The Maximum Not the Minimum

A priest working in justice and peace examines the way we look at our actions in a Bible and Life magazine article.

The article begins with an example of a driver realizing he was going in the wrong direction decided to make a u-turn knowing it was against the law, only to be suddenly confronted by a police officer who gave him a ticket. The officer asked him: "Why did you do it? Did you not know this was not to be done?" "I didn't think a police officer was around."

This is how the law is often seen. Not as something to be followed freely and positively, rather, afraid of the consequences and followed passively. Consequently, when it comes to law it is not the maximum but the minimum.

The reality in many cases, not even the minimum is done. Keepers of the law are truly exceptional people. We live in a world with lawlessness and lawbreakers. Those in the legal world know how to get around the law, journalists often twist the truth, the wealthy steal, and the best-educated seem to lack good sense.

Jesus did not stop with being just but went beyond. We have the story of the young man who kept all the commandments from an early age and lived honestly. Jesus looked upon him with great affection and told him to sell all, give the money to the poor, and follow him (Mark 10:21). Don't stay with the minimum but aim for the maximum. Always strive for the greater. The young man found this too difficult and went away sad. Jesus is asking us to strive for the maximum (Matt. 5:48).

Christians are not those who keep the laws but who live as if without law, going beyond the dictates of the law. It is not only living without sin but becoming saints. Not done by force and sacrifice but out of love, positively, it is not falling into darkness but going towards the light. Not doing dong just a part but all.

We are introduced to St. Joseph. "He was a just man unwilling to expose Mary to the law, decided to divorce her quietly." The angel of the Lord appeared to him: "Have no fear about taking Mary as your wife. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived this child." It was not divorce nor closing one's eye to the situation it was not either-or but to save Mary, Jesus, Joseph, and all of us. Joseph was invited to do the maximum. It was not the justice of the law but the justice of God's kingdom —God with us, Emanuel.

In this world, we are faced with choosing between alternatives. Will it be the convenience store owner or part-time workers, the owner of the house or the renter, the older generation or the younger generation, male or female, mother or fetus? We are forced to select one. Again we are asked to do the minimum and not the maximum. Our worldly values do not allow us to embrace both but to select one of two. Consequently, we have the two sides fighting each other.

We need to show how we can choose both. The justice of a Christian is always directed to the maximum and not the minimum. An example is a case with the abortion issue. It's not selecting between the fetus or the mother but allowing both to live.  Permitting this to happen requires laws provisions and systems in society to change.

The writer suggests a 'Holy Family Life Movement' for efforts in this area. We have had the movement against abortion which has tried to uphold life,  but the desire for punishment for those who have had abortions is also present. The example of St. Joseph was not to select between alternatives. Using the right words are very important in matters of this type. Is this not the way of respecting all of life and embracing and seeing the whole world as a Holy Family? Indeed the church is in the world but there is enough room in the church to contain the whole world.

21st Century Hell

 

 

A Catholic University professor in the Catholic Peace Weekly column on Drama Contents  gives the readers a run down on the TV Drama Hellbound. 

 

The popularity of the drama  is unusual. It once again reveals the power of Korean content by taking the top spot in the Netflix TV show category, beating out 'Squid Game', which caused a sensation around the world. Some foreign media praised it as "a work that will be talked about for years", but in fact, there is nothing particularly new about the subject this drama deals with. 

 

The problem of human sin and God's judgment has been repeatedly talked about in various genres, transcending time and space. Still, what was the reason that such an old image was able to captivate those living in the 21st century? Of course, the sharp insight and criticism of the contemporary society and the splendid directing are important  but above all, it is because the questions that form the basis of this drama are still valid for us.

 

Hellbound deals with events that occur as messengers who suddenly appear one day informing people  their going to hell and enforcing it. Society falls into extreme fear and confusion as this is made known without reasons given, terrifying monster-shaped beings appear and  persons  brutally assaulted and murdered by them are broadcast live in the media.

 

However, while calling this supernatural phenomenon God's judgment, people blindly follow only the doctrine by relying on a new pseudo-religion called New Truth Church, rather than reflecting on their lives and trying to live a good life on their own. While watching the atrocities of pseudo-religion, which point out those who go against the interests of the denomination, gang violence and even murder, many people stand by and even support the injustices. 

