"Either/Or Thinking" in Church Construction

The way we use money is a point of contention in society at large and in the Church. We have those who use the words from Scripture: "What is the point of this extravagant waste...It could have been sold... and the money given to the poor." And then we have the words of Jesus: "The poor you will always have...you will not always have me." We can choose to see one or the other or try to see both. It may be more a matter of a prudential judgement in individual situations rather than a black and white theoretical position for one or the other. A Catholic priest makes his point clear in one of the newsletters:

A prophet with a torch was running towards a new shrine, asked why he was going in the direction of the shrine with a torch he answered to burn the shrine down because the people were more interested in the building than of God.

In Solomon's day while building the temple, he levied taxes on the people and had them do compulsory labor. Representatives of the people went to the King to complain but to no avail: part of the reason for the division of the country into North and South.

The way they collected the funds in the building of St. Peter's Basilica was a trigger to bring about the division in the Church of the West.

The different religions have to build for their communities of believers but if this is not done with moderation and wisely, religion will be criticized and suffer.

In Korea because of the great numbers of Christians it is necessary to build churches and other buildings for parish use. Often when there is not a necessity we seen buildings put up and not used.

The priest mentioned in a recent trip to Europe he saw these large churches that were empty. They have become museums. Many are difficult to maintain. The Christians that do come out are very stingy in what they give go the church, so there are many financial problems.The Christians see that a great deal of money went into the building of the church and rectory and they do not desire to give any more, but choose to give to the poor in society. The priest mentioned that hearing this from the people made him sad, not that they were not giving to the Church but because their hearts were now far from the Church.

Many Koreans still do not own a house. The polarization of our society is taking place with a split between the rich and the poor. More people are getting poorer and many are feeling the burden of giving to the Church and drop out. Those in pastoral position do not want to burden the poor but they have to realize how the poor feel.

We can see from the Scriptures that Jesus was always on the side of the poor. If we distance ourselves from the poor we distance ourselves from Jesus.

In building a church, the church of our hearts can be destroyed. We hear this often and in not a few cases, a fact of life.

Probably there are those who see this as the price we are willing to pay for the growth of Catholicism here in Korea. Hopefully we can find ways to do both.

"Everything is Good" Even Death

Daily we see death in situations that some have difficulty accepting. Why would a good God allow the destruction and death we have seen in Haiti? A question of the ages, one that continues to be asked at the death of a young person, a person who has so much to live for but dies: a question even if not vocalized on the minds of many.

Fr. John Lee Tae Seok 48 years old, worked in the Sudan of the South as a Salesian missionary, a doctor , a teacher, a musician, a man with many talents doing so much good, loved by many, building hospitals, taking care of hundreds of sick daily, started a school , brass band, and died here in Korea of cancer on Jan. 14, after fighting cancer since 2008. In God's providence all things work together for the good and as a Christian this is the hope that we have when seeing the ups and downs of life, the good and the bad. Fr. Lee even at the end, with his family present, was able to say: "Everything is good," consoling those who were at his bedside.

As a child Fr. Lee read the life of Albert Schweitzer and was moved but more so by the words of Jesus: "Whenever you did this to one of the least of my brothers you did it to me." He went on to medical school and after his medical degree entered the Salesians. While in Rome for studies and ordination to the diaconate he spent a few months in the Sudan for exposure to the works of the Salesians in the Sudan. After ordination he returned to the Sudan to begin his work as a doctor, starting dispensaries and working tirelessly helping the sick and those in need. A man of many talents he was instrumental in building a school, and even starting a brass band in the area in which he worked.

He wrote two books during his years in the Sudan: "The Rays of the Sun in Africa are Still Sad" and "Will You Be My friend?" Fr. Lee mentioned in the two books two questions that he often received: "Why did you choose to become a priest for y0u could have helped many people without being a priest ?" "You have many poor people you can help in Korea why come to Africa?" The answer he gave was that he really didn't know, it was the beautiful fragrance of the life he believes was the reason. Beauty is an attraction all by itself, and a life for others had great beauty for Fr. Lee.

They called him Fr. Jolly in the Sudan because his surname was Lee and his Christian name was John, and for the Sudanese putting these together became Jolly. A name which fits him well, since he always had a smile on his face. His life was short just ten years of priesthood but they were years filled with doing good.

