True Leisure is Not Easily Found

This is vacation time, and many will be thinking of going to the beach or the mountains with family for rest and renewal. To work well we need time to rest well, which is most easily done in a mutually satisfying relationship that sustains and benefits both activities.

A priest from the Taejon Diocese gives us some Scriptural verses that help us to see the importance of rest.

In Genesis 2:2-3, God rested. Genesis 18:1-5, Abraham invites three strangers to rest awhile under a tree. Exodus 23:12, Rest is for all of God's creation. Isaiah 28:12, This is the resting place, give rest to the weary; here is repose but they would not listen. Isaiah 57:20-21, But the wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot be calmed. No peace for the wicked! says my God. Hebrews 3:18, To whom but to the disobedient did he swear that they would not enter into his rest? Mark 6: 31, Our Lord said to them, "Come by yourselves to an out-of-way place and rest a little."

As one possible leisure time activity, the priest recommends taking the family to a retreat house. Vacation is not only limited to the beach or mountains but can be a quiet place where the family can get together to talk in a way they have never done before, creating, in the process, a new atmosphere of togetherness. The editorial in the Peace Weekly quotes St. Bonaventura from the 12 century saying: "Pressed by too much work you blunt the workings of the soul."

We often hear that in this present age we live to work and not work to live. This is something we all know is not the proper meaning of life but many have little hope in changing what has become a routine habit of many.

When I arrived in Korea, people had all kinds of leisure time, but they were poor; they are no longer poor, but they have little leisure time. Was it a fair trade off? We are too involved in the society we have made to make a fair judgement, but the future will.

Leisure time is without a purpose outside of itself. It's meant to be enjoyed solely for the leisure time. I don't think this kind of thinking comes easy for Koreans. It's foreign to our pragmatic and goal-oriented society . Even our pleasures are competitive and goal centered.

Labor that God gave humans to do is sacred. ( work and pray, say some monastic traditions.) The leisure that we are talking about does not demean the toil and concerns of everyday life. Our daily work routines require leisure time to better prepare us for the daily work we are committed to do with joy in our hearts and as healthy members of society.

Reason for Korean Harmony and Restraint

The game "Scissors, Rock and Cloth," with the words in the order used by the Koreans, has a history that is not very clear. China would seem to be the originator of the game that is now played in various versions throughout the world. It came to Korea from China and then to Japan, and from there spread to the West.

Though most are in some way acquainted with the game, a simple explanation follows:
At a determined count, the players extend their hands in a certain gesture. For scissors, one extends the index and middle fingers separated. Rock is an extended fist, and cloth is the hand with all fingers showing.

The surface meaning of the gestures goes something like this:
Scissors cut cloth, therefore scissors defeats cloth.
Rock breaks scissors, therefore rock defeats scissors.
Cloth covers rock, therefore cloth defeats rock.

If both players choose the same gesture, the game is tied and the players throw again.

An article from Andong mission station leaflet had a meditation on the game. The writer feels that the Koreans learned their basic philosophy of life from this game, which they've played from early childhood and known by all. The simplest of all their games, there is no need of anything but the one hand. He expressed his feelings about the game in free verse (below); hopefully, my translation is not far from the writer's intention.

Different objects in opposition to each other:
Scissors, something to cut cloth.
Rock, something hard and heavy.
Cloth, something soft and enclosing.

Sharp (scissors), heavy (rock), soft (cloth), can symbolize personalities.
We played the game from childhood.
If we think a little we can see that the philosphy of restraint and harmony are contained,
And we have learned this from childhood.

A sharp personality can temporarily overcome a soft person,
But is threatened by the heavier, serious person.
A serious (heavy) person can control a sharp person,
But can be enclosed by the soft person.
The soft person can cover the serious person,
But the sharp person can threaten the soft person.
This is the understanding we had from childhood,
And continue to keep in mind as our philosophy of life
On how to relate to others, and all learned in a game.

In life, there are times when we can be truly defeated
But in certain circumstances, we allow ourselves to be defeated.
One knows that to lose is also learning the way to win.
Living is often having to wait.
And while waiting can often see and take advantage of opportunities.

When a person puts on airs and feigns knowing it all,
To play the fool is not all that bad;
Isn't he, after all, the one that knows?

