An Encounter Never to be Forgotten

 

A Catholic Peace Weekly column by a Catholic University professor introduces us to encounters that change us. 

There are various encounters in our lives. Some meetings are of no consequence, and others develop into deep friendships or love. There are significant and decisive encounters that change a person's life. Looking back on our past lives, what encounters have we had? Is there a meeting that deeply impacted my life? 

The Gospel features numerous people who encountered Jesus. Some met him on the street, some came with an illness, some suffered from evil spirits, and some met him while searching for ways to help others. Some people only see him as a member of a crowd. However, others have experienced a new way of living through a face-to-face encounter with his call. 

It was such a meeting with Jesus that changed everything in the apostles' lives. They had diverse backgrounds. People who worked in fishing, persons  who collected taxes, a person who dreamed of liberating a stolen country and preparing for a revolution, etc. 

Their temperament, personality, and ability were different. Jesus made them disciples, nurtured them through community life, and sent them off as apostles. Their meeting with Jesus was crucial. The encounter changed their lives in many new ways. It gave life a decisive meaning and allowed the disciples to give themselves completely to Jesus and his mission. 

Christians are people who have met Jesus and follow him by confessing him as Christ. We meet Jesus in various ways. Different from the  disciples, the meeting between us and Jesus occurs within the church's life. 

Through church community life with believers who follow Jesus (including the clergy and religious), through the word of God proclaimed in the church and liturgy, we hear his words and experience Jesus' existence with us. Also, we try to imitate his life. We realize that he is with us through service to the poorest people and in our adoration practice. The key will be how much we experience his existence in our lives and try to relate to him. 

The Gospel of John details the circumstances of the day when the disciples first met Jesus.  "Jesus said to them, 'Come and see,' and they came together and saw where Jesus was staying, and stayed with him that day. It was about 4 p.m." (John 1, 39) How intense was the meeting with him that one could remember even the time of the encounter?  

Is it still fresh in our minds when we met Jesus and at what time? What was your first impression of meeting him? Are we still conscious of him in our lives? Do you know enough about Jesus to proudly answer when someone asks about him? Do you live in close friendship with him enough to share significant moments in our lives, even the mundane? Do I accept him as a significant person in my life and give him a prominent position? Or is it just someone who gives you a seat when you come to church?

The Weak Suffer the Most

 

The recent Catholic Weekly gave the readers some personal thoughts on life in our society by the priest director of a suicide prevention center.

The baby cried loudly on the plane. The tearful cry, which began with takeoff, sounded intermittently throughout the flight and continued until landing. It is a change in air pressure that gives adults' ears a popping sensation, but unbearable pain to sensitive babies.

The child whose ears hurt could not be soothed or persuaded. While the baby's parents understood everything, they had to deal with the eyes of others. All passengers had no choice but to endure the baby's crying until landing.
 
Such an experience was very tiring and annoying. You realize that it's a change in atmospheric pressure, something you didn't notice before. He remembered being surprised when the same sensation the baby experienced he experienced as a child.

Nevertheless, it is difficult for an adult to understand a child's pain. The pain of the weak from a strong person's point of view can be irritating. As a strong person, he's tempted to say: "It's because of his weak will - Just a little more effort..." It will be over soon, he wants to understand and be with the person but it is irritating.

Moreover, in the world as in airplanes, there is no place to escape from each other. (Of course, the world is developing more and more ways to cover your eyes and not see what is going on)."If the cause of a phenomenon is invisible to a person who observes only individual cases, the cause is outside the individual."
 
About 100 years ago, a scholar named Durkheim established the concept of "suicide as social murder." In coal mines, they put a canary. When toxic gases appeared in the coal mine, sensitive canaries collapsed first, and people evacuated after seeing them.
 
In our society, the weak are the first to collapse when difficulties arise. But the majority close their eyes easily and speak without understanding the weak's difficulties. Everyone in society suffers pain, but the degree differs greatly depending on the situation and environment.

But if many people take their own lives from the pain, it's not just an individual problem. Instead, it's a sign that some part of society is sick and broken. Just because I'm okay doesn't mean the world is problem-free. And it's the society where my family lives. It may be convenient right now to cover our ears to crying voices, but society will become sicker.

Bishop Patrick Byrne Marytyr

 

2023 is the 70th year of the armistice agreement signed on July 27, 1953. Catholic Peace Weekly featured an article on Bishop Patrick Byrne. He was the Apostolic Visitor to Korea from 1947 to 1949 and the first Apostolic Delegate to Korea from 1949 to 1950.