There are many ways of preaching; the least effective is using words. Using visual aides and getting to a person's senses we have more success, but the best way is to get persons involved and to experience what is being said. Fr. Jolly was able to live what he preached and his memory of what he did will be an alarm bell to many of us who have not been able to do anything else but use words.

Gutenberg Bible or Buddhist Meditations?

Out of great love, many people spend a whole life time, without any recognition in a work few will ever hear about. Dr. Park Byeong Seon (Lugalda) was such a person until she discovered the oldest extant book, made with movable metal type, in the French National Library.The Catholic Apostolic Lay Council has just recently presented Dr. Park with a plague and monetary award in recognition of her many years working on Korean antiquities in France.

Before she left for France for further study, one of her professors asked her to keep her eyes open for books taken from Kangwha during the French occupation of the island in 1866. In a previous blog we mentioned the sack of Kangwha by the French naval fleet in retaliation for the killing of 7 French missioners and the burning of the royal achieves on the island. One of the books taken was the first printed book with movable type: a very precious part of Korean history. A book that was classified with other Chinese books until Prof. Park's discovery in 1975.

The book is referred to as Jikji printed by a Buddhist monk in 1377. It is an anthology of the teachings of Buddhism for meditation. There were two volumes, one in the French library is the only one found. Prof. Park proved that it was printed 78 years earlier than Gutenberg's Bible printed in 1455. Besides this one volume she discovered the 298 volumes dealing with the rituals and protocols of the Royal Court.

Prof. Park is now battling terminal cancer. She received no help from the Korean government during over 50 years of work in France; it was her work of love for the country and doesn't want any sympathy. She is having difficulty paying her hospital bills and the country is beginning to pitch in to help her during these difficult days. She would like to have one more year in France to finish what she has started but she knows it is in the hands of God.

It is a fact of life that we know a great deal of history written by those with power and financial backing. To the victors belong the spoils and one of the spoils is to tell the rest of the world what they think happened. The Gutenberg Bible is considered in the West to be the first movable metallic type printed book but the Koreans have a Buddhist work of meditation that precedes that by many years.

The attempts to get the books back can be attributed to Prof. Park's persistence. International support is now shown to countries whose cultural treasures have been pillaged. The Korean government will also become involved with the many other citizen groups working for the return of these priceless items. It would be a fitting end to Prof. Park's scholarly life to have this one year in France and see the return of these books to the country in which they belong.

Happiness in the East and West

As children we often concluded that the East was the East and the West the West: two different ways of looking and thinking."Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." This of course, is not exactly what is being said, but before the exchanges and the globalization there was a certain laziness and ease in believing this to be true. Human nature, however, is pretty much the same wherever you find it.

We have in Korea those who address their problems very much like those in the West. A Seoul diocesan priest does this with his own website from which topics are selected to appear in the Catholic newspaper. The questions he receives he answers from a Korean perspective.

On a question dealing with happiness, we have to first understand what we mean my happiness, if we are not going to get side tracked. It is easy to think that if we have the material things that we desire, we will be happy. Efforts to better ourselves are healthy but we have to be careful not to think it is everything. In life when we depend on material things to make us happy there will always be something better and this will ultimately bring sadness.

According to the writer the unanimous opinion of those who have studied happiness find that it comes to those whose existence is important to others and secondly is loved and is accepted by others.

The writer mentions that he often gives lectures and asks those in the audience how many are happy with things as they are; very few raise their hand. How many would like to change what they have been given and almost all the hands go up and finally how many have the capabilities of changing what they have, and no one raises their hand.

In conclusion we should try to change what we can change but what we can't change we should try to see it with a different set of eyes and with a more positive attitude, if we do, we will not be filled with unhappiness and even though it be a small amount, happiness will begin to enter.

The writer being a Catholic priest would certainly have a great deal of his attitudes formed by his faith, education, the books that he has read and his experience. This would be true of all of us. The world is becoming one and the mix is such that it would be very difficult to try to keep the East or West as two different ways of seeing life and the world.

Is Western Influence on Korea Ending?

In the study of Korean, as with any foreign language, there are many surprises. The similarities to our mother tongue are welcomed, not expected, puzzling on the first encounter, but this is after all the Orient.

When hearing the Korean words for the planets they were just that, Korean words for the five major planets: the words that appeared on the calendar from Tuesday to Saturday. Why they were there I didn't know, but was shortly to learn. They were the same as the Latin names of the week. How did this come about? Who borrowed from whom? They dispute the way it came into the country but the 5 elements which are important in Korean thinking: fire, water, wood,metal and earth were the names given to the major planets: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn and these in turn became the days of the week.

