Life Does Not Stop at 60

The Church is blessed to have many movements that energize the Church and the Christians. Life Ascending International is one of these movements opened to all Christians. The movement was introduced to Korea in 2003, and recently had a general meeting in Seoul publicized by the Catholic papers. This should help the movement grow. L.A.I Korea, is affiliated with the International Head Quarters in France. A movement to deepen awareness of God, create and enjoy lasting friendships and to share wisdom and concern for others-- Spirituality, Friendship and Mission.

The movement began in France with a group of elderly Christians with the support of the Bishop of Paris and French Catholic Action. After the association moved to Rome it spread to every continent. In 1996 it was recognized by the Church as an international association of the faithful of pontifical right.

The movement sees our lives divided into four stages: first, youthful years from the time you are a child to marriage and work, the second from marriage to retirement, the third from retirement to the time we become dependent on others, and the last stage is dependence on others.

The international spiritual director of the movement talked about Spirituality and happiness at the recent general meeting in Seoul. Old Age is a gift of God; how do I use these years that I have been given in a profitable way? He talked about thinking too much of what ails us, and not enough about what we have and can do.

The members are trying to live a life according to the Gospels. It is called the Ascending life because it is life that is growing, ascending. We continue to grow in the third stage. There is no limit to experience and human maturity. It is not a life ascending to heaven, but rather, life growing here and now towards a human and Christian fullness.

St. Paul in 2nd Corinthians puts it very beautifully when he says: "That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day. "

What Is True Beauty?

In one of the Chinese classics you have the story of a student, traveling at night, overcome with a great thirst. He picked up a gourd filled with water and drank with great pleasure. The next morning that refreshment turned into nausea, when he saw that the water container was part of a skeleton.

We know that our thoughts and emotions ,when not controlled, give us much pain, but to actualize this in our lives is a big step. To gain composure, peace and joy in life does not depend on exterior things, but what we have done with them in our interior life. A woman professor at the Catholic University makes us face again the problems of cosmetic surgery in our society, and how this craze for manipulated beauty is hurting both us and the country.

The number of deaths, and the after-effects of this surgery brought to our attention in the news, do little to stop the swarm of men and women frequenting cosmetic hospitals. Her article in the Peace Weekly was an honest, refreshing look at a serious problem we have in Korea.

It starts with harmless cosmetics, dying of the hair, removing skin spots and moves on to cosmetic surgery. There is no interest in seeing why we are alienated from ourselves. Will power, no longer part of whom we are, has little to do with our actions. What is important is the flow in society-- what is in fashion.

Our bodies have become commodities and tools; given to others to package in a way that will be attractive. Standardization of beauty and the art of packaging is what we are becoming adept at, searching for what we are not. The price that one pays for this beautification is not seen; not rarely, we have persons becoming addicted to the process.

The professor gives great blame for the situation to the media. It does little to show the dangers of this surgery, no movement to enlighten the public, complicit in the making our bodies instruments and overly absorbed with packaging.

Both women and men should not stop at the exterior but get in touch with the inner person and see the maturity and beauty that is there; try to know the person in depth: accepting the dignity of all, as they are, is the only way we will get a society that is mature and equal.

The article was another one in the series that have to do with the culture of life. It is an area of life that we often restrict to the most important areas: abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty. However, they all are in some way intertwined with one another. The life of the spirit is what is going to determine how we act, and what we think ; when the inner life is 'a free for all' we will have the problems that torment many in society.

Russian Orthodox Want a Church in Seoul

In recent months the Russian Embassy has asked for a piece of land to build a Church in Seoul; a request written up in recent Korean newspapers. The relationship of the Russian Government to the Russian Orthodox Church is intimate. There aren't many democratic countries that would ask a foreign government to help build a Church. A ministry official said, if Russia insists, it could be a drawback for Korea-Russia relations, which will mark its 20th anniversary next year.

The Russian Orthodox Church in Korea has a very turbulent history. The first Church was constructed in the central area of Seoul and was named in honor of St. Nicholas. It was built with a gift from the emperor, and destroyed during the Korean War. The Russian government has on a number of occasions asked the Korean Government for land to build a church in the capital city--they have one in north Korea built in Pyongyang in 2006.

The spot that Russia has in mind is the former Russian legation, where Emperor Gojong(1852-1919) took refuge for one year to escape the Japanese who were planning to assassinate him. The place is now designated as one of the nation's Historic Sites.

Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia. There's no Russian Orthodox Church currently open in Korea, and Russian residents in Seoul have to go to another part of the city where they use the Greek Orthodox Church for the liturgy.