 

Under the guise of conveying God's will, the chairmen and members of the New Truth Society wielding exclusive power, and  the crimes they commit, tolerated by the world, seem more terrifying than the existence of messengers heralding their journey to hell. But in the face of this terrible violence of madness, a few people do stand up bravely  to  confront it. Contrary to the words of the Chairman  of the New Truth Society, who asked:"If it is not fear, what will make humans repent?" 

 

A lawyer and others choose the way of justice that puts down even the natural fear of the heart instead of "living with  fear of being ripped off."  The love and sacrifice of those  willingly laying down their lives leads to the creation of a miracle of exception in the circumstances of death and hell predicted by the messengers. The unexpected final scene of season 1 is also making viewers think again about where is the  will of God, making us wait for season 2.  

 

In the face of a disaster that is hard to accept, people sometimes resent God or try to find the cause of pain by turning  against others. Even though they believe that  justice will be achieved, in heaven, they  often believe  that injustice and the results  are always the fault of others. But what should be remembered is that the judgment is always up to God.  Just like Jesus, who embraced the prostitute surrounded by those filled with the desire for condemnation, what must be done before considering the severity of others' sins is forgiveness and love.

Netflix's "Hellbound" points out that a more terrible hell than the one presented in the drama  lies in the foolishness of humans who hastily judge God's will and easily condemn others, and the ugliness of humans who commit greater injustice in fear and ignorance. In the end, this drama has reaffirmed the fact that in the 21st century hell already exists in this world in which we live.

Perception Gap of Women in the Church

In the Catholic Times Eyes of the Believer column, the director of a Theological Research Center gives the recent report on a survey on the consciousness of female believers in one of the Korean dioceses. 

 

Although female believers in their 50s and 60s, currently active in the church, were mostly the respondents. Young female believers in their 20s and 30s responded, this survey clearly confirmed that there is a huge difference in perception between the generations of female believers. 

 

Among young women believers in their 20s and 30s, 76% of the respondents said, "Even if you are married, you do not necessarily have to have children," and when it comes to raising children, 90% of the respondents said that "fathers and mothers have the same responsibility to take care of their children."

 

They had a high level of agreement on women serving in various positions in the church, such as pastoral council presidents and Eucharistic ministers, and even as female deacons and priests. However, their participation in actual church activities was low, and there was a strong perception that the current church culture is discriminatory against women. 

 

On the other hand, female believers who are currently serving in parishes are mainly elderly people in their 60s or older, who work diligently in religious life but generally have low female awareness. Although female believers in their 60s and older are tired of continuing to work in a situation where there are not enough volunteers, about 75% of the respondents said: "There is no difficulty for female believers to work in the Korean Catholic Church."

 

To revitalize the apostolate of the laity, many wondered why there should be separate women groups when it's male believers who are less active. If the perception gap between young female believers in their 20s and 30s, sensitive to gender equality culture, and those in their 60s who do not care or agree on the issue, it is difficult to find consensus or communication between them. 

 

The writer had an opportunity to talk about the reasons why young women in their 20s and 30s are not seen in the church. A young woman said that it is still difficult and painful to talk about women's human rights and equality in society. If she talks about issues related to women's rights in the church, she'll be criticized for being against the teachings of the church, so she's afraid to speak frankly and doesn't feel safe. She said that she had no choice but to distance herself from a community where she could not honestly share her thoughts and worries. 

 

At the discussion a father of two teenage daughters who was reading Bible stories to his daughters was asked by them: "If a woman comes from a rib of a  man, is she equal to the man 1+1?" A participant in her 70s agreed, saying: "I had the same thoughts when I was a teenager." Suddenly, I wondered whether even senior female believers, who are now elderly, had their own problems as women when they were young.

 

In this survey, among young women believers in their 20s and 30s and those in their 60s and older, it was the women in their 40s and 50s were more likely to work and sympathize with a culture of gender equality at home and in society. And even within the church, many people worked hard in their own way of living their faith. She believes that it should be a ‘Child-Parents Association’ with parents rather than a ‘Child-Mothers Association’ where only women are active. 

 

If these women believers in their 40s and 50s show the various aspects of the female lay apostolate, wouldn't it be a bridge if those in their 60s and older were to meet more often with the younger generation, connecting the two generations with big differences in perception? 