The ancients had the idea of the seven luminaries: the sun, moon and the 5 major planets that can be seen by naked eye. The Korean word for Sunday as in the West, is taken from the word sun, Monday from moon, Tues. from Mars, Wed. from Mercury, Thurs. from Jupiter, Fri. from Venus and Sat. from Saturn.

The 5 elements that Chinese society considered important are from Taoist thought, they have a prominent place in Chinese medicine, divination and other areas of life. In Chinese Metaphysics these 5 elements make up the matter of the universe, and with the yin yang form an important part of Chinese and Korean thought.

Korea did not accept the 7 day week until the last part of the 19th century. They had a ten day week and the change probably came through the introduction of western science by the Jesuit presence in China and the influence they had at that time. How it all came about is disputed but it was not coincidence.

It is difficult to judge how much the East has taken from the West. The Internet and globalization will continue to increase the interchange. These days it is common to see English words in the papers without any explanations of their meaning. Yes, the influence of the West on Korea is great, but China will probably surpass this shortly and we will be advancing to the days of old. Korean students studying in America exceed the numbers in China; now that China has become a super power this will very likely change as will the relationship of Korea to China.

What in the World are Name Days?

In my early days in Korea I learned among the Catholics their name day was more important than the birthdays. The name day is the feast day of the saint whose name one is given at baptism. I never actually averted to my name day until I came to Korea. It was thanks to the French missionaries that the custom started and was very strong among the old Catholics. Even today the priest's name day is celebrated with some fanfare.

The Peace Weekly has an article in which a parish priest has made this a part of church life. He felt that it wasn't right just to have the priest's name day celebrated and ignore the many parishioners who also have a name date; so in the parish each first Sunday of the month was a day to remember those commemorating their name day during that month.

The parish would send out cards to all those whose name day would be celebrated during the month and invite them to attend the main Mass on Sunday. They would sit in the front seats and
receive communion under both species. At the end of Mass the priest would give each one a rose and a blessing. The choir would sing a song of congratulations.

There are always 30 roses that are prepared in the front of the altar for those that might attend.
In this parish the custom started right from the beginning of the the parish back in 2005. The invitations are sent out to all those who have a name day coming up during the month even if they are not coming out to church. The pastor mentions that there have been many who attending the name date ceremony have used that occasion to join the community after having left it years before.

The younger Catholics do not have the same attraction to their name day and it is with traditions like these that will see the custom of remembering your name day continue in the Church of Korea. It is a good custom because it is also a time to renew your acquaintance with your patron saint, meditate on his life and recall the mission that we were given at baptism.

The Tragedy We Face Daily In Christianity

On Monday the 18th we will begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Last year we celebrated the first hundred years of its inauguration. The Octave will conclude on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul on the 25th of January. The 'how' and 'when' of unity depends on God, the 'why ' we know, the desire and efforts depend on us.

Last year Cardinal Nicholas Cheong of Seoul said in celebrating the Octave: "I feel inexpressible happiness at this moment. Now we recognize each other as brothers and sisters, confessing the same Christ...We can have different clothes and different ways of worshipping our God. However, our God, whom we praise with one voice , and the Gospel cannot be separate."

The Church in Korea is taking Ecumenism seriously. The bishop in charge is showing great concern to work with others in getting rid of distrust and prejudice among Christians and to work together in witnessing to the Gospel. The bishop wants us to stress the positive and work together in the common mission we have from Christ, which is more important than all that separates us.

My feelings are that the bishops are more concerned in this area of ecumenism than are those in the parishes, priests and lay people. Last year the Korean Christian representatives had the responsibility of composing the prayers that were to be used during the Unity Octave throughout the Christian world.

At the end of last year the different Christian representatives, Protestant, Orthodox and Catholics went on a pilgrimage of unity. They had an audience with the Pope and shared their concerns with Cardinal Kasper, who is in charge of matters to do with ecumenism in the church.
From there they went to England and talked with the Anglicans, the Salvation Army and Methodists. The bishop said they learned a great deal but what was most important was the feeling they were relating with each other as brothers in Christ.

The whole area of ecumenicism is fraught with all kinds of difficulties and misunderstandings. It seems like an impossible dream. The problems within the different Christian communities are not just little squabbles but areas of great concern, life and death issues.This is probably the areas we will have to work with, if we are to see any progress in becoming one in a larger context.