Giving Joy to Children Taking Exams

In Korea, Christians work at presenting their message in many different ways. Evangelizing is an important part of Catholicism. When someone has a message that gives happiness, it is natural to want to give it to others.

I have heard of many different ways of trying to approach others with the Christian message but giving lollypops to students was not one of them. In a recent Peace Weekly, a priest tells of his experience in doing just that.

At the end of the school term when students have exams, he goes alone or with his parish sisters, and sometimes with the Sunday school teachers to pass out lollypops. In the beginning, he went right after Mass in the morning, wearing his cassock. The parish sisters, seeing him dressed in the cassock, told him that it was the first time they ever saw a priest wearing a cassock in public. The next time he wore his clerical suit.

In the beginning, he had difficulty getting rid of one box of lollypops, which contained 150. The following year he prepared 4 boxes and that was not enough. The students were curious to know who were these strange people giving out lollypops, and would ask the Catholic students for more information. Often, after hearing about the Catholic Church, they would tell their Catholic friends that they would be going to Church, and asked for more lollypops.

The priest felt that he could read the faces of the students and make some pretty good calls on who would be asking for the lollypops.He would notice students who were uneasy about being there, trying not to make eye contact.

He would often say something like:
"Take this lollypop and eat it. By the way, what is your baptismal name?"

And responses would often be something like:
"My name is Peter but I am not going to Church these days...."

"No problem," he would say, "take this lollypop and do well in your exam, take courage."

No matter how bad the weather was, the priest went to the playgrounds during the days of exams to give out lollypops and offer encouragement.

Did the giving of lollypops help in the evangelizing? There's no way of knowing for sure, but the Mass for the children was crowded--it was a pleasure to hear their voices in praise--and students that were not coming out to Church began to show up. This made the priest happy, but at the same time he found it hard to accept that these good and bright young people would be judged only on how well they did on those exams.

He also kept thinking of those lollypops bringing joy into their lives; it was, of course, puzzling and not so puzzling: the priest was not only handing out lollypops but reaching out to the students with his concern for their welfare. And, not surprisingly, they responded.

10 Books Presented to Korean Catholics

The Peace Weekly. in its campaign to get Catholics to read, recommends ten books from a list of 100 Catholic Classics. In subsequent issues, the newspaper will continue to inspire and prod readers to take up the habit of reading. The ten books will be familiar to most readers, and all have been translated into Korean.

1) The Confessions of St. Augustine.( 397-400)

His autobiography, from his birth to the time after he becomes a bishop, but written not as a bishop but as a suffering human being in the presence of God. Justly famous for its remarkable candor.

2) Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis (1418)

A very popular book in Korea, it is written for religious but everyone can benefit from the ideal that it presents of the spiritual life.

3) Pensees of Blaise Pascal (1670)

Reflections on the sad state of humanity without God, and on the state of happiness with God, using logic to support his reflections. Published after the death of the French philosopher and mathematician.

4) The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. (1693)

Written by a brother of the discalced Carmelites, who lived a very simple life as a cook and repairer of shoes, this book contains his spiritual maxims and his letters, centering around the existence of God and what it meant to him in his daily life.

5) Diary of a Country Priest George Bernanos (1936)

Considered a masterpiece in the Catholic culture of the 20th century, it tells the story of a sickly priest in his first parish who found it difficult to mix with his people--people closed in on themselves and not disposed to his way of life or he to theirs--and about the change in his life in the anti-religious and atheistic France of that time.

6) Keys to the Kingdom by A.J.Cronin (1941)

A popular novel about the life of a Scottish missionary in China and the difficulties he was able to surmount. Cronin presents an ideal human by describing the daily life of a remarkable priest as he interacts with his people.

7) Seven Story Mountain by Thomas Merton (1948)

The autobiography of Thomas Merton, who writes of his struggles and temptations before he entered the Trappist monastery. Focuses primarily on his inner life and the way God led him to himself.

8) Silence by Shusaku Endo (1966)

A novel about the persecution in Japan of Catholics and the response of one Catholic to the silence of God. It tells the story of a priest who goes to Japan to find out what happened to one of the Jesuits who had apostatized, and his struggles to understand that decision.

9) Way to God by Anthony de Mello (1978)

Drawing on Scripture and different traditions, De Mello has created 47 exercises to improve contemplation. It is an effort to lead busy people of our age to a new way of experiencing the presence of God.