 

Just as a young Mary, pregnant by the Holy Spirit, went to visit her relative, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with an older body, comforting each other, sharing courage, and exchanging joy, so today's church women also across generations need to narrow the gap in their perceptions of each other and feel warmth in their relationship. She looks forward to the day this will be the reality.

 

Searching for Peace

"We've done too many things against our conscience." In the Light of the World column of the Catholic Times the priest writer uses the first words of a prayer by  Cardinal Stephen Kim to begin his column on searching for Peace.
 

"Pew Research Center" in Washington released a report titled "Diversity and Division in Advanced Economies" for 17 countries, including South Korea. Korea had the highest degree of conflict on political views and differences in supporting parties. (90% answered that the conflict was high) The U.S. is similar to Korea, with second-ranked groups Taiwan and France at 65%, Sweden and Singapore at 35%, 33%, respectively.
 

In addition, 92% of respondents said that conflicts between cities and rural areas were high, and that society would gradually be divided by COVID-19. The report states that Korea is divided in the fields of race, urban and rural areas (real estate), including politics. Last summer, Korea's conflict index was announced as third among OECD member countries, and experts see Korea as a  conflicted republic. The annual average number of complaints, the large income gap among citizens, the high poverty rate of the elderly, numerous social conflicts and fierce confrontations over politics are not of recent appearance.

Korea's social conflict should be seen as a result of accumulated complex causes, but to name a few: short-term rapid compressed growth, rapid changes in society, marked differences in values between generations, lack of mutual communication and understanding, and the collapse of the family community. Today, in Korean society the different generation find it difficult to live with  trust and warmth with others: MZ generation (born 1980-2004) does not mix with the  Korean War generation.

If the situation does not improve, enormous social losses, fatigue of the people, and tension will continue to increase. The numbers of suicides, the poverty of the elderly, and the young people having to give up: romance, marriage, children, house  and career they were the five things they had to 'give up' now it has become the N-Po generation,—Po meaning to give up.

 

Of course, any society has conflicts or problems, and a happy society is not without difficulties, but a mature society has the ability to overcome difficulties. So, what do we have to do for this? Institutional supplementation and improvement are also needed, but above all, it is the restoration of the evangelical values of inclusion, tolerance, love and sharing. 

 

This year, we are in the Advent  period, waiting for Christmas. The writer recalls the legend  where Peter was leaving Rome running away from persecution and meets our Lord walking towards Rome. "Where are you going Lord?" "I am going to pick up the cross you abandoned!" It is considered no different today. At some point, the sacred objects have become decorations, prayer and spirituality, indiscriminate greed rather than gospel, love for money, obsession with success and prosperity, and indifference to neighbors make our society sick and crucify our Lord again.
 

There may be limitations in politics and society, but what should we do with our refusal to love, share, forgive and reconcile? What else should we do with the temptation to be liked no matter what, and the inner heart of looking for money rather than God? The writer as a person with many failings has feelings of great shame in this time of Advent. 

 

Catholic social doctrine teaches that true peace is possible through courageous reflection and repentance, and that it is the beginning of social change and the way to realize God's will on this earth. Lets make it a time of true repentance beginning with ourselves.

 

Peace on Earth—which man throughout the ages has so longed for and sought after—can never be established, never guaranteed, except by the diligent observance of the divinely established order. (St. John 23, Peace on Earth Encyclical #1)

 

How to Restore the "Collapsing House"

 

The church has arrived at this time in history overcoming many difficulties. A priest professor of Humanities and Social Sciences at the College of Medicine writes in the Catholic Peace Weekly on his thoughts on our 'collapsing House'.
 

When the Western Roman Empire, made Christianity the state religion in the 5th and 6th centuries and then collapsed with the German invasion, the church faced a major crisis. At this time, the religious community founded by Saint Benedict (480-547) contributed to the promotion of church spirituality and Western European culture, allowing Europe to escape from the "dark night of history" that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
 
In the 12th and 13th centuries, medieval churches were eroded by material abundance as they entered a period of commercial revival following the agricultural society. At this time, Saint Francis of Assisi heard the Lord's call to "rebuild the collapsing church" and reform the spirit of the church as a life that thoroughly follows the gospel of poverty, charity, and obedience.
 