The initial request was made by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II during President Lee Myung-bak's visit to Russia in September of 2008. President Lee is known to have said he'd consider it.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade followed up on the request by asking the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism if they would agree to the proposal - both rejected it."Fundamentally, the request is against the Korean Constitution that states the separation of church and state," said an official at the ministry and added it isn't in line with religious parity.

The Catholic Church of Korea does not have a close relationship with the Russian Orthodox because of their sporadic presence in Korea. However, the climate between Rome and Moscow is probably the closest it has been in centuries. It would be a nice gesture if the Catholic Church could facilitate this acquiring of property in Seoul, but it is an issue with many problems.

The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church met on December 3 with Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux. Welcoming the delegation His Holiness Kirill stressed the importance of dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church. He recalled that both in Russia and France, Christians had to go through severe hardships caused by revolutionary events and attempts to build the life of society without God. "Today we encounter the challenges of secularism. It is necessary to meet them together, basing ourselves on historical experience," he said.

We do not know when nor where nor even if there is going to be an Orthodox Church built with the help of the Korean Government, but there will be an Orthodox Church some day in Seoul, and the Korean Catholic Church will be welcoming of their presence.

Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Fight in Korea

Up until recent months abortion as a social issue in Korea was ignored by the general public. It was illegal except for rape, incest, mother's health, hereditary or contagious disease. Today's daily paper reported the incident in which a group of gynecologist have begun criminal proceedings against three obstetricians: a fight between the pro-life and the pro-choice forces in the land of the morning calm.

About 600 young doctors in their 30s and 40s have resolved not to conduct any abortions not based on medical reasons, and to indict any doctors that are performing illegal abortions. These young doctors are said to be only 20% of the total, but since they are young, they do have a following, and time will tell if what they are beginning will be a ripple or a tsunami.

Some of the pro-life doctors consider Korea the abortion capital of the world, and want to change this image. Most of the abortions are performed for social or economic reasons and are illegal. The country did not want to see the gap between law and reality."We doctors, judicial authorities and the Health Ministry all have committed a grave error for a long time. That's why the uncomfortable truth has never been revealed," said Choi Anna the spoke person for the group of pro-life doctors.

Now that the issue is before the people there will be a great deal of infighting. The majority of the gynecologist are against what they consider a radical group of doctors. The money is made with abortions and not with births which are few. Not only the majority of the doctors, but many of the women's groups have made a public statement that the proceedings against gynecologists are against urgency and needs of women. It does not respect the right that a woman has over her body and her freedom-- a movement against a women's human rights.

Abortion in Korea was never an issue people felt deeply about, as in the States. Korean society sympathized with abortion, and no one saw a need to have a pro-abortion movement. The leaders of the pro-life forces in Korea make clear that there movement has nothing to do with religion. They are gynecologists and their work is to bring life into the world.

The efforts to eradicate abortion, by pro-life doctors, are cheered on by the Catholic Church of Korea. The Public debate will now begin in earnest, and in time we will see where the hearts of our Korean people rest. The vocabulary used by the pro-choice groups did not resonate with the Koreans of the past; the pro-choice ideas afloat are not Korean traditional views , but imports from the West, accepted by most of the young Koreans.

Christianity and Market Principles

In continuation of yesterday's blog the writer mentions that humanity has two desires: one for material goods and the other for health. In the world in which we live money is the yardstick by which we measure everything. Our position in life is governed by money; we can, after a fashion, buy health and extend life with money. All we do, even our faces are determined by our efforts to attain material goods. This is all very natural, but to what degree do we have to acquiesce to it?

Humanity is in search of material things for happiness. Not only for food, clothes and shelter but for better food, better clothes and a better house in which to live. We seek to satisfy our desires; to make a profit we try to maximize everything we do; the virtues of this enterprise are competition, efficiency and rationality-- words fitting the economic man.

The Christian is one who is diametrically opposed to this way of looking at life. It is not the amassing of goods but ridding oneself of goods that brings happiness and prosperity. Christians believe true prosperity does not come from our strength, but is a gift of grace.


There is no other people like Koreans that work so hard for development and growth. We live in a society in which financial value and financial growth is the greatest earthly virtue.

The Church does stress that quality of life is important; working for the common good and not the free market is what is important. Spiritual growth will bring us happiness is the constant message of the Church. However, in the jungle in which we live, does this have any drawing power for those that hear the message? Is the Church's job only to make this message known; or to live the very life that it preaches?

