Need to Empty our 'Mental Inboxes'

The Catholic newspaper had an article recently with many provocative thoughts. Some years ago the writer, as a newbie to the computer world, was having a problem using the internet. He was preparing to send an important e-mail, and after working all night sent it out, as promised, but it was returned. He sent it out a number of times without success and finally went to another religious who knew computers. There might not be a problem with the computer, he was told. It could be a problem with the receiver’s inbox; it could be filled and not accepting any more emails. He was surprised to hear of such an easy resolution to his problem.

He called the addressee of the e-mail to tell him very confidently that his filled inbox was the reason he was not receiving the email. The person had no problem accepting what he had to say, and an hour later called to say the inbox was empty.

He again sent the e-mail and this time the computer told him his e-mail went to its destination. He laughed to see how easy the problem had been solved.

The writer thinks that is what happens to many of us in many other areas of life. We are not able to hear what is spoken because we have too many things in our own mental inbox--worries, self consciousness, pride, scars not healed. Our inbox is stacked with a lot of spam; of no use to us and taking up a lot of space.

To have someone there to help makes the problems we have solvable. Having moral support enables us to search for answers that otherwise would not seem possible for us. There are times, however, when we are not interested in hearing what others have to say; it is not to our advantage so we find ways not to hear. If one chooses this way of relating there is little that we can do--it is their choice.

It is not an easy task to empty what we have placed in our minds and hearts over the years. If there is garbage there, we need to get rid of it and allow the mind and heart to fill with the goodness of life. Nature hates a vacuum and so does our mental and spiritual faculties; just getting rid of the garbage does not solve the problem. We have to fill it with the good, once we get rid of what doesn't belong, or else the second stage may be worse than the first (Luke 11:26).

Treating Others as Scapegoats

"Parents," we often hear, "are made to worry about their children." And it matters little how old the children are, or if they have left home to start their own families. And now, in addition to the usual parental worries, those studying overseas are increasingly facing harassment and even worse difficulties.

Writing in the Catholic Times, a mother recently wrote very enthusiastically about her daughter who had just graduated from college here in Korea. In her next column, she mentioned having second thoughts on how she had expressed herself in her previous column, after reading with great sadness of another parent whose article was in the following week's newspaper. They had lost a son in Russia, who was there as an exchange student. He was killed by a gang of young Russian nationalists simply for being a foreigner.

This was not the first time. Since 2005, six Koreans have been attacked. It may not be against the Koreans as Koreans but against non-whites. With robbery not a motive, the killings have been described as hate crimes. Very likely it may be hostility against the Chinese, who in great numbers are in Russia for work that is more lucrative than in China but also the kind of work most Russians are not interested in--dirty, dangerous and difficult work.

The writer mentions traveling to Russia and staying in a private home where a friend of the family showed the guests a loaded gun that was given to his brother by a famous Russian gang member. He was told to leave by the mother of the house who explained to the guests that resorting to violence is a typical reaction of many Russian youths who are looking for jobs.

The writer goes on to say that the hostility toward non-white visitors to Russia is the scapegoating of foreigners to relieve the frustrations of the Russian youth who feel marginalized in the workplace by the influx of foreigners.

She ends the column by lamenting that our own foreign guests who are here to work also suffer at the hands of Koreans. The Korean culture does not allow for the kind of violent treatment of foreigners seen in Russia, but foreign workers here are sometimes treated cruelly and with discrimination and often without any qualms of conscience. Are we not, she says, treating them as we are being treated in Russia--as scapegoats?

"To Have a Heart Like the Koreans"

Every year in June our Maryknoll Jubilarians are invited back to Maryknoll, New York, for the celebration of their ordination anniversary. This year we will have four celebrating 50 years of priesthood. They all arrived here in Korea in 1960, and all are still here. Three are retired but active and one is the local superior Fr. Gerard Hammond.

In an interview with the Peace Weekly, Fr. Hammond expressed his thoughts on his 50 years of life in Korea. His wish is to have a chance to return to Pyongyang Diocese some day but until then, he prays with the church of South Korea for our brothers and sisters in the North.

The Pyongyang apostolic prefecture was given to Maryknoll in 1927 where the Maryknoll priests had been working since 1923. It was up until that time a part of the Seoul Diocese, and even today there are Maryknollers desiring to return to the diocese that the older missioners were forced to leave.

Maryknoll, at one time, had 96 missioners working in South Korea; today there are only 18. Fr. Hammond feels there is still work that missioners can do in Korea, and he has found work that he can do himself that will help the North Koreans. Starting in 1996 he has been to North Korea about 30 times to help the alienated and those who are suffering from tuberculosis. He works with the Eugene Bell Foundation helping to eradicate TB from that country. In Pyongyang, they bring medicines and equipment to about 40 hospitals, and he will be returning on May 15th for 10 days if given permission. The total amount of financial help Maryknoll and retired Maryknollers and sponsors are able to give each year to the North is $200,000.

