"Good, Bad And the Ugly" All Can Be Graced

A Lenten meditation on the value of pain and suffering was the topic of a recent newsletter. An incident in the book by Jean Vanier
(Canadian Catholic philosopher, humanitarian and the founder of L'Arche) where a young girl had difficulty relating with her mother introduced the meditation. Daughter would always end up confronting her mother in anger, and the mother couldn't understand why mother and daughter had to relate with anger so she recommended therapy.They discovered that the girl had a great deal of pent up anger against her mother.


When the girl was 3 years old her brother was born and the poverty of the mother made her give the children to her sister. In the eyes of the girl the mother abandoned her, and hidden for 20 years was this unresolved resentment towards her mother. When she was able to face this bitterness, and understood her mother she was able to forgive and the relationship with the mother changed.


There are many who have a 'hole' inside of them that doesn't allow them to accept life as is. This affects everything they do. Unbeknown to the person there are scars below the surface that still ache, and they are not able to function properly in society until they are acknowledged and healed.


Another incident was about a young man who after graduating from school got a job in a construction company. All was well, he looked forward to a bright future until a car accident crippled him, and prevented him from continuing in the work. He was greatly depressed lost his desire to live, but during his time of recuperation his acquanitance with those more handicapped than himself turned his own life around to a point where he decided to work with the handicapped--satisfaction from his new life changed even his appearance.


St. Augustine tells us God brings good out of evil: "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist." During this season of Lent let us remember the words of Jeremiah: "I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their sorrows." Jesus did not pray that the disciple not suffer, but they be delivered from the evil that could come from suffering.


Lent is a time to realize some of the greatest positive changes come into our lives from failures and disappointments we experience, and not the successes. A great danger is to have these failures and disappointments permeate the present moment to such a degree that one continues to live in the past. Strange tho it sounds we can be thankful for the 'good the bad and the ugly' in our lives, for in God's providence they can be stepping stones to a life that we never expected, a life even more satisfying than the one we were hoping for. Lent is a time to see the possibilities of grace. The temptations are always there, but the trust we should have in God should be stronger than the temptations --the lesson of today's Gospel.

Another Sign of the Passing of the Old Korea

On a visit to one of the families in the mission station a few days ago the discussion turned to the genealogical records of the family.The grandfather brought me the register of the clan, a record of the family going back into the past for hundreds of years. This register, rather expensive, is republished every thirty years or so with new additions. The old Koreans are proud of their family history, and all that it means for family and country-- a precious heirloom.

The grandfather talking about his own family made it clear that because of globalization and intermarriage with foreigners elements of Korean history are disappearing. The young Koreans are not interested in old Korea, so it will not be long before genealogical records are a foot note of history. All this he said with a very matter of fact tone of voice, little emotion.

The feeling of older Koreans for the ancestors is not only with words, they have records they can check, names, achievements of the ancestors which makes for a family spirit that is difficult to appreciate for a non-Korean. When they have the rites for the ancestors they not only remember ancestors, but have names and locations on the map that give life to the past. This gives meaning to the rites they perform at least twice a year.

Attachment to their family history is a sign of their love of country along with the love for ancestors. They meet regularly with members of the clan to discuss their relationship and what has happened since their last meeting. They add new names to the lists, and although women did not appear in the registers in the past the names of female family often appeared now.

Not having any real knowledge of what is entailed in these histories my understanding would be that those who have nobility of some sort in their pedigree would have a register. There are over 250 surnames, and each surname may have many different clans depending from what part of Korea the first ancestors lived. To have a register means that you have a known pedigree. In the old days this register would be extremely important for you were not to marry a member of your own clan, and many would like to check the pedigree of the new possible family member. This has only changed in recent years, and it shows the importance of these family records in Korean history. The pedigree in many cases is now determined by something much more concrete and visual.

Many of the more traditional Koreans see this lack of interest in genealogical records as a slippery sloop to democratization of all Korean life. For many it is painful to see the love of the culture, love of language and their history eroding. Reaction of the children to their own history is easily seen by the elders. Globalization and the multiculturalism of modern times is destroying the homogeneity of the once proud Korean Culture. Efforts will be made to keep the good and minimize the bad, but the direction in which Korean society has started to move will not be derailed, and the young Koreans are the harbingers of this new world.

Not Able To Hear The Small Voice Within

Many hear the call of the wilderness, the call of silence. Mother Teresa of Calcutta affirmed: "We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature--trees, flowers, grass--grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.... We need silence to be able to touch souls." These thoughts are not unique to Christianity, but known by different cultures and religions; the response of many, " it didn't work, I tried it."

