest may be a big part of their understanding They have benefited from freedom and wealth of the country and are not too interested in seeing it disappear helping the impoverished North.

June 25, is the day we pray for peace and unification in Korea. Last year after three meetings of the leaders of North Korea and South Korea and the meetings with the U.S. we hoped to see changes. But with the new year doubts have arisen but still hope and prayers for the day of unification. These words begin an article by the unification committee chairman in a diocesan bulletin.

Over 70 years of division and many citizens in the South have come to take it as the way it is on the peninsula. It's a fact that the road to unification will be filled with many difficulties. We need to work to overcome this kind of thinking. The present peace we experience is not a full peace.
 
The separation of the country has given us great pain. Many have spilled their blood and today some are asking for blood. The situation is making the conflict between the members of society on the issue deeper with the passage of time. Because of the division, many citizens over the years have been treated unjustly by the government and have suffered. The time has come to end all the suffering and harm done because of the division.
 
We need to overcome the difficulties of our division and seek peace. But the task is not easy. Over 70 years have past and feelings of trust have not been fostered. Always confronting, criticizing, each side pushing their point of view as the only one. We have talked unification but not together and go our separate ways looking for the one Korea— doing it my way. If reunification means that my life will have to change then we are not interested and our desire disappears.
 
The journey to unification must be together. From last year we have come a long way along the road. On the military demarcation line, tensions have decreased. In the demilitarized zone, we have opened up a road to meeting and dialogue. The road leading to trust is before us and we need to meet and work towards building community.
 
The peace that Jesus came to give us is not the kind that we can choose to ignore our brothers and sisters and go blithely ahead looking for peace on our own terms. We pray for reunification and do all we can to realize it by what we do and say.

Stress and Anxiety

Stress is the body's reaction to pressures from changes in life situations with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life, an understood reaction to a stressful situation or pressure. Not always easy to deal with. A medical health practitioner gives some help to the readers of a parish bulletin on how to deal with stress.
 
Stress and anxiety are not always easy to distinguish. The words are often used interchangeably. Stress may be positive but anxiety is always negative and long-lasting. Stress may develop into anxiety. Both may be followed not only with headaches and the raising of blood pressure but with depression and other psychological problems. However, when we take extreme steps to avoid all pressures we are not acting wisely for a certain amount of stress in life is expected and not harmful and can be helpful. What we can do to rid ourselves of the factors that produce the stress is all for the good but some stress is not bad.
 
Stress factors make life difficult. However, often the secondary responses to the stress are what makes the problem troublesome. An example: "Why does this happen to me?"  "Why did I act so foolishly?"  and blaming oneself. Trying to solve the problem by drinking and other harmful acts are to be avoided.  It may be difficult to prevent stress but we can prevent the secondary acts that follow upon the stress.
 
Psychological capital refers to what we have within ourselves to deal with adversities. It's a positive evaluation and perception of our abilities. The ability to bounce back after a fall, resilience to recover from failure, motivation facing negative events, optimism that accepts positive events internally and persistently. It's necessary to find and cultivate such inner psychological resources. When all our efforts at overcoming the stress encountered are of no help we need to ask for help.
 
These days in the liturgical year we are hearing of the mysteries of our faith which in a word deal with the love God has for his creation. God is love and this is repeated in the liturgy. Faith is a belief in this love and the desire to accept it. However, the noise we have to contend with in our world drowns out a great deal of the messages. Below are the words of St. Francis de Sales on anxiety which we can understand as a type of stress and more serious.
 
Anxiety is the greatest evil which can happen to the soul, sin only excepted. Just as internal commotions and seditions ruin a commonwealth, and make it incapable of resisting its foreign enemies, so if our heart be disturbed and anxious, it loses power to retain such graces as it has, as well as strength to resist the temptations of the Evil One, who is all the more ready to fish (according to an old proverb) in troubled waters.

Anxiety arises from an unregulated desire to be delivered from any pressing evil, or to obtain some hoped-for good. Nevertheless, nothing tends so greatly to enhance the one or retard the other as over-eagerness and anxiety. Birds that are captured in nets and snares become inextricably entangled therein, because they flutter and struggle so much.
 
Therefore, whensoever you urgently desire to be delivered from any evil, or to attain some good thing, strive above all else to keep a calm, restful spirit,--steady your judgment and will, and then go quietly and easily after your object, taking all fitting means to attain thereto. By easily I do not mean carelessly, but without eagerness, disquietude or anxiety; otherwise, so far from bringing about what you wish, you will hinder it, and add more and more to your perplexities  (Introduction To A Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales).

The Positive Overcomes the Negative

"Mr. A speaks a great deal and  mostly with complaints." A religious sister in the Catholic Peace Weekly writes about her experiences and in this week's column on what a young friend tells her about an encounter with a person who as soon as he sits down begins complaining. Her friend respectfully but with determination: "Sorry, but that kind of talk makes me uncomfortable. Why don't you speak to the person directly yourself?" His face flushed, got out of his chair: "OK, OK  I understand," and left the room slamming the door.