The Korean War, a tragic drama in national history began with North Korea's invasion of the South at dawn on June 25, 1950. The war lasted for three years until the armistice agreement was signed. A war that took the lives of many foreign missionaries. Among the victims was a person who contributed to the recognition of the Republic of Korea as the only legitimate government on the Korean Peninsula. This was in the international community. Bishop Patrick J. Byrne (1888-1950), a Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society member, was the first Apostolic Delegate to Korea.

The St. Louis Review, a weekly magazine run by the Archdiocese of St. Louis, reported June 30, 1950: "There are currently 1,700 Americans left in South Korea, including missionaries from the Maryknoll Society and St. Columban Foreign Missions Society." At the time of publication, the North Korean army had already occupied Seoul. Since there was no way to contact them due to the war, the Church assumed that "Bishop Byrne and the missionaries would remain in Seoul." 

The title of the July 21, 1950 issue of the Catholic Standard and Times (CS&T), a weekly magazine of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, was "Bishop Byrne Silent Beyond the Iron Curtain." The title was given to mean that there was no news from Bishop Byrne and his secretary, Father William Booth (Maryknollers), who are in Seoul under the occupation of North Korea. The 'Iron Curtain' refers to the boundary between communist and non-communist blocs.

Towards the end of July of that year, news came that "Bishop Byrne remained in Seoul instead of evacuating." "People who knew Bishop Byrne well said they were 'not at all surprised' to hear the news." This is because, at the height of World War II, there was a precedent of remaining in Japan even though he was an American, in an enemy country. 

 The St. Louis Review reported in its September 29, 1950 newspaper that Bishop Byrne was imprisoned in Pyongyang with information obtained through the U.S. Embassy. He also reported that Bishop Byrne was very weak because he could not digest the North Korean military food. Bishop Byrne and Father Booth were reportedly captured by the North Korean military at the Bishop's residence in the Archdiocese of Seoul on July 11. They were sentenced to death by the People's Court, and transferred to Pyongyang on July 19.

In September 1950, General MacArthur's Incheon Landing Operation was successful, and Korean and U.N. forces entered Pyongyang on October 19. However, no trace of Bishop Byrne.

"We asked South Korean prisoners who were freed from Pyongyang, but all testified that they did not see any foreign prisoners. Pyongyang Catholics also did not know the bishop's whereabouts. In fact, the North Korean military dragged him away a few days before entering Pyongyang.

Abducted by the North Korean army in Seoul, he was taken to Pyongyang where he began the "death march" and died a martyr in a prison camp. The cause of death was pneumonia aggravated by a cold. He was 62 years old. Bishop Byrne's death was kept secret until the missionaries abducted with him were released and testified. His whereabouts and life were of the utmost concern for the Holy See but also to his home country, the American church.

In January 1951, the Vatican’s official news agency, Fides, reported that "Bishop Byrne was taken to Manchuria across the border with other missionaries" saying that it was obtained through a reliable source. 

On November 1, 1952, the Vatican finally announced that "though there is no confirmation, it is presumed that Bishop Byrne is dead". This is because the list of foreign prisoners of war submitted by North Korea to the United Nations includes Father Booth. However, Bishop Byrne was not included. 

Maryknoll Headquarters in New York, USA, held a funeral Mass on the 5th. Maryknoll superior Father Lane wrote a biography of Bishop Byrne that appeared in 1955. It was serialized the same year in the Kyeongyang newspaper run by the Seoul Archdiocese. It was officially published in Korea in 1994, 40 years later.  Ambassador in Chains: The Life of Bishop Patrick Byrne translated into Korean was published by St. Paul's Press.

 

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The Future Parish Communities

 

In the Catholic Times in its Theological Lecture Hall column, the Director of the Catholic Culture and Theology Institute gives readers some helpful advice on how to develop our communities.
 

■ Honest diagnosis of parish reality— Parishes are returning to pre-corona status. Of course, it has not completely returned to its pre-COVID-19 state, and it may not be completely restored.

In the past, many things were done in the parish. Believers spend a lot of time in the parish. It seems that believers spend hardly any time in the parish these days, except attending Sunday Mass. The amount of external time the faithful spend at the parish cannot be a measure of the parish's vitality. However, it would be sad if the parish was just a place to attend Mass.

