Growth in Community

  "We are not troubled by things, but by the opinions, we have about things." These words of wisdom from the past give us one good reason to spend time talking with others about the things that matter in life instead of the small talk that takes most of our time in conversation. In the Catholic Times, a member of the Christian Life Community CLC reminds us of this in his article on the spirituality of the community.
 
Late at night, the two-hour Christian Life Community (CLC) online meeting ended. Coronavirus Infection-19 (Corona19) makes meetings difficult, but non-face-to-face meetings through video conferencing continue every week. At the gathering, they take time to look at how Jesus was with them and sharing with others what he was asking of them. Above all, he was grateful for the understanding of the community as they shared how the community would help with the difficulties of a member.

CLC members form a small community of about 10 people, each with their own special work and family in the world.  Through regular meetings, once a week, they share their spirituality, community, and apostolic efforts—specifically, contemplative prayer, prayers of reflection, and apostolic life.  When you share with each other like this, the other person's experience can be my experience, and you can discover aspects of the spiritual life that were unknown through other members. Each individual gains from the experience of wisdom and gratitude of the community.

Although they form a community together, members have different lengths of time in community, ages, occupations, backgrounds, etc., and their views on life are slightly different. They each have their own unique light and darkness.

Although each person's situation is different, in Jesus they are one and see new life through his love, and desire to share, empty themselves, be of service in love to the world. They realized God's love deeply through Jesus and they know it is through community rather than alone.

Of course, being together as a community is not always romantic or easy. Sometimes there are small conflicts, tensions, and discomforts in the community. And the spiritual advice exchanged within the community for mutual growth can be painful and uncomfortable. The writer mentions he was once upset that the advice received from the community made known his deficiency and judged him. He just wanted to hear good things, comfort, and encouragement.

However, as the community gathered in prayer he trusted in the Holy Spirit to lead, and as he experienced the community's love for him, he felt comfortable and listened to spiritual advice. With the spread of such enlightenment and trust in the community, advice, challenges, comfort, and encouragement given to each other have become more comfortable and liberating. Based on the love and sincerity experienced, the community grows and matures together.

Jesus also came to this world and formed a community. It wasn't just because they needed a hand. Rather, proclaiming the Gospel in the world must have started with love and growth in a small community. It seems that forming a community of love with disciples who were different, weak, and sometimes selfish, was the starting point of creating the kingdom of God in the world. The disciples went out to the world with the experience of love and growth learned through the community, and again formed a community and preached the gospel.

Today, an SNS message came encouraging him to faithfully live the spiritual life. This is because we remind each other not to become lax. He feels the growth he has made in his journey towards God was made because of the community. It is a very precious community.

Golden Rule In the Corona Era

In the era of the corona19 pandemic, everybody is wearing masks. With carelessness, we have groups that continue to appear with the virus. The writer is a health environmentalist who writes in the Peace Weekly's Diagnosis of the Times and believes this will be recorded in the history books as the great disaster of our era and has three questions.

First question, how long will this situation continue? Some say we will continue to live this way in the future, others that eventually we will recover, and return to normal. The question will be how well the individual, social, national, and international levels of prevention work, and when a proven vaccine is reliably delivered to everyone.

The second question, why did the pandemic happen? It was reported that the virus spread from camels in the Middle East during MERS and from bats in Wuhan, China during Corona 19. People know it's not the fault of camels and bats. They originally lived with the virus without any problems. It is humans who have spread the virus of camels and bats to the world.

Earlier this year, when Corona 19 began in Wuhan, China, it spread quickly to the whole world.  Newspaper columns written by scholars reflected on why this was happening. Unanimously it was pointed out the wrong relationship between humanity and nature. Words such as reverse counterattacks in the ecosystem and
a disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals was often heard.

The words that made the most sense to the writer were globalization and climate change as the passports of the virus. Globalization is a phenomenon in which the number of overseas travelers is breaking records every year,  money and corporations are found in every corner of the earth. Climate change is a natural response to excessive development and consumption of resources. The virus of the wild animals passed through each country with a passport issued by globalization and climate change and spread to humans.

