Our Era and Crisis in Life

In the Catholic Peace Weekly Diagnosis of the Times column, a Catholic University professor considers our present times and the crisis of life that he sees.

The cultural crisis in modern society is by no means trivial. This is because culture and lifestyles have changed rapidly since the Industrial Revolution and no philosophical system to explain it.

Of course, the European Enlightenment and the philosophy of modernity attempted to explain this phenomenon. However, as subsequent history has shown, this system not only set humans as the masters of existence but also caused dysfunction by alienating and distorting all other life forms and nature by emphasizing only the rational characteristics possessed by humans. This phenomenon is revealed in the scientism and capitalist system that has spread widely in modern times.

Science is an important knowledge system through which humans obtain truth from the natural world.  However, when scientific knowledge is set as the final standard for truth, truth systems other than positivist knowledge lose their place. This excludes areas science cannot enter in the search for truth.

The capitalist system has greatly contributed to solving the serious poverty problems of the pre-modern era by promoting economic development. It is also the material foundation that makes the current liberal democracy possible. However, this led to serious inequality and serious harm to humans' inner lives by being concerned with excessive consumerism and materialistic goals.

Modernity is concerned with production. If science and technology transform everything into components, capitalism commodifies all areas of human life. Finally, we have fallen into a serious loss of meaning and emptiness that excludes transcendence. How can philosophy overcome the metaphysics of productivity and verbalize areas beyond what this system cannot see?

Life primarily resides on a physiological basis. Yet, life does not stay there. All life is situated on biological conditions but goes beyond it. All of this is due to the essential orientation that living beings possess.

Life, with the will to live, is an existence that creates life beyond the material realm. Here, humans, endowed with self-consciousness and self-understanding, have become aware of their nature to elevate life itself to the realm of transcendence, along with its inherent characteristics. Humans, recognizing the divine nature as their identity, the highest existence, seek to achieve this nature by verbalizing personhood.

When humans, as semantic beings, can verbalize the inherent and transcendent characteristics of life, it becomes possible to think beyond the metaphysics of production. Only then can humans prepare to overcome the contradictions of the scientism and capitalist system of modern positivism. Through this, we will transcend the horizon beyond the emptiness and nihilistic situation of modern culture.

A culture of respect for life and a culture where life can be life will finally provide the right opportunity.

"All the Way to Heaven Is Heaven"

The Catholic Times Sunday Chat column by a college professor emeritus gives the readers some interesting reading on heaven. 

In a Gallup survey, 63.4% of people answered that ‘Paradise or heaven is not in the other world, but in this world,’ which showed that the people’s thinking is largely centered on this world. Humanity has dreamed of an ideal world since time immemorial. Where on earth is that place? In the East, people longed for the heavenly world where the Jade Emperor and the immortals lived.

Carl Busse, a 19th-century German lyric poet, said in his poem ‘Over the Mountains’, “There is happiness beyond the mountains, far away in the sky, so after hearing that, I followed others to find happiness, only to end up with tears in my eyes.” 

Nietzsche is said to have been walking in the Alps in the summer of 1881 when the idea of eternal recurrence suddenly occurred to him like a lightning bolt. Eternal time forms a circle; within that circle, the universe, life, and all objects and perceptions repeat infinitely. In this way, he argued that since life repeats forever, there is freedom and salvation in life if you accept the agony and joy of life as they are.

Hydrogen and oxygen combine to create a completely new form— water, a mysterious metaphysics. A similar process is expressed as ‘God’s creation’ in Christianity, in Buddhism, it is called dependent origination.

It is often said that life is finite, but that is only life as an individual, and life as a whole has no death as long as its genes continue. 

If you can let go of self-awareness, you can also let go of your obsession with the finite life of an individual. This is because when the self disappears, the self that will die also disappears, and thus death disappears. This means that only by letting go of self-awareness can one escape from worldly bondage and anguish.

Originally, this world was a beautiful paradise. Life is about enjoying a picnic in that paradise. Zhuangzi's 'Little Yayou' is also a story about going on a faraway picnic, purifying the soul, and enjoying absolute freedom while having fun. Zhuangzi's philosophy is  "holistic  encouraging disengagement from the artificialities of socialization, and cultivation of our natural ancestral” potencies and skills, to live a simple and natural, but full and flourishing life."

“I will return to heaven. At the end of my excursion into this beautiful world, I will go and say that it was beautiful.” The great poet Cheon Sang-byeong, who deeply instilled a positive mindset in us, lived in heaven like this even while suffering from the aftereffects of severe electric torture.

Saint Elizabeth of the Carmelite Monastery in France testifies that there is heaven in this world. “I have found heaven in this world. Because heaven is God and God is in my soul.”

Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God does not come in visible forms.  “Behold, the kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:20-21), Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these (Luke 18:16).