Individualism and materialism in modern society make people increasingly indifferent to the community. They live for external and material pleasures rather than internal pleasures. In addition, consumerism, the biggest characteristic of modern capitalism, allows even faith to be a matter of consumption. Consequently, the parishioners' life feels like an annoying restriction and restraint. In fact, compared to the past, people's expectations for parishes are much lower. The lowered level of expectations and the parish structure that does not satisfy people's healthy desire and desire for religion are intertwined, further reducing parish vitality.

Is it possible for one priest to pastorally care for hundreds of believers? Could it be that the majority of believers are just participating in the Sunday Mass without a soul? Could it be that we are living a life of faith that seeks only relief and self-consolation rather than community service and dedication? Could it be that the absence of continuous education on faith and spirituality and the operation of a parish centered on a minority are driving believers to lead a passive inactive parish life?
 

Recognized Community of Faith — The church is a community that recognizes and embraces all others in the faith. The healthy interest and recognition of others also give us comfort and strength in the arduous journey of life. As long as we live in relationships with others, we ask for the attention, love, and recognition of others. Healthy attention, love, and recognition make us independent and able to grow.

In all organizations and communities, some form of accreditation system is operating. Sometimes emotional intimacy, sometimes blood ties, and sometimes the depth of various ties affect the recognition system. However, most secular recognition systems are based on capital, power, and ability. To be a church means to be a recognized community of faith. In the early church days, church communities were attractive to people because of their unique recognition system. We practiced interest, love, and recognition for each other only in faith, not in the way of secular recognition. Rich or poor, nobility or slaves, they lived as brothers and sisters in the faith.

What type of accreditation system is operating in today's parish community? Is the recognition of each other only in faith? Is it possible that the secular recognition system is still working in the parish? How do we build a correct recognition system for the Christian faith?

The way the church has pursued large-scale and external growth must change. The life of faith in the future will be centered on small communities. The physical radius within which people can emotionally feel a sense of belonging and intimacy is not very wide. A faith community of intimacy and communion centered on small gatherings is desperately needed.

Faith gatherings in the form of large gatherings will be reduced. Small gatherings can spread and develop into larger gatherings, but it becomes increasingly impossible for strangers to gather and form large gatherings from scratch. Of course, large gatherings that occur in sports and entertainment areas may be possible to some extent in religious events. But events always end at events. Events may provide some stimulation, but no community of faith is formed through events. A true community of faith is always formed based on everyday life.

The experience of the corona pandemic can be a paradoxical medium that promotes the church's small community movement. Faith will be practiced in various places of daily life rather than developing a life of faith centered on a fixed space called a church. The place where we live together will become a community and become a church. The parish of the future will serve as an intermediary to unite and unite these small communities.

The pastoral care of the parish should also take place in the form of a small community. True encounters, dialogue, and communion are always possible only in small groups. If only the celebration of the sacraments takes place in the form of large assemblies, and if the religious spirit of the believers is not transformed into personal faith, that is, if the faith of the believers operates only in the realm of the parish and not in all places of life, then Christianity will simply fall into a cultural religion.
 

In particular, "personal spiritual companionship will be the most important and most necessary pastoral task of the church". The orientation and purpose of spiritual companionship is to cultivate a contemplative attitude toward the world and one's life. To be able to practice spiritual walking, one must become a spiritual and contemplative person. The ministry of spiritual accompaniment must not be reduced to the clergy alone or to the realm of special pastoral care. The duty of spiritual companionship is a duty that all believers must perform.

In modern society, a new type of community is needed to radiate the presence and charisma of faith. The traditional parish community format alone will not respond well to the challenges of modern society. In fact, new interpretations and ideals of the community are re-emerging today. But we will not give up the form of the parish. There is an urgent need for a new form and content of parish composition and management that can revive the essence, purpose, and orientation of the parish. 

A new type of community will emerge, a new center where clergy and laity can jointly share the Gospel. "Centers especially for spirituality and spiritual accompaniment" may become the center of pastoral and religious life. The parish of the future should be a place not only for the celebration of the liturgy and sacraments but also for synodalitas meetings and dialogues between the People of God, true education in the faith, spiritual formation and accompaniment, communion, service, and charity towards the world.