Do people really think this is true? 'What do you think about the point that the root cause of the Corona 19 incident is climate change that causes the common epidemic, and this will continue to happen frequently?' The Environmental Health Citizens Center celebrates Earth Day on April 22nd. 1,000 people over the age of 19 across the country were asked these questions: 43.2% 'very much agree' and 41.4% 'somewhat agree', more than 8 out of 10 respondents agreed.

Third question, what should I do? He mentions an article written in a daily newspaper at the end of March by a priest who has been involved in labor and environmental movements. "Each country in the corona situation needs to find a solution that suits their situation, but each person is not the solution."

The priest's article begins as he recalls Pope Francis, who prays alone in the empty Vatican Peter Square and quotes his words. "Even if I protect my home with high-tech equipment and build a  high fence, I'm still afraid and don't know when and how I will get the virus. After diagnosing the phenomenon it reveals the limitations of pursuing my own safety by separating me from others."

"If my neighbor is not healthy, it threatens my health. It's good to share what I have with my neighbor who is poor but more important to understand that I am not separated from my neighbor."

These words of the priest he has often heard in his parish but the article made it more alive and went deeper. China and Japan need to be healthy if Korea is to be healthy. The adjacent city needs to be healthy if we are to be healthy. Everybody is my neighbor and we all need to be concerned about the health of others if we are to remain healthy.

This is the spirit that is needed by us who are living in the corona era.

Dreaming of Bygone Days

The Catholic Times' Eyes of the Believer column has an article by a lawyer who dreams of a time when life was more uncomfortable. He begins with lamenting the loss of the flowers in the area of Seoul in which he lives. The leaves of the bush of flowers have fallen to the ground because of the rainy season and he recalls when this was a common sight. 

  

On the outskirts of the big city in which he lives, going back a few decades, the tallest buildings in the neighborhood were three-stories and even though it was the main thorofare, each of the houses had a small yard out in front. However, it became a subway transfer station and ten-story buildings appeared, the neighborhood was transformed into one-room buildings, and all the yards disappeared. His house remains from the old days surrounded by high-rise buildings.

A real estate man in the area when he meets the writer's mother asks: why don't you sell the property or put up a building with 20 studio apartments? You could be making over 8,000 dollars a month. This is the temptation always present. 

 When he wakes up at dawn and looks out the window, lights are on in the surrounding studios. What are you doing all night without sleep? Is it playing computer games? In the morning the leftovers are at the front door—packaging containers, plastic bottles, and disposable garbage.

He misses the old days when family members in one room looked at a computer or TV screen together. Where did all the children playing in the alleys go? At that time, moms went to the market with a shopping bag, bought mackerel, bean sprouts, ate at home, the garbage was minimal.

Today, if you buy a take out cup of coffee, the aluminum quickly becomes thrash. In economics, it is recycled, wages are paid to the workforce in the process of making cans those who provided the money gain a profit. What's wrong with that? However, not all of them are recycled. Considering the energy consumed in the process of making and supplying these cans is it not wasteful and unnecessary making an aluminum can so one can drink a cup of coffee? In this case, our descendants will be paying the cost for our convenience.

Our generation is undergoing tremendous change. His wife is from an area close to Seoul, in middle school she did her homework with the help of a kerosene lamp. But now, he makes a video call to a grandson in the United States for free. The "development" that took place is astonishing. During the process all the houses with the front yards are gone, families are scattered, single-person households are the mainstream, and online promotes exchanges among people, but self-assertion and self- expression fill the world rather than solidarity.

On summer vacations, people fly around the world in airplanes. How much oil will go into flying that heavy plane into the sky, and how much is the pollution that remains? But we do this to satisfy our curiosity.

'Development' means that there is a lot of money to be used, and that money guarantees my convenience, so development is usually going to encourage our selfish attributes.