Likewise, in Christianity, heaven is the place where the soul of a true believer enjoys eternal blessings after death. However, it does not necessarily refer only to the afterlife but to a place where God's rule is completely achieved and was thought to exist both in this world and in the human mind. This world is heaven. 

In Catholic teaching when we are baptized we put on Christ. It is no longer I but Christ who lives in me. We are living in God's kingdom in faith now but it is not complete for that awaits us after death. We also remember the words of St. Catherine of Siena who said:  "All the way to heaven is heaven."

Accustomed to Divisions in Society

The Catholic Times View From the Ark column had an article on the divisions in society that a priest wanted to make known to the readers of the paper. It is well worth reading.

The general election is over. He is not normally interested in political news. Only after the election campaign materials arrived at the rectory did he know who the candidates running in his local constituency were.  Even then, many political parties were unable or did not send public information due to lack of funds.  He had to go to the search bar and go through the trouble of finding the information. 

Since 2012, the Bishops' Conference has been sending policy questionnaires to political parties and candidates ahead of major elections. and publishing the answers to help believers become more aligned with the values of the Gospel and the teachings of the Church. 

The questionnaire sent by the Bishops' Conference contains 43 questions in eight areas, including labor, national reconciliation, social welfare, bioethics, ecological environment, women, justice and peace, and youth,  areas in which the Korean Church is greatly interested. 

According to data released by the Bishops' Conference, among the responses are labor,  ecological environment, enactment of a special law on high-level radioactive waste, discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima), justice, and peace ( Significant differences of opinion between political parties were revealed in the areas of enactment of the Special Act on rental Fraud, the Framework Act on Life Safety, and the Enactment of the Itaewon Disaster Special Act.

The problem is that these differences of opinion exist not only between political parties but also between believers. No, to be more precise, it should be said that since believers use the position of the political party they support as a standard for judgment, differences of opinion between political parties are transferred to differences of opinion between believers. When talking with believers on the pastoral front, it is not difficult to come across cases where they confess their own difficulties, saying: “Depending on the current issue, the church’s position straddles the line between conservative and progressive, making it difficult to follow.” When you advise, “Look at the gospel or the teachings of the church as a standard,” most people agree and go away, at least in front of a priest, but there are also cases where people raise questions, saying: “How can the church know what’s going on in the world?”

This kind of dichotomous thinking does not simply divide the world into spirit and body, sex and nature. Using this as a tool, one's self-image as a Christian is only effective within the church, which means giving up living as the light and salt of the world. In addition, even fellow Christians who try to live as the light and salt of the world go on to claim that, like themselves, they should be Christians only within the church.

If we cannot use the gospel, which is the word of Christ, and the teachings of the church, which is the mystical body of Christ, as the standard for judgment, then how divisive and vain the name 'Christian'  engraved on our hearts becomes. Christ wants to save the whole of who we are. 

It is said that it is a world where division is familiar, but even Christians, who must testify to the kingdom of God ‘here and now’ while living in the world, should examine whether they are so accustomed to division that they do not even feel the pain, and suffering from division all around us.

Reconciliation And Growth in Maturity

The journey of reconciliation with God and with oneself is completed through reconciliation with others. The three are connected as one. It is not right to offer gifts to God while fighting with one's neighbors. Jesus says.

“Therefore, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go away and first be reconciled to your brother. Then return and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24)

If you were asked to name the most difficult of the three types of reconciliation, wouldn't most people choose reconciliation with neighbors? Because the hardest thing in life is living with other people. Everyone lives with the wounds caused by others deep in their hearts. The wound remains as a trauma and continues to torment us. The greater the trust, the greater the hurt caused by betrayal.

"I just can’t forgive you. What should I do?” When asked a question like this, he wants to say, “Just live your life hating and cursing,” but we both know that that is not the answer. Just thinking about the person who hurt me and humiliated me makes me shiver. Are you telling me to forgive him? Jesus, who told us to love even our enemies, sometimes criticizes us. Why does he tell us to love our enemies?

But we know. Jesus did not tell us to love our enemies to torment us. So why did God tell us to love our enemies and be reconciled to our neighbors?

Isn't it to take us to a higher place? Our vocation (calling) is high up there. fighting with others is not the purpose of our life. The call to become children of God is deeply embedded in our being. We are children of God and called to true freedom. That freedom is freedom from sin and death, and it is also freedom from resentment, anger, envy, and jealousy.

The discomfort we experience while living with others tells us that there is a path we must walk. Because we are not generous beings we easily turn our backs on others over small things and live with them hurting them. However, there is also a desire within us to go beyond such a life. We want to be free. That freedom is not the freedom to do whatever you want in a place where no one is around, but the freedom that comes from being able to live together. There is freedom that comes from accepting that it is possible, freedom to acknowledge the differences and uniqueness of others, and freedom that comes from acknowledging that although everyone is lacking, they are walking their own path and walking the path of change. There is freedom that comes from a heart that imitates the heart of Jesus and recognizes everyone in the world as brothers and sisters.