War Orphans Remembered

The News Desk Director of the Catholic Peace Weekly reminds us that July 27th is the 70th Anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

The Korean War lasted for three years and a month. The director mentions how terrible the experience was for him. But two operations reflected a tearful and warm desire for the return of humanity. In December 1950, there was the "Heungnam withdrawal operation" on the sea road and the "Kiddy Car Airlift" on the sky road. This was the 'Miracle of Christmas'.

Captain Leonard LaRue of the Meredith Victory, an American transport ship carrying 14,000 refugees, and Col. Russell Blaisdell, chaplain of the US 5th Air Force, evacuated 1,000 war orphans from Seoul to Jeju Island by truck and C-54 transport. The two went beyond heroes of the Korean War and became symbols of humanism.

Colonel Blazdel, who escaped with the war orphans safely under fire, was handed over to a military trial for disobedience to orders, said: "If my mission is to let children die, I will be discharged immediately." Colonel Dean Hess, a fighter pilot who joined the operation said: "We are fighting for victory, but what's the point of victory if all the children are gone?"

The biggest victims of the war are children. Children do not know what war is or why it is fought. They are separated from their parents by war, taken away from home, hungry and terrified. The right to run and play, study, and dream is taken away. They don't feel the warmth of family life. Pope Francis urges those responsible to stop the shameful and destructive war committed by adults, saying: "The cries of children who have been deprived of basic rights by the war continue to increase.
 
More than 4.5 million soldiers and civilians were killed in the Korean War. More than 10 million separated families and more than 100,000 war orphans were born. The Ukrainian war, which began with the Russian invasion has lasted for a year and five months, and so far exceeded 1.5 million refugees. 500,000 children have fled, and among them, it is estimated that 19,500 Ukrainian children were kidnapped and taken by Russia.

I met a person who lost both his parents in the Korean War and was sent to a  nursery school as an orphan at a young age. He healed the wounds of the war with faith and became a professor through tribulation, and he said this about the hardships of his hard life. "No matter the difficulties, the prejudice that was not recognized by society  because I was an orphan was the heaviest cross." Still, he recalled that he was able to overcome the difficulties with his faith in the Lord.

The desperate efforts of a Ukrainian mother, who wrote her name, date of birth, and contact number on the back of a two-year-old child for fear of becoming an orphan of war, touched the hearts of people around the world. "Even if my husband and I die, my daughter will know who she is." The photo of the child, known on social media, was a tearful cry and pain from parents informing us of the horrors of war and to protect their daughter.

Now, the Vatican is struggling with humanitarian mediation diplomacy (peace mission) to return Ukrainian war orphans who were taken to Russia to their parents. It is an opinion that humanitarian action should come first, whether it is a truce or an end. Pope Francis believes that the war can be stopped only when an environment is created to continue dialogue rather than exchanging shells. "I am willing to do everything that must be done. Peace is made through open channels. Don't say things aren't going well. You can create a situation. Let's stop the battle of destruction. Peace is not a dream, but a way for us to live."

The cries of Korean war orphans 70 years ago are coming from the battlefield far away: "Mom! dad! teacher! friends! Sister! I miss you all." We all hope that the Lord will help the return of these war orphans and add our own prayers to those of so many in the world today.

Paradox of Alcoholic Harm

A professor in the Social Welfare Department of a Catholic University gives the readers of Catholic Peace Weekly some interesting insights into the problems of alcohol addiction.

Orthodoxy is a theory recognized as dominant among various theories or claims. A paradox is a claim opposed to an established theory. The claim that drinking a lot of alcohol causes harm from drinking is an established theory. Most people understand this from their experience.
 
Contrary to orthodox theory, however, the drinking level among the low-income class is either the same or lower, yet the levels of harm associated with drinking are higher. Drinking harmful effects have been verified in several studies. Studies on this were conducted mainly in Europe. In a study that analyzed data collected from 1700 adults, people with a lower socioeconomic level drank less alcohol than those with a higher income. However, they experienced more harm from drinking.
 
A study conducted in the UK also compared areas with the highest levels of socioeconomic deprivation and those with the lowest levels of deprivation. The levels of alcohol consumption were similar in both areas or lower in areas with higher levels of deprivation, but alcohol-related mortality rates were greater in areas with higher levels of deprivation. The paradox of drinking harmful effects was also confirmed in a study in Korea. It was found that the low-income class experienced more severe harm from drinking than the high-income class, even though they did not drink more.
 