This passage appears in Pope Francis's Encyclical LaudatoSi#208/210: Disinterested concern for others, and the rejection of every form of self-centeredness and self-absorption, are essential if we truly wish to care for our brothers and sisters and for the natural environment... We need to criticize the "myths" of a modernity grounded in a utilitarian mindset (individualism, unlimited progress, competition, consumerism, the unregulated market). 

He closes with strange-sounding words. Can we choose a house that blooms with flowers in the front yard and resist the temptations of 'development'? Is it possible to overcome self-centered attributes and gather together as a family instead of alone in a studio room? Can we say no to the selfish conveniences of the energy-filled modern civilization, a world filled with disposables, and return to the inconvenient life of the past?

Let's Discuss the Way We Discuss

The non-face-to-face class instruction conducted because of Corona 19 this semester was a new experience for both the learner and the instructor. Non-face-to-face classes have great implications in the post-corona era in that they have attempted new types of interactions between learners and instructors. A professor explains in Catholic Peace Weekly her own experience in the new way of teaching.

Learners evaluate the classes taken at the end of each semester. 'Interaction' to evaluate the learners' satisfaction with a class is an important factor in determining the quality of the class. Discussion is one of the types of interaction in the classroom.

The interaction may be called: debate, discussion, and deliberation in English. In Korea, a debate has the meaning of dispute. Its purpose is the persuasion of others to one's position by attacking the loopholes in the opponent's logic. This kind of discussion is often observed in class. Among the opinions, what do you agree or disagree with? Most of these are dichotomous questions with yes/no, agree/disagree, true/false answers.

What are these students asked to do after these questions? After choosing one of the two positions, it would be to attack the other person's opinion and defend one's own logic. This kind of discussion tends to cultivate a black-and-white logical way of thinking— my opinions are without error and the others are worthless. As the goal of the debate is to persuade the other person, the discussion lacks the opportunity to learn tolerance, accept what is right in another's opinion, and often the arousal of emotions. As a result, after the discussion, it is easy to be left with the consciousness of victory or defeat.

A discussion's goal is to gather comprehensive and rational opinions through multifaceted sharing of ideas. The role of the instructor is, of course, important to direct proper interaction. As far as possible, questions with dichotomous or correct answers that prevent the expression of disagreements should be avoided.

How about revising the previous discussion question as follows? Why do we have a problem? What are you in favor of and with what do you disagree? In what circumstances would what we are talking about be more important or less important? Is the argument completely false, or partially true?

The media is also responsible for our failure to discuss based on various options that we have. Let's recall for a moment the debate scene reflected in the media. Traditional debate-style programs that invite experts from various fields can often deal with dichotomous questions that reinforce black-and-white thinking. Even if the form of the question is not, the panel with a position in favor of the subject and the panel with a position in opposition sit facing each other. The way the stage is set up is to draw the audience watching the positions that fit the viewer's logic.
 
The media is obliged to provide a public sphere where various dissenting opinions are shared. However, it is necessary to examine objectively to see if the media is an obstacle in establishing a desirable culture for discussion. She concludes asking the readers: "Let's discuss the way we discuss from now on."

Refugees from the North Using YouTube

Born as the only son of a wealthy North Korean, he graduated from Kim Il Sung University. He grew up lacking nothing and he thought everyone lived like that. When he was studying at Beijing University, he met South Korean students and began to see the contradiction of the North Korean regime. The more you learn about the homeland, the more your values changed.

They had a reading session with about 10 North Korean students who shared the same values. Upon hearing that a member was discovered, he left the dormitory with only 50 yuan and a small bag. He knocked on the door of the Korean embassy and a Korean church, but it did not open. With the help of a stranger, he miraculously met, he was able to take a flight to Korea. This is the story of refugee on YouTube's Diary in a 'War-like Age'. So begins the Peace Weekly Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly.
 