We are called to that freedom. Although we are lacking, as we walk the path of following Jesus, we become more like the Lord without even realizing it, our hearts broaden and deepen, and we transform into beings who provide comfort to many people. That's why we can keep walking.

It's okay if you can't forgive now. It's okay if you feel tired and shaken right now. In such cases, instead of suffering because of the lack of forgiveness, let’s talk about those feelings to the Lord in prayer, rely on Him, and ask for comfort. Only the Lord will recognize my difficult heart, sympathize with me, and embrace me. Soon you will gain the strength and courage to stand up again from Him. Only by falling and getting up again can we move forward and imitate Jesus.

We Will Not Forget

The Reconciliation Column of the Catholic Times by the Taize Brother gives us another look at the pain that was experienced by so many ten years ago in April with the Sewol Ferry disaster.

It was one of the saddest and most painful Easter celebrations of the Lord's Resurrection. After 15 days of being unable to say or write anything, a bleeding heart flower in the garden caught his eye. The French name for the bleeding heart is ‘Coeur de Marie’ (Heart of Mary). Because the shape of the flower looks like blood or tears flowing from the heart, it was probably named ‘bleeding heart’ (English) or ‘weeping heart’ (German). How could tears of blood not flow from the heart of Mother Mary when she saw her son dying on the cross?

During the Sewol Ferry disaster, many people cried together as if they had lost their own children. There were many promises to create a safe country, and there were pledges to ‘never forget’, ‘not to stand still’, and ‘to be together until the end’. However, as time passes, some in society turn a deaf ear to the bloody voices of the bereaved families and even show hostility to the yellow ribbon.

In defiance of the people and forces trying to erase uncomfortable memories, the Sewol Ferry victims' families did not simply remain as victims but actively socialized the disaster. Many bereaved families refused the compensation from the state and filed a lawsuit against the state for damages, resulting in the state's responsibility being acknowledged. They used the compensation money to establish a foundation, and in November of last year, they established a network with victims of other disasters.

The rusty Sewol ferry was salvaged a long time ago, but the new ‘Korean ferry’ has not yet been launched. Communities are becoming more and more fragmented, and individuals are going their separate ways. The COVID-19 pandemic has made it clear that all beings are interconnected, but our society has not learned from it either. In the plausible name of restoring daily life, we have returned to an era of extreme competition, pursuit of efficiency, consumption, and exhibitionism.

When someone tried to erase the memory of the Sewol Ferry, the 10/29 Itaewon disaster occurred and the death of Marine Corps Sergeant Chae occurred. Disasters coupled with the climate crisis continue. Still, no one in high positions takes responsibility.

The word most often recalled on the 10th anniversary of the Sewol Ferry disaster is the promise to ‘never forget.’

Christians are a people of memory. The disciples, who were witnesses to the resurrection, did not erase their memories of the cruel death of their teacher Jesus. For 2,000 years, we remember and celebrate the Cross and Resurrection together.

The scene of Mary, the mother of Jesus, weeping at the foot of the cross is not the last time she appears in the Bible. The Virgin Mary was with the church in Jerusalem, the new community that began after the resurrection of Jesus.

The Sewol victims' families are overcoming deep pain and wounds, fighting to create a safe society for everyone to prevent the same tragedy from repeating and laying the foundation for a new Korean community. Even though 10 years have passed, he still cries with them today while listening to their sobbing voices. Like the Western name for bleeding heart, with the heart of Mary shedding tears.

Cheese Priest of Korea

 

In the recent Catholic Times View From the Ark column, a college professor expresses his appreciation for the missioner known as the cheese priest of Korea.

Father Ji-Hwan Jeong (池正煥, Didier t’Serstevens) was born in Brussels, Belgium in 1931. Upon graduating from high school in 1950, he joined the Belgian Missionary Society (La Société des Auxiliaires des Missions) founded by Father Vincent Lebbe (1877-1940). He wanted to go to the poorest country in the world and live among them as a brother of the people, learning from them and doing with them what they wanted to do through what they knew.

Father Jeong Ji-hwan was ordained a priest in 1958 and arrived in Busan on December 8 of the following year. Since then, he has performed his priestly duties at Jeondong, Buan, and Imsil parishes in the Diocese of Jeonju, especially accompanying poor farmers. In the process, he lost his gallbladder in Buan and acquired other medical problems in Imsil. These were the medals he received for living as the 'light of God' and the 'rainbow of Caritas' sent by God to the poor people of this land.