Although few in numbers, Maryknollers in Korea are all involved in contributing to the welfare of both Church and society: some are helping by hearing the confessions at the Maryknoll House of those priests and religious who visit the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea. Some are working with the elderly or with the mentally handicapped, giving spiritual direction in a seminary, filling the ongoing need for a mission station presence, retreats, leading partnership programs and working in China--among countless other concerns that develop each day in a missioner's life. And this does not exclude those who are retired; they are still, in their own way, very much involved in the work of mission.

Fr.Hammond recalled the time when he was assigned to the Cheong Ju Diocese in 1960. He was the assistant to Bishop Tji Hak Soon , who later became the bishop of Wonju Diocese, the only bishop who spent time in prison because of the totalitarian government at that time. His teaching for the young missioner, and he has never forgotten it, was that two qualities are necessary for a missioner to Korea: patience and understanding; both being prerequisites to understanding Korean customs and culture, to seeing the Korean way of doing things. Without that attempt, Fr. Hammond says, you cannot be a missioner. Everyday when he gets up, he reminds himself that "today I have to have a heart like the Koreans."

What Does the Virtue of Prudence Mean?

Prudence is one of the four cardinal virtues, and it can make us cowards. Too much prudence and we do nothing, too little and we can act unwisely. We have no doubt thought it prudent not to speak out when it was necessary to speak out, and been proactive when probably working silently behind the scene would have been a wiser decision.

Korea has been a country where Christians are still not united on how to act and speak when there are injustices in society. Some feel that Christians should stay out of these matters and spend their time in prayer and doing good. Others feel it is part of our discipleship to be concerned with society and speak out against injustice. A columnist in the Korea Times this week brings the topic to our attention and makes it clear that Christianity cannot be separated from life.

From the time of the Japanese occupation, we have had religious leaders who were handmaids of the power elite, giving government solace. This also continued under the years of dictatorship in Korea when some supported and spoke for the government and used their religion to benefit themselves.

The writer stresses that when one sees injustices in society, it is the duty of the Christian to speak out and resist. If we do not, we are acting cowardly.

For Catholics, this advice to take an active role in society was made very clear from the pronouncements of Vatican II. And yet there are many Catholics who are not concerned about what is going on in society. For some, a Catholic is one who goes to Mass, prays and does good. The writer feels that one of the great weaknesses of religious people is insensitivity to what is going on in society. This is both a tragedy for society and an embarrassment to individual Catholics. We have eyes and do not see, and ears and do not here. With this attitude how can we be the light and salt that Christ wants us to be?

We can't separate religion from the religious person. Fortunately, Catholics are beginning to see this as a duty. Why else do we pray and why do we evangelize but to see this become a reality in our lives? The Church in Korea is making an effort to educate Catholics for our role in society. Looking up to heaven and asking God to get involved is not enough. We need to look around us here on earth and participate in the work that God gave us to do.

The Place of Mary in Korean Catholicism

In Korea, in the eyes of many, the Catholic Church is known as Mary's Church. The Protestant Church would be Jesus' Church. The reason for this is not difficult to understand since we see statues of Mary in front of Catholic Churches and in many Catholic homes. There is a great love for Mary among the Catholics of Korea.

This is the month of Mary, and we will have many events showing our love and respect for Mary during the month. The assistant bishop in Seoul has an article in the Peace Weekly explaining the reasons why Catholics honor our Blessed Mother. He points out that Catholics make distinctions when using the words "worship," "honor" and "veneration." For Catholics this is not a problem but the bishop does admit that there are excesses. The distinctions that Catholics make on this issue are difficult for Protestants to appreciate; they find the differences hard to grasp. The abuse, however, should not diminish the traditional honor that Catholics have given Mary from the time of the Fathers of the Church.

In our teaching, we make it clear that we are asking Mary and the Saints to pray for us. We are not praying to Mary but with Mary to God.

The 5 reasons the bishop gives for honoring Mary:

1) Christians, from the time of the founding of the Church, have loved the Blessed Mother. In theological language this is the Sensus fidelium (sense of the faithful)-- the feelings Catholics have towards our Blessed Mother. We have theological reasons for honoring Mary, both intellectually and from tradition, but the feelings of Christians are also important for it is something that God would want.

2) Mary is the mother of Jesus, the one we love and respect more than anybody, so it is natural for us to honor his mother.

3) She is of all holy places the holiest because her womb was Jesus' home for 9 months, and he lived with her for 30 years.