A woman writing for the The Catholic Times answered that call for silence. She rented a house of a friend; left the noisy city of Seoul, and went to the country for some peace and quiet. On arriving she felt like a camel seeing an oasis in the desert. The mind was relaxed and all was well.

That evening the silence was so pronounced she could not sleep. She turned on a music radio station, and finally went to sleep the following morning with the chirping of the birds. She left the city for peace and silence of the country, and was forced to return to the noise of the city. She changed the location but she wasn't able to leave the noise and 'give and take' of city life. It was her addiction.

She remembered, at a younger age, walking at night under a full moon enjoying the quiet peace. At the ocean she would sit on a rock overlooking the great expanse, and for hours be lost in deep silence. What happened to that independence she once enjoyed?

Imperceptibly she had become addicted to the noisy city life. She was caught in the grip of technological advances in communication: she walked with a receiver in her ear; she needed her hand phone to feel at home and if forgotten felt restless; she had to find the latest news on the Internet. Her eyes and ears where always tuned to something outside of herself. She no longer had time for her inner life.

For Christians the problem with this addiction is we no longer have the silence in our hearts that enables us to hear the whisperings of God. We are turned on to what is outside of us; we don't have time to turn within. Bombarded with all kinds of sounds we miss the " tiny whispering sound" that gives life and joy.

Nothing Is Small With Matters Of The Heart

How to address God among Korean Christians is an area where we do not agree. The Protestants want to use the word Hananim "God who is One" (하나님), the Catholics and Anglicans prefer the Haneunim "God of Heaven"(하느님). Protestants think the word "God of Heaven" would not make clear the monotheistic position of Christianity-- the one and only God.


In 1971 the Scholars on both sides translated the Bible from the original languages in a common translation. They decided to use the Korean word "Haneunim". The majority of the Protestants did not like the choice, so the Common Bible was used mostly by Catholics until the Catholics decided to translate their own Bible. Not only doctrinal points separate the Protestants from the Catholics but even how to address God has the possibility of dividing Christianity.


Catholics did have problems with the lay out of the Bible because there was a section which was called the deuterocanonical (books in the Septuagint Greek Old Testament--but not in the Hebrew). The Jews in Egypt translated the Scriptures into Greek before the time of Christ. This is called the Septuagint, the book the early Christians used. The New Testament is the same for Catholics and Protestants,but the Catholics accept all the books in the Septuagint and the Protestants decided to accept what the Jewish leaders declared to be their official canon of Scripture after the destruction of the Jewish Temple. This eliminated seven books of the Septuagint: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch and 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and parts of Esther and Daniel.

Catholics and Protestants working together to publish a Korean Bible both groups could accept was a great ecumenical step. A sign of what was possible and gave hope for more progress in this area, but it was not to be. The translation was from the Hebrew Masorectic Text and the name chosen for God was just too much for the majority of the Protestants to accept. It does indicate how difficult rapprochement is despite efforts being made by both sides to overcome the difficulties.

Lenten Sacrifice Transferred to Daily Life

Today Korean Catholics, like all Catholics throughout the world, receive ashes on the head and begin the period of preparation for Easter. The 40 year journey and trials of the Israelites in the desert are a good remembrance for our journey in the desert of earthly life. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert and we do the same with this period of Lent.

The trials of the Israelites in the desert were difficult and the temptations they encountered were too much for them. They doubted , complained, got angry, and wanted to return to Egypt. Jesus showed a different kind of response in the desert. In our journey of life we meet many temptations and obstacles; most of the time we react in the way of the Israelites and not Jesus.

What has happened to the earth that God gave us is a serious obstacle in developing a future that will benefit all of human kind. We are faced with pollution, destruction of the environment, social injustice, rampant consumerism, indiscriminate application of technology, violence etc.--"the planet is in urgent need of caring stewardship." (Pope Benedict)

Although the methods may be different we know that we have a responsibility to future generations and do not want to mortgage that future by our present desire for the good life. Sacrifice has always been a big part of Lent and the responsibility we have for the earth should be accepted as a sacrifice for those that will be coming after us, a sacrifice that continues.

Maryknoll's "Twelfth General Chapter recognizes the world wide ecological crisis and encourages all the members of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers to reflect on how to integrate into our personal lives, our ministries and our Society, the proper stewardship and care for the earth."

In the Catholic Times a journalist gives her plans for this Lent. It is going to require "joy in uncomfortableness," she writes and lists her resolutions for being a good steward.

1) Not to use her car but public transportation going to and coming from work.

2) Not to use one-time only products, instant and fast food .

3) Use detergents that are environmentally friendly.

4) Be careful in the use of water.

5) Not to buy take-out beverages but drink traditional brews.

6) To use alternate sanitary napkins.

7) To help the people of Haiti and get involved with opposition to the 4 river proposal in Korea.