In the 14th and 16th centuries, when the Protestant Reformation divided Christianity and the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe the 'magisterium' of the church was at stake. At this time, St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Teresa of Avila renewed the Christian faith, and the church overcame this crisis through reform and renewal by holding the Council of Trent.
 
The 1st and 2nd Vatican Councils held in the 19th and 20th centuries were also carried out to renew and reform the church. The two councils were held to deal with the problems of atheism, secularization, and adaptation to modern society. In each crisis, the church has responded through religious movements, the emergence of saints, and the holding of church councils.  
 
In the face of today's late industrial society, the church is facing the problem of our global environment, collective depression caused by the crisis of human identity, the dissolution of the family, and the collapse of the community. There is a deep shadow over the core relationship: with God, people, and nature.
 
On May 24, 2015, on the Feast of Pentecost, Pope Francis issued the encyclical Laudato Si. The Pope analyzed the cause of the collapse of the "common house" and suggested a solution. In this Encyclical, we listened to the cry of the Earth, suffering, and groaning due to human arrogance, greed, and predatory attitudes, and reflected on our common home, the Earth, from the perspective of faith, calling for repentance and right action.
 
We also suffer from a crisis of human identity. We don't know who we are, cannot connect to God, the master of life, and live a life floating on the ocean like a buoy. This leads to an unsatisfactory and gloomy life not feeling the grace and blessing given by God. It can be said that our society is currently in a mass depression. The three typical phenomena of depression are prevalent.
 
Depression is first revealed as an addiction, obsessed with objects to fill the emotional emptiness and loneliness. The reason why people are obsessed with honor, power, or pleasure is that their hearts are empty. Depression secondly may show aggression against others. Aggression in cyberspace, as well as physical violence or mental abuse against others. Third, depression turns out to be aggression against oneself. The extreme action that attacks oneself is suicide. How many people can't respect themselves even if they haven't committed suicide?

In addition, our society is experiencing the collapse of the community. Divorced and incomplete families are exploding, non-marriage culture and the damage to traditional family concepts are gradually decreasing the likelihood that a human being will be born and grow within a loving family.
 
People are losing a sense of belonging and are becoming increasingly isolated psychologically. Although living in an apartment, residential space in a new city, the apartment culture is a cluster life without relationships. The problem with today's community is not only the loss of relationships but also the marginalization of the socially vulnerable. The distorted distribution structure of the poor and the rich intensifies social inequality and health inequality. 

Pope Francis issued the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, on the Feast of Saint Francis on October 3, 2020, in connection with these issues. The subtitle of this Encyclical is 'on fraternity and social friendship'. The Encyclical emphasizes the need to re-establish the dignity of the human person and rebuild the social system. The need to revive a sense of community as the main content. 

Human identity, social community, and the global environment are the crisis mentioned by Pope Francis. They are problems to solve for human survival and completion of humanity— the crisis of "home". How will you restore the collapsing house? This is a key task that our era must urgently consider and solve.

People dying alone

In the Eyes of the Believer Column of the Catholic Times a priest writes about those who have been dying alone.

The priest recalls not seeing a woman for some time, a daily Mass goer. Upon inquiry, he found out that an old man living alone, just below her apartment, had died and the body left unattended for several months, the smell had entered her apartment.
 
She searched for the source of the disgusting smell for a long time and eventually found out that it came from the person who died alone downstairs. Knowing the source of the smell, the woman was afraid to stay in her house alone after her husband went to work and went to live with her daughter. A few months later she returned to her apartment, after redecorating and refurbishing the interior.
 
Smell sharply divides the two different levels of society in the movie 'Parasite'. Some families live in basements without even knowing they have a musty smell about them while others live with the scent of perfumes. The difference in scent becomes a sign that separates the 'haves' from the 'have-nots'.
 
However, there is no class distinction or discrimination from the scent of corpses left unattended after dying alone. This is because the death from loneliness is revealed in every class without exception. They had to live alone without being cared for by those around them, cut off from their family and neighbors, living without human relationships.  
 
Dying alone is a sign of social isolation. In Korea, since 2013, society began to see dying alone and the loneliness attached with it, not as a problem for others but a social problem that concerns all of us. In the past, death alone was an issue with the elderly. but recently, it occurs regardless of low-income or high-income, among the young and old and is due to the increase of people living alone.
 