10) Why become a Christian by Hans Kung. (1985)

Tells us what a Christian is, making us reflect on the central mark of a true Christian. How does one live who wants to be a true Christian? Kung says, be a true person.

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Problem In Korean Catholicism

Not knowing the cause of a disease makes healing the disease difficult. This is the problem the Church is facing with tepid Catholics, those not going to Church for one reason or another. The number of Catholics going to Mass on any one Sunday is about 1/4 of the total; the number of tepid Catholics is slightly more at 27.6 percent. Present signs indicate that this will continue to increase. What has happened in the West will likely be the future of the Korean Church.

The Future Pastoral Institute, with the Peace Weekly and Peace Broadcasting, is studying the situation and interviewing those who have left the Church to determine what steps are necessary to get them to return. Although it's not easy to pinpoint the reasons for leaving, many of the responses put work and study (too busy) in first place, followed by doubts of faith, lack of knowledge, personal interests, and family problems.

These responses can be summarized as the difficulties of life, the culture of postmodernism, the personal scars incurred as a result of unfortunate experiences with religion, and the obligations of being a Catholic.

The Pastoral Institute believes that healing the scars of those who have left the Church would help half of them to return. Until recently, we looked for ways of convincing the tepid to return, but times have changed. Instead of telling them what they are missing, we need to listen more carefully to their concerns. If the scars they received from the Catholics are in such a prominent place, efforts to teach our Christians how to listen to their stories and to sympathize and understand their situation would see many returning to the Church.

Even though the surveys show that individual problems are the prime reason for leaving the Church, the organization of the Church and the way the parish is run are not without influence in contributing to the problem. Both have to be considered in the attempt to decrease the numbers of tepid in the Korean Church.

The reasons they became Catholics in the first place did not fulfil the needs of the person. If some became Catholic hoping to find happiness and did not find it, then it is not difficult to see why they are still searching for the happiness they expected to find in the Church, and did not.

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Farming That Is Life Giving

Today, the third Sunday of July, is Farmers' Sunday. The president of the bishops' committee for Justice and Peace issued a message on the theme, "We are Peace Makers and Agents for the Preservation of Creation." The problems facing farmers are many and serious, he said, stressing the importance of choosing an ecological lifestyle and rejecting the consumption-oriented life.

The editorial in the Peace Weekly reports that Korea's rate of food self-sufficiency is 26 percent, needing to import most of its grains. The United States produces enough food to feed itself, and France produces 300 percent of what it needs. Of the countries who are members of OECD, Korea's rating in food self-sufficiency is one of the lowest.

The news that the country is considering using its surplus rice for animal feed is a concern of many different groups in society. Although the rice in reserve is more than adequate to deal with emergency situations, consumption of rice continues to decrease, which poses problems for the country and for farmers.

This is the first time that a government official has publicly announced that excess rice can be given to animals, reflecting the rising cost of maintaining huge stockpiles of the staple grain.

The life-giving farming movement is spreading. But what the Catholic Farming Leagues need more than policy statements are priests who are interested in the problems of farmers. In the city, sister relationships have been set up successfully with farming parishes but all too often when a priest is changed, the interest in keeping these relationships also disappears. The relationships are important not only because of the buying and selling of farm produce, but also because of the life-giving programs exchanged between city and country.

Farmers have to consider not only current market realities, but these life-giving programs and what the future will mean for their children and all children, by preparing now for a healthier environment and, ultimately, a safer world for all.

Our Habits Make Us What We Are.

In Korea, many see life as being directed by a mysterious force or energy called destiny or fate, over which we have no control. This is not the Christian outlook, although a guest columnist in the Korean Times thinks there are Catholics, in larger numbers than one would think, who are influenced by this way of looking at life. Instead of entreating God, they go to fortune tellers or shamans for help, and often leave the Church.

The columnist, reflecting on his own life, admits to having seen many things incorrectly and being embarrassed by the results, but that at other times, when seeing correctly, there were good results. He remembed a time when he decided to run as a candidate for his college presidency, after being assured of the support of many. But when it came time to vote, he lost. He was overwhelmed with distrust and anger toward the college community. Locking himself in the research room, he vented his frustrations to God, the only way