Complaints may be an indirect way of calling attention to oneself. I want to be confirmed that I am right, good and just. I may be looking for comfort and looking for some kind words, possibly struggling to seek revenge for some injustice and painful situation.

The more we complain the easier the words of dissatisfaction with others come out. The world is unjust, ruthless and here I am suffering alone. They lose their peace of mind. St Francis de Sales says about this situation: they try to remove the reason for the thorns but the thorns only go deeper into the body.

In modern psychiatry, people complain a lot about health problems due to a biochemical imbalance. Stress hormones increase, resulting in sleep disorders and body aches. Even little irritations can increase the stress hormones and instigate feelings of anger and uncomfortableness.
 
Of course, those who complain are not always complaining. They also have many positive things to say, are humorous and enjoyable to be with at times. They can praise, joke and be very pleasant but it doesn't last. Negativity is not easy to overcome and being positive is not a familiar situation. They forget quickly their good feelings. They go along at peace but irritation arises. They want to be cheerful, but pain here and throbbing there is the reason for lament. The feeling of peace comes and goes like a stranger. The brain has been accustomed to this way of dealing with life's problems. Habitual complaints reinforce the negative view of the world and make it difficult to overcome even the most ordinary situations.
 
Even if my thoughts and feelings are negative when we speak and express ourselves positively, will we not change our thoughts and feelings in some way?

My sorrow and suffering of the heart are transferred to the persons who are close. Repeatedly, however, being negative and complaining about others makes others uncomfortable and tires the listener. The brain is unable to distinguish thought or imagination from the actual situation. What  we see and hear  and the feelings aroused are being transmitted to others
 
I have to tell myself every day that I am fine, there is a reason for everything, all said with a smile. Then, as you become acquainted and familiar with the positive feelings, will not the world and neighbors look brighter and clearer?

Only What Is Necessary

In the Kyeongyang magazine, a psychiatrist writes about the black hole of greed and its antidote: temperance and the golden mean. Lessons learned from life.
 
He begins with a short story by Tolstoy: How Much Land Does a Man Need? Briefly, it's about a farmer told he could have cheaply all the land he could encircle by sunset. He began early in the morning but realized in the late afternoon that he would have difficulty returning to his starting point before sunset. In that case, he loses everything. He started his return trip but was so exhausted when he arrived that he dropped dead. Tolstoy gives us the answer to his question of how much land does a man need. He needs enough to be buried.
 
We can't see beyond the horizon. We don't have permission to enter this area. Our life is limited by the horizon of time. Time beyond the horizon does not influence us. It is the great unknown. Is this concept too difficult to understand? Time goes beyond the horizon never to return. Today's rice cannot fill the hunger I had yesterday.
 
He gives the example of a student who had the opportunity to take an exam for a job. He didn't feel that he was prepared and didn't take the exam. He did come to a time when he felt he had the knowledge to pass the exam, more so than anybody else, but the second opportunity never came. Time went beyond the horizon. Once the time is gone it never returns.
 
The word moderation and temperance are often used with food and drink but not limited to that. Wordly gain, carnal desire, lust for power, and many other cravings we need to control. Our cravings are many. When not controlled the wise both in the East and West have always emphasized misery and sadness will follow.

Controlling greed is no easy task. Problem is solved if we desired the necessary amount then temperance would not be necessary But the reality is a person who desires only 1,000 dollars when received goes on to desire ten times that sum, the person who says only one room would be perfect goes on to desire a penthouse.

Life begins with acknowledging time is limited and we don't know how much. We can make a guess. Nobody will remember reading these words in a few years. If we made a graph of our time on earth it would disappear into the horizon.

We crave as if we will live here on earth forever. We don't know when life will come to its horizon. It's not given us to know. If I knew I was to die tomorrow I would use my possessions in a most significant way since nothing goes beyond the horizon. If at that stage what would we crave what would we abandon? It will be different for each one of us but we will not be craving anything materially.

Do we fret about having something? It may be a shining sports car, a beautiful face, or even the praise of others, a nice house for the family or money to have the family live in comfort. To achieve these aims we have to understand the time needed for their acquisition and weigh them against the time left before the horizon. A person in his 50s these are not something to crave.

Moderation is not something to endure. We don't know how much time before the horizon but a need to live wisely. Once we realize that time is limited, at that moment, we will want only what is needed—only what is necessary.

Awareness of Our Mission In Life

Our society continues with unrest and conflicts:  discontent, candlelight demonstrations, and 'hate speech' increases. Facing the difficulties that come with the uncertainties in life, tied to our own experiences and beliefs, especially in political matters. In democratic societies, the constitution guarantees the right of the people to freely express their views and opinions, but it is necessary to reflect on truth and the righteousness of our claims. In the Eyes of the Believer column of the Catholic Times a priest, sociology professor, gives us his thoughts on the subject.
 