A simpler life style is the direction that the world has to accept. The only way our words will mean anything is when we walk the talk. There have always been those who have made it a point to live simply but this is now a way of life that should not be only for Lent and the enlightened, but for all. To merely send some of our money to those in need, important as it is, is not the only and the most important way of helping those who are now the greater part of human kind

Bowing for Health of Body, Mind and Spirit

From early age Koreans are taught to bow. Children at their parents prompting are told to greet the guest with a formal body bow a 'saebae'-- bow shown on the left, given during the beginning of the New Year. There are different bows for different occasions, bows given with different meanings, bows by women and by men. The meaning of the bow is determined mostly by the degree of the head moving down to the waist the most formal being the one on the floor, the whole body bow. All the bows of what ever kind show respect for the other and are the traditional Korean greeting similar to our handshake.

My first assignments in Korea I saved my handshaking for foreigners and took to bowing. However, gradually I began to notice that the handshake was more common among Koreans than the bowing, so I also switched to handshaking. Last year because of the flu scare we decided to bow, but at present we are back to the shaking hands again. On many occasions the handshaking accompanies the bow.

Bows can be just a lowering of the head towards the person greeted, you may bow more formally by lowering the body to the waist or the most formal bow where one gets on his knees and gives the body bow. One priest mentioned giving a retreat in which he recommended that those making the retreat give body bows each morning to the 103 Korean Saints. The retreat master was told a year later that the improvement in health of the members of the community was extraordinary.

The priest has written an interesting article telling the reader of the benefits of bowing--the formal bow that you do on your knees with the head on your hands. The craze in Korea at present is for 'well being', yoga, deep breathing, aerobics etc.. For health of both body and mind there is nothing that can compare with bowing, it doesn't cost anything, can be done anywhere anytime in the privacy of your own home was the priests strongly worded advice.

In his own house the priest mentioned there is a draft because he is using the ondol (heated floor). When the draft is too much for him he will get down on the floor and do some bows and then returns to his work when his body feels comfortable. He is able with the bow to overcome the cold, digestion is helped, the nape of the neck becomes soft, the whole body because light. This is not all, the mind is rested and the body regains strength. When you are bowing this way daily and have your head touching the floor you get rid of selfish thoughts, and the poison of pride vanishes.

There are many ideas on how to maintain health of body and mind. This recommendation was another to add to all the others that I have received over the years. This suggestion somewhat different from all the others doesn't cost anything, and it works on the principle that what your body does often influences the spirit. In this case with your head resting on the floor the hubris of life takes on a completely different meaning.

Influence of American Christianity on Korea

As a country the United States was just a few years older than the beginning of Catholicism in Korea. Catholicism started without missionaries, but later received the help from the French Church; some 100 years later, Americans brought Protestantism to Korea. The interest that Korea has today for the States and the reason for the large number of Koreans residing and studying in the States can be attributed partly to Protestantism.

The Schools and hospitals the Protestants built enabled them to have a great influence in Korea of the past hundred years. Catholics were here a hundred years before but because of the persecution did little but hide and try to maintain their identity. Consequently the relationship the Korean Protestants have with American is much closer than the relationship Catholicisms has with America. However, as American missioners in Korea, the news of State-side Catholicism in our papers is of great interest.

Maryknollers are sent to Korea by the American Catholic Church; there is a desire to hear good things of the American Catholic Church, however, clerical sex scandals, problems between "conservative "and "liberals", and Catholics in headlines advocating positions contrary to Catholic teaching do make the Korean papers and media and are depressing.

An article, I read, mentioned that there was a survey made in an American Catholic College, on the people the students reverenced the most; the persons listed were: Lincoln, Schweitzer, Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Socrates--the name of Jesus came after these on the list.

The writer possibly understood that all the students were Christian which is far from the case in any Catholic College, but to have Jesus mentioned way down on the list was a shock to the writer and also to me. This apathy towards religion is also part of the Korean reality but not as obvious.

The writer mentioned that even in Scripture study when he asks for a favorite quote, few are able to give an answer. It does make one wonder how successful we are in answering the question that Jesus gave his disciples: "Who do you say that I am?" The question is an important one for any Christian, and takes time to give an answer that comes from the heart and not the head. When it is only the head and not the heart the faith life will be weak and lack enthusiasm.

Protestantism has about 18% of the population while the Catholics number about 10%. The knowledge each would have of their faith would probably be similar but the Catholics are required to go to a period of study before being baptized while the Protestants are less demanding of the study and stress the way of life more than the Catholics in the beginning. The part Christianity will play in the Korea of the future will depend on the maturity and depth of spirituality -- the catalyst that will also bring Protestants and Catholics closer together.