4) She is the example of what a follower of Jesus should be; no one has carried the cross that Mary had to carry. (This is the reason we consider her the disciple among disciples.)

5) The honor of Mary is taught by the Scriptures.

There are many Protestants who have a great deal of respect for the Blessed Mother but in Korea you do not hear much talk in Protestant circles of the role of Mary in our Lord's life. In the past you would hear the word Gi- Dok-Gyo, meaning Protestant in opposition to Catholic; Chun-Ju-Gyo would be our designation. However, this is no longer the case; Catholics have taken it upon themselves to make it clear that we are all Gi-Dok-Gyos-- Christians who believe in Jesus. This was probably part of the reason many thought that Catholics were not Christian. That thinking has, for the most part, disappeared.

How Much of This Speaks to Us?

Buildings are taller but our personalities lackluster.
Turnpikes are wider, our visual fields narrower.
Buying more goods, our consumption is greater
While our enjoyment is less.

Building bigger houses, the home is forgotten.
Having more conveniences, we have less time for ourselves.
More schooling but less common sense,
Information increases, judgment ceases.

Where specialists abound, more problems are found,
More medicines are given and less health.
Using things without thinking and laughing a lot less,
We drive ourselves too fast, impetuously causing disasters.

We have multiplied our possessions,
Only to find they are worth less than we thought.
We have created more words,
Only to find it easier to lie, and less easy to love.

We've learned how to earn a living but forgotten how to live.
Increased the years for living but lost the meaning of living.
Have travelled all the way to the moon, and back,

But find it difficult crossing the street to meet our neighbors.

We may have conquered outer space
But are losing our inner life.

We have instruments to clean the air
But few to scrub our spirits clean.

We break the atom to harness its energy

But hardly notice that breaking our prejudices
Would harvest a world of good will.
Good intentions waver as temptations enslave us.

We are taller in stature, but dignity has withered.
Searching for more profits our relationships have suffered.
Anxious for more leisure time,

Peace of mind escapes us.

There's more and faster transportation,

More disposables, more advertising, more of everything

We think we need, while our consciences

Get duller and happiness harder to experience.

This was an e-mail I received recently and freely translated. Filled with pessimism, it may speak to many of our Koreans and others. Our ancestors probably saw life in the same way. The optimist and the pessimist exist in each of us. The Koreans, because of their history, may be more on the side of the pessimist. But there will always be the question, who is more realistic: the optimist or the pessimist? For our health it is always better to see the brighter side than the darker, and for a Christian, we can be guided, among many other teachings, by advice from scripture: "I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life,then, that you and your descendents may live..." (Deut. 30:19). Basking in the sun gives you the strength to withstand the darkness when it comes.

Another Problem for the Korean Farmers

Farmers in Korea have a difficult time making a profit in the best of times, but when something unexpected happens, such as a farm epidemic, it becomes even more difficult. In the beginning of the month, there was an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease here in Gangwha Gun, which resulted in the slaughter of many cows and pigs.

I slept over night in a Gangwha Gun parish a few days ago and the pastor mentioned how disappointed the farmers are. The head of the parish council in a nearby parish had to kill all his animals. The government does compensate, but does not cover the total loss to the farmers, and there is constant wrangling over what they should be getting.

The pastor in Gangwha Gun does not want to enter the farming area for fear that he may be a carrier. The farmers are also not happy to have visitors. Cars are sprayed, and even before entering Church we are given antiseptic foot pads to disinfect our shoes.

Foot-and-mouth disease is not a problem everywhere in Gangwha, but for those raising animals it is a very trying time. The virus is not a problem for humans, although we can be carriers. The disease has already spread to other parts of Korea and concern is growing that it will become a national problem.

Land for farming is limited in Korea so the overcrowding necessary to raise the animals in a confined area does not help in controlling the epidemic. Though the use of antibiotics is high in Korea, the government has banned the use of seven antibiotics in animal feed, and there is a movement to eliminate entirely the use of antibiotics in the raising of animals. The Koreans are very conscious of the quality of the foods they will eat. Good publicity for a particular food insures it will sell, and when there is negative reporting the demand disappears.

Just recently we have seen a change when our community gathers to eat. The beverage of choice for the men had been Soju, but about a month ago there was a change to makkoli--rice wine. A wise decision by the men to help the economy by using some of the rice that is otherwise not being used.

The efforts that are made to help the farmers are many. The nation knows the importance of the farming sector of the society and wants to promote it. Subsidies to the farmers are offered to encourage them to enter other areas of farming besides rice. The foot-and- mouth epidemic is very expensive for both the government and the farmers and a cause of great concern. But the biggest concern may be the hopelessness that comes when the farmers feel powerless to control a frightening situation. It is this destructive effect on the morale of those who work raising livestock that has to be acknowledged and overcome.