Democracy in modern society has been formed in solidarity and struggle by the citizens to voluntarily and independently create a "better society" against the inhuman repression and exploitation when the king alone ruled. Therefore, 'citizen consciousness' in modern society has grown along with progress in  society towards the universal values of freedom, equality and fraternity.
 
If we are caught in the web of ideology from the past: cold war, anti-communism and remain with what was imposed from the past and afraid to leave the failed formulas and old time mistakes we are not citizens with public awareness of our present reality. What is it that we mean by free citizen participating actively in society?

First, do we follow truth and sincerity in freedom?  Manipulation, distortion, and forced news spreading on SNS or YouTube is not 'truth'. "Yes  if you mean yes, no if you mean no" the words of Jesus have something to tell us in these times when truth seems hidden.

Confucius said— If a person disobeys the dictates of heaven, the words he uses will be tainted, and will spoil the work done— When we look back on our history and without proof blame the problems here in the South on the North and spread this and use it in what we say and write we are giving up our freedom as responsible citizens.

Second, are we seeking the "common good"?  Does self-interest, political party concerns, undermine our concern for the common good. The Korean Christian Association's own historical interpretation wants the president to retire, they want to make a Protestant President in their not all objective understanding of the present situation. According to the study of sociologists, social conflicts have been amplified because of the religious polarization when the Protestant was president in Korea.
 
Third, does our love for our fellow citizens especially the "marginalized and poor" have priority?  The people under the monarchy took for granted hierarchical governance and structural inequality.The privileged paid close attention to maintaining their ownership and vested rights. Despite the collapse of the Catholic Church, which represented the order of the ruling class in the French Revolution, as the religion of the country: God did not forget the poor and marginalized citizens but  progress continued in pursuit of love of humanity. Today, as polarization and the gap between the rich and the poor gets worse, the way to pursue solidarity so that the dignity of the poor is respected in the social structure becomes a compass for civic consciousness.

Fourth, people often like to return to the  past which they think was  full of honor and pride. Today, young people are not tied to the nostalgia of the past, and when grown-ups admonish them they are considered out of it and bullies.Without the proper understanding of the times it is difficult to access the agony and need of the young people, the protagonists of the future. We will be a citizens of a heavenly country when we take a step away from the comfort and convenience of the old generation and acquire the future-oriented values and the viewpoint of the future so that our children and future generations will live happily and fully in the common house of mankind.

The Second Vatican Council proclaims the people of God as the center of ecclesiology, ahead of the hierarchical church. However, the people of God are not only those who obey the orders of the state and the church but also the children of God who actively perform their roles as priest, prophet and kingly roles in everyday life. In addition to the Holy Spirit, it is the 'citizens' who contribute to building of God's kingdom. "Let all Christians appreciate their special and personal vocation in the political community. This vocation  requires that they give conspicuous example of devotion to the sense of duty and of service to the advancement of the common good" (Pastoral Constitution, #75)

Listening And Silence in Prayer

In a bulletin for priests, a retired priest writes about his experience with prayer in the pastoral life of a parish. One of the families in the parish community prayed for the promotion of their father and husband, an army officer. Everybody united in their efforts to secure a promotion. Unfortunately, the next year the husband failed to advance, disappointment was great, and the attendance at church stopped.
 

One young mother was depressed because of the illness of their young son. It was not a serious problem but she prayed the rosary and became a member of the Legion of Mary. She did not find the praying easy and was hoping it would help her son. However, after many months and no results she gave up her prayers. Surprisingly many people who are disappointed in their prayers of petition abandon  their faith life. 

When everything goes along smoothly believing is easy. However, difficult things happen and life has its 'shocks', "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune," which for many can help the faith life grow and for others a reason for distancing themselves from God. God is no longer present.

We need to live the life of prayer, communicating with our heavenly Father; faced with difficulty we ask for help. However, God is a God of love and is always giving and it doesn't depend on the words we utter and the way they are said but our disposition in receiving. The belief that God is a personal God is important. Prayer is a conversation with God and  conversation requires speech but it is important to listen. We talk and listen to what God will say to me in this situation. Think about God's Word in the Bible and seek to find and accept God's will. Some say in great pain, they were grateful because they gained strength through prayer to overcome difficulties.
 

Followers of Jesus have confidence and faith that God loves them and is leading them. Faith means confidence in God without giving up even if we are in difficult straits and unable to understand.

"My thoughts are not like your thoughts, and my ways are not like your ways" (Isaiah 55.8). God loves. We are often trying to live according to the material and worldly values with which we daily encounter and forget the direction that God has for us. God wants us to enjoy life to the full. We often misunderstand what this means. We don't try to change God's will but to change our wills so that we can receive all that he wants to give. Prayer is mostly to change ourselves so we can receive.

When there is no interest in the spiritual values that Jesus teaches, and stay only in the asking mode for blessings— 'give me' religion— and not concerned with giving there is no difference from the faith in shamanism and superstition. A child, in the beginning, knows only to ask from parents, gradually the child grows and learns the love and the spirit of the parents and becomes mature. Our faith must also develop and mature.