The number of North Korean defectors on YouTube is increasing. As of the end of June, there are more than 11 channels with over 100,000 subscribers. This is a significant number compared to the 33,000 North Korean defectors. The contents range from entertainment, a new generation of women content, to current affairs of the middle-aged. It's not just about hostility to North Korea. You have both the conservative and progressive, those opposed to the sending of leaflets to the North. Their stories concern their defection from the North.
 
"It's easy to leave North Korea all you have to do is risk your life." Even if you risk your life and cross the border, you will not receive refugee status in China. If discovered, it is forced repatriation. In particular, there are dangers everywhere for women. Human trafficking is common as is forced abduction through fraud and intimidation. A 2019 report said about 60% of the 45 North Korean woman defectors interviewed were trafficked, 30% of whom were forced to marry.

A woman tells her story of being sold to a remote village and gave birth to a Chinese child but this did not guarantee her identity. She was arrested and went through many ordeals:  apprehended by the North Korean security forces, she was taken to a concentration camp and forced to take educational programs to correct her thinking, suffering terrible violence. She came close to death many times. "As long as people live, they have to live and have no choice but to live."

There are also criticisms of North Korean refugee YouTubers. Inflated reports or talking about things of the past as if they were the present North Korean reality. The internet, of course, is filled with fake news and requires that each YouTuber's experience and beliefs be examined. But it is necessary to listen to the middle-class cry for human rights and freedom coming from these refugees from the North.

Freedom and human rights are like the air we breathe so it's hard to feel its preciousness when living and enjoying them daily. Listening to the vivid experiences of North Korean refugees makes one think. Anger is aggravated by the bondage and restraint, the human rights situation that is trampled upon miserably, and compassion for the people of North Korea arises. Furthermore, we look back at the human rights issues of our society and look at how we are treating the North Korean refugees here in the South.

It is argued that raising human rights issues against North Korea is effective. A North Korean refugee, an economic expert, who is now a reporter Kang Mi-jin (Teresa) is quoted as saying: "When I went to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2017, I heard firsthand that North Korean representatives announced that they had solved the 'flower swallow problem' (homeless children) under pressure from the international community. North Korea also wants to be recognized as a normal country."
 
North Korea is a partner with which we need to be unified someday. Efforts to share the same values must take precedence along the path to peaceful unity. Freedom and human rights are absolute values ​​that cannot be yielded. North Korean refugee on Youtube reminds us of the values ​​of freedom and human rights. Are not these to be the values of both the North and South?

The Blind Spots of the Welfare System

 Poverty is the reality of much of the world. We can break it down to many types: social, educational, spiritual, health, environmental, and economic, and these in all kinds of degrees. Life is difficult for many for different reasons and it is not always economic but economics has a lot to do with the way one faces life.

Korea has one of the world's best health systems and we see that Korea will shortly be one of the world's leaders in longevity and yet the elderly often live in poverty. They have sacrificed for their children and many have to live a reduced standard from what they were accustomed to.

An article in the Kyeongyang magazine brings to the attention of the readers the life of a grandmother.  She is bent over, has difficulty walking but daily goes along the side streets near her house gathering paper, old clothes, all kinds of trash.

Despite the condition of the weather early in the morning, she is wrestling with the waste in society to eke out a living for herself and family and it continues to early nightfall. When the day is done she climbs the stairs with difficulty to her 3rd floor and has about 8 dollars to show for her efforts which is more than many others because of her diligence.

The building in which she lives at one time belonged to her. They had two sons and lived harmoniously together until the husband and older son died. The younger son mortgaged the house and entered the world of business, only to fail; he lost the house to the creditor, the daughter in law left and she was left with taking care of the grandchildren. The owner of the building, knowing her situation, allowed her to continue living in the apartment. The younger son left the house and she is waiting for him to return.

She has asked the village office for a basic living allowance because of her situation but because she has a son who is able to work she is not considered in a dire situation but those in the office do give her work to do to help her to take care of the family.