To express the meaning of the paradox of drinking harms differently, it means that there is a gap between classes in the harm that comes with drinking. Our society is divided into income and health inequality. However, inequality in drinking harmful effects also exists.
 

Then, why do low-income people experience more drinking harm? This involves various factors. First, limited access to medical services. The low-income class may experience more harm from drinking as they cannot use necessary medical services in a timely manner due to medical expenses or poor working conditions such as overtime and holiday work.
 
Second, low-income groups are more likely to engage in health-risk behaviors. Smoking is a representative health risk behavior, and the smoking rate is higher in the less-income group than in the high-income group. Individuals who both drink and smoke will experience more health problems than individuals who only consume alcohol or smoke. In addition, it is known that the low-income class has a poor rate of healthy eating habits and does not consume enough nutrients. Diet is one of the risk factors related to death. In summary, low-income people have more health-threatening factors, so they experience more harm from drinking even though they consume relatively less alcohol.
 
Just as our society strives to eliminate inequality in various areas, the professor hopes people will pay attention to resolving inequality in drinking harms. Employees of hospitals, welfare centers, and self-sufficiency centers located in areas with relatively high socioeconomic levels of deprivation must identify health risk factors along with drinking problems and provide necessary services, and connect these residents with appropriate health and welfare resources.  

The government hopes to resolve the inequality experienced by the socio-economically vulnerable, including the low-income class, by first expanding the infrastructure for preventing and solving addiction problems, including the drinking problem of local residents, in socio-economically weak areas.

Wise Old Age-

 

A former journalist gives the readers of the Catholic Times some help in living with wisdom in old age.

You have barely finished the first half of your life, and the second half remains. He recommends that you try to work with youthful energy befitting your age. 

 

"Christians seem to be happy in their old age if they keep the Ten Commandments." Pre-seniors  these days  are called 'young seniors', and also called 'active seniors' because they are as active as young people.

 

A few days ago, he posted a short "old age aphorism" in a Catholic media chat room, and various reactions poured in. The aphorism was '5 yeses and 5 noes'  (refers to 「What to do and what not to do」) by the late professor of folklore. It was an exhortation to 'be calm, generous, informed, think, and move' while staying away from 'nagging, anger, drowsiness, obsession, and dwelling on the past'.

 

Above all, the hearts of seniors who cared for juniors who were far away until the age of 65, which is the standard for seniors under the Elderly Welfare Act, were not recognized; nor did they seem to like the word old.  We are after all in the "100-year-old era", we are reluctant to readily admit aging. Even if we care not to refer to old age we can and should talk about generations.

 

It just so happens that today is the third "World Grandparents' Day". Established by Pope Francis when COVID-19 broke out in 2021, the church is always with the elderly. The pope reminded the elderly of their calling, namely, "protecting roots, transferring faith to young people, and taking care of small people." This year, the day coincides with the Lisbon World Youth Congress, which will be held from August 1 to 6. The pope stressed that the two generations of the elderly, grandparents, and young people share friendship of life and faith, mutual gifts and gratitude, and testimony of hope and sharing of love.
 

There are only three years left  before Korea becomes a the super-aged society (more than 20% of the total population aged 65 or older). However, the Korean Catholic Church has already entered the super-aged church (23% of believers aged 65 or older) two years ago. Therefore, the church's interest and support for senior affairs cannot be overemphasized.
 

How can the life of the elderly be slow when the elderly can ride free on the subway? One of Catholicism  leading spiritual teachers of this era, saw that aging requires several virtues: calmness, patience, warmth, freedom, gratitude, and love.  

 

First of all, he hopes you continue to do what you like or do well. Our writer walks barefoot these days. Walking for nearly an hour in the mountains of the neighborhood he feels improves his physical condition, he  feels at one with the dirt road. Nearly half of the people you meet in the mountain are barefoot. Also, why don't you find your specialty and make it your routine. Personally, he has three pleasures: reading, writing, and walking, are the irreplaceable pleasures.
 

A former MBC producer, recommends three attitudes. Not to argue, not to be upset about trivial things, and be with your friends when they gather. "○○○, please listen with your earphones on." This is what a young nurse said to a patient in his late 60s. He was watching YouTube while raising the volume on his cell phone in a five-bed room hospital ward. Such an ugly scene is often seen on the subway. We support the wise old age, which teaches rich experiences, protects public morality, and we don't hear: "kkondae" (an older persons who believes he is always right  and you are always wrong).