In the process of developing Imsil cheese, he began to detect symptoms of paralysis in his body as early as 1976. Then, in 1976, his right leg became paralyzed, leaving him unable to walk. Due to his discomfort, he ended his activities at the Imsil Cheese Association and went to his hometown in Belgium in 1981 to receive treatment, but it was eventually confirmed that he could not be completely cured. When the doctor advised him to leave the hospital, he suggested, “If you stop working, it will get worse.” He took this as a message of hope, and on October 13, 1983, in slightly better condition, he returned to the Diocese of Jeonju, Korea in a wheelchair. I'm back.

“This is my hometown.” These words naturally came out of Father Ji-hwan Jeong’s mouth as he returned to Jeonju Diocese and met the people who had been waiting for him. “Okay, now let’s bury the bones here!” He decided where he would live in God and return to Him.

When Father Ji was recommended to minister to the disabled by Bishop Park Jeong-il (Michael), he responded immediately. "yes." In February 1984, he took on the role of pastoral guidance priest for the disabled in the diocese. In July of that year, with the cooperation of Kim Young-ja (Martha) and others, Father Jeong Ji-hwan accompanied the first disabled community. They expanded and moved the community in March of the following year, and the community later received the name ‘Rainbow Family.’ In 1989, Father Ji, a witness of God’s hope, moved with the ‘Rainbow Family’ to today’s completed village, ‘Soyang-myeon’ (所陽面), a sunny village, where he continued to spread joy and hope to many.

Father Ji, who accompanied the Rainbow Family for nearly 20 years, received the Ho-Am Award for community service in May 2002, and retired the following year in July 2003, leaving the Rainbow Family. After receiving his Ho-Am Award, he established the Rainbow Scholarship Foundation to provide education for people with disabilities and their families. Even after retirement, he lived as a priest of God, living in a house 'under the stars' in Soyang-myeon, not far from the Rainbow Family, working for the Rainbow Scholarship Foundation and restoring materials left behind by missionaries from the Paris Foreign Mission Society in France in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He passed away on April 4, 2019. 

This year marks the 5th anniversary of his death and the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Rainbow Family. He acquired a disability in the process of spreading God's hope to the people of this land, and used his disability as a sacred opportunity to serve the disabled, helping countless disabled people live new lives. At the bottom of his ministry with the disabled was an understanding of human beings centered on their being as ‘children of God’ and as ‘a person from God’ as they were before they were disabled. We hope that the 'existence-centered' tradition of accompanying the disabled, which Father Ji testified to with his entire being, can be truly embodied and sublimated in today's Rainbow Family and all the institutions accompanying the disabled, in the world. The columnist is deeply grateful to Father Ji.

Remembering the Sewol Tragedy

 

In a report from the Catholic Peace Weekly News Service a priest columnist reminds us of a tragedy from the past.

April 16, 2014. The Sewol ferry, which departed Incheon and was on its way to Jeju Island, sank off the coast of Jindo, Jeollanam-do. The captain, wearing only his underwear, was the first to escape from the sinking ship. About 300 people, including students from Danwon High School in Ansan, were on a field trip and could not return to their families. Paengmok Port becomes a sea of tears. Citizens hung yellow ribbons, saying something had to be done in response to the rising sadness. The Sewol ferry, which carries her pain, is salvaged from the sea and docked at Mokpo New Port.  

Perhaps because 10 years have passed, the feelings of remembrance are becoming dull. The yellow ribbons that were seen telling us to remain still and be with the bereaved families have disappeared. Those who were in the disaster control tower at the time are now living well without any problems. Only those who lost their precious family members are still wiping away their tears. 10 years have passed and the writer thought time would heal the pain.  However, even on the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, we still talk about the reason for our nation's existence and its safety.

159 lives were lost in Itaewon, in the center of Seoul. Itaewon was the Seoul Sewol Ferry. There was insensitivity to safety and the incompetence and irresponsibility of the persons in charge. Although we pledged to never repeat the Sewol tragedy, we failed to protect lives. 

It's not just the Sewol Ferry and Itaewon. We demand safety and concern for life every day. Our ordinary citizens demand safety from the state. Workers say that they should not die while working and that if they are sick, they should go to the hospital instead of going to work. Citizens ask whether we should create a culture of life rather than a culture of greed. Citizens ask the world to help us learn from our tragedies.

“We remember the victims” This year, the 10th anniversary of the Sewol ferry disaster, is also the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ visit to Korea. He remembers Pope Francis comforting the Sewol victims' families in the middle of Gwanghwamun Square. As a religious person, he was asked to remain neutral and not say or do things that the powers may dislike, and the Pope said, "How can you do that in the face of suffering?" He personally attached a Sewol yellow ribbon on his chest and offered Mass. We baptized the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster. The starting point of the Pope's consolation was memory.

Memories are powerful. We must remember not only the Sewol disaster and Itaewon but also the sick and those who live with difficulty worldwide. We must remember and walk together. If you cry, you should hold hands and cry together, and if you laugh, you should laugh together.