The writer of the article noticed there were a number of those like the grandmother searching for trash to help their families. Since they were all doing the same thing they were competing with each other, and when they amassed the trash and found it gone they suspected the others and hostility arose among them instead of cooperation. He began to figure out ways in which they good cooperate for the good of each other.

They began to meet once a month to discuss their situation. Each one speaking about their situation and in time an understanding of each other developed.

They are now thinking of forming a league to advance their needs. They are being helped to go directly to the wholesaler where they can get a noticeably higher income from their efforts and they are helped with the transportation of their trash, all making the work easier and more profitable.

Those who are helping them are also finding satisfaction in helping the diligent and needful members of society. Efforts are continually made to find those in society for one reason or another who are living in welfare blind spots.

Social Justice And Religion

In the Catholic Times a one time journalist who is still teaching reviews his religious life and gives us some thoughts to consider as Christians. Namely that even if we are in the same family we don't all think the same. And this is the same for those who belong to the same family of faith.

Even if you look at the members of the long-standing Catholic press conference. The same beliefs and vocation are the same, but the results of those beliefs are slightly and at times greatly different. There may be several causes. The religious background of the family, the environment of growth and education, the ideological orientation of the media in which they belong….

Many of the members of the Catholic Press Association have taken religious education classes in seminaries and many were members of old Catholic families. He suspects this is true of other religious movements. They not only learned about the Bible and the liturgical and sacramental life but from the trends in each diocese and parishes from which they belong.
   
"This being the case Who am I?" The writer wants to ask and gives us his answer. In his family tree, on both sides of the family, it is difficult to find any Catholics or Protestants.  Even in his wife's family, it is the same, one does not find persons who believed in Jesus. Most of them were descendants of strong Confucianists or Buddhists. So, when he was hanging out with journalists, he was like a bean among the barley.

In 1995, when 43 years old, during a year of training at the University of Cleveland in the United States, a local Christian brought him to the cathedral. Surprised, shortly after he began attending a 6-month catechumen class and was baptized.
 
Before he went to America, he was exhausted both in body and mind. As the head of the labor union of a newspaper company, it was very difficult to fully agree with the labor-management negotiations following the struggle to reinstate five fellow journalists who were dismissed. The persecution and betrayal he experienced through the process brought about a change in the way he saw the world and others.
   
Baptism was a turning point in his life. After he returned home, he was very devout.  He attended the 'Faith School' hosted by the Journalists Association, where he first became acquainted with the 'Social Doctrine' of the church. Lectures on social doctrine were decisive in identifying and shaping his faith. 
 
The liturgical and sacramental life is present but the social doctrine taught him that the liturgy and sacraments are not all that make up the religious life and he can realize the evangelical values and ​​offer up the Mass in all the areas of life.
   
The tasks associated with the social doctrine were also similar to those in journalism his professional calling. As the Gospel shows, it is "the duty of just social action," to fight in the name of justice for the common good when social, economic, and political structures contradict the message of the gospel.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Working as an editorial board member, he piled up social doctrine books in his office and studied. Also, at the meeting, when the editorial committee members proposed a thesis topic and had a discussion, explanations were based on the logic of social doctrine studied in advance. In this way, the thesis and direction of the newspaper on various social issues such as 'opposition to the death penalty' and 'life ethics' were made clear.

He found that few of the members of the parish knew about the social doctrine. Even though there are many educational programs in the parish, he doesn't see any social catechism classes. Even among members of the journalist society, he has heard  'red-education' referring to social doctrine.
 
In his view, such persons' common focus in the religious life is the liturgy and sacraments: praying for 'health and happiness of family and the development of the country', and diligently doing acts of charity. These people are referred to as 'zealous believers'.  ( He doesn't know why they are labeled zealous persons as if they are following the traditional authentic Christianity)

These people have something in common in that, they try to restrain others from talking about the signs of the times and the problems of the community with 'don't talk politics'.
 
"Am I a more zealous believer?" No, he is not ready to say that. He just knows that Jesus is with him and leading him in his daily circumstances.