Secularists said religion would disappear, but what has happened is that it has thrived and is growing. The churches have picked up the capitalistic know-how, and have used it to advance the cause of religion. To draw people to the churches they are using efficient and very competitive means. The churches are imitating the business world. Religious people are polishing their products to fit the wants of the consumers. They are emphasising a spiritual product but selling it in a material way. Christianity has become a big business--Christianity Incorporated.

We are told that what is small does not last long. Only what is big will last. More than the values of the Gospel are we trying to increase the numbers at the expense of the Gospel? Has our own Catholic Church been assimilated into using the principles of the market? Is the Catholic Church using these principles of the market to compete with the other churches and trying to be more efficient in raising the numbers of our Christians? It isn't that we are only interested in the increase of numbers is it?

Christian Examination of World Economics

"Some would like to see Christianity devote all its energy to spiritual matters and stay out of the economic picture entirely." In a recent issue of the Kyunghyang Magazine, a Korea Catholic priest, with a doctorate in economics, presents a number of reasons why the Church should take an interest in world economics: Finances manipulate the world and all of our lives; economics and its power moves the world, buying a good education, assuring better health care; getting respect and the envy of others. In short, many doors to wealth, honors and a good life are often dependent on how successful we have become in manipulating money." (Second segment treated tomorrow.)


The priest lists four ways in which the Scriptures regard money: 1) Poverty is a challenge to the believer; 2) money is a problem for the community; 3) God is asking for justice; 4) the power of money blinds us to the plight of the poor-- the ever present danger of making money our idol.

There are three different theological approaches dealing with economics:

The first viewpoint considers morality as the starting point for economics. The development of economics from the earliest days was based on virtue. "The separation of morality from economics is the problem in our day;" are the words of a Nobel prize winning economist.

The second approach is to expose the the fallacy of those that are approaching economics from an ideological basis, and to show that economics is not a value neutral science. There is a hidden theology as the basis of many economic theories. A Korean theologian in Brazil says in some economic theory there is a borrowing and a distortion of the Christian message: the reason for sin is poverty and the eradication of poverty will bring heaven here on earth.

The third group, which includes Pope Benedict, want to see a small scale networked economy.
"...not only that traditional principles of social ethics like transparency, honesty and responsibility cannot be ignored or attenuated, but also that in commercial relationships the principle of gratuitousness and the logic of gift as an expression of fraternity can and must find their place within normal economic activity. This is a human demand at the present time, but it is also demanded by economic logic. It is a demand both of charity and of truth."(Caritas in Veritate #36)

In Korea we see the effects of a mismanaged economic system, evident also in other parts of the world: not able to find work, forced retirement, gap between rich and poor getting larger, factories going overseas, more people making money with money, discouragement of farmers etc.. This will get many thinking of a better way to manage the world of economics.

Pornography Destroying All That Is Sacred

Pornography is a part of the world in which we live, the price you pay for living in an advanced country, and by some not considered something bad. True. Eradication of the scourge is not possible, but there is little doubt that it is a cause of great harm to all societies; Korea is no exception.

Koreans have a basic feel that pornography is bad. Their traditional views on sex, their respect for motherhood, and all that it means, however, are not strong enough to keep them from pornography. The most populated country with the largest tie up with the Internet , Korean cybersex is readily available and rampant.

It is no longer necessary to be embarrassed or make much effort to see pornography; all that is necessary is to sit before your Internet screen. Those who frequent this world of cybersex are not only men but women, young and old; breaking away from porn, once habituated, is more difficult than giving up drugs.

The press has not waged war against this enemy of the family nor has the Catholic Church of Korea made it an important part of its interests, but it is a big part of the culture of death. A recent article in the Peace Weekly sees this as an area the Church has to enter, for this disease not only infects us, our families, our children's lives, but also destroys the life of the Church.

In one diocese in the States, mentioned in the paper, 10% of those who faithfully attend Mass are addicted to pornography. This disease will cause us to always look for another level of intensity to satisfy our sexual desire. Pornography is a reason for the number of sexual crimes, the breaking up of families, the problems with elementary school children, and the cheapening, and destroying the beauty of married love: sex, seen only as a tool to satisfy one's sexual desire, disregards the essential component of sexuality.

The Peace Weekly tells us that when we have the urge to see pornography let us remember that the woman involved is some one's daughter and possibly one of our sisters. Let us remember the love that we must have for all those involved in this world of pornography. This motivation, in itself, should be reason enough to say no to this horrible scourge in our societies.