In particular, there are many people who live in a non-face-to-face situation due to COVID-19, and have decreased interaction with people, and are depressed. Now, beyond the melancholy of 'corona blue', the 'corona black' phenomenon, a feeling of frustration, despair, and gloom, is spreading and is increasing the number of deaths from loneliness which takes a higher toll on the economically vulnerable.
 
According to the Population and Housing Census of the National Statistical Office, the estimate for single-person households in 2020 was 31.7%, the highest among households, and the death toll among this group, dying without relations, has risen from 1,820 in 2016 to 2,880 last year.
 
The death from loneliness is an indicator that our society is moving in the wrong direction. The prevention of a lonely death has been accepted as a problem by the government with the ‘Lone Death Prevention and Management Act’ that took effect in April of this year, but as the number of single-person households rapidly increases, the number of deaths alone without care will continue to increase. The government policy to prevent and manage the risk of loneliness is important, but the church is also required to pay attention to the phenomenon of loneliness and to take an active pastoral response.
 
Although artificial intelligence caregiver services for the prevention of loneliness have recently increased, they cannot provide what is necessary— the human touch. Of course, it is necessary to make good use of the convenience of digital culture, but the fundamental relationship lies in the exchange of trust, friendship, and love. 

The church must establish and practice a diverse and continuous care system for those who are in the blind areas of our welfare system. This is especially the case with small community gatherings and Legion of Mary activities in parishes. In order to revitalize the parish community, which has been greatly reduced due to COVID-19, it is necessary to jump into the welfare field of the local community and play the role of a 'field hospital'.

Mourning In Silence

 

Does God Exist? "If God exists why are these things happening to me?" Words said crying by many experiencing serious accidents, sickness, and sudden deaths in the family. The beginning of an article in Biblelife magazine by a Catholic University priest philosophy professor.

This question has no answer. Many try to give an answer, in most cases of little help. Especially words packaged with religious sentiments: "God takes those he loves first." He wants to ask those who say these words: "How about you receiving some of this love." God needs some angels so he took them. These and similar words are improper in the face of death.

The very devout Christian C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) after losing his wife to cancer wrote Grief Observed. A book that describes his feeling of loss and grief at times intense and other times indifferent. The writer underlined the following paragraph of the book. 

"Talk to me about the truth of religion and I’ll listen gladly," he says "Talk to me about the duty of religion and I’ll listen submissively. But don’t come talking to me about the consolation of religion or I shall suspect that you don’t understand."

After the death of his wife, he received many words of condolence but they were not consoling. He considered that they did not understand his grief. They don't know. Grief does not disappear with words. We say those words too easily.  

These are people with a deep faith: why don't they understand? They are attempting to give condolence from their faith, we should not blame them for the effort. However, those who grieve when they have no other place to go, tormented with anguish, go to God to vent their feelings, whatever they may be, allowing them to breathe. He doesn't want that moment to come to humans, but in the end, you have to cry sadly even in front of God. Why does this have to happen to me? They have to ask God for an explanation. 

If not the sadness is so strong they can't breathe. Human words don't work and God's silence just adds to the pain. It's then we need to seek an answer from God. Need to express our resentment to God.

He gives us the example of a famous Korean novelist Park Wan-suh (1931-201). In the same year, she lost her husband to cancer and her only son in an automobile accident while a college student. She was so overcome with grief she had thoughts of killing God. She had no thoughts that this was not to be done.

She took the statue of Jesus and flung it to the floor and heard from her act: "Feel free to be outraged, mad, and to kill me but I am here am I not? She saw vividly the sadness and tenderness in his face— the words of the novelist.

God is the last name that can be called at the end of suffering. Prayer becomes resentment, this becomes a curse, and thoughts of murder come out like a scream. It's only God that can accept these words.

At this time resentment towards God is not impiety. You know that it is only God that will accept your feelings of bitterness. Others with deep faith and tender hearts may see this and recoil at the words expressed but this feeling that arises (if it arises) should not be repressed. All will be alright is not the correct response. The one who is grieving does not hear the words that are said to alleviate the pain.

We can just hold hands, give them our shoulders to lean on, or gently pat their backs. He doesn't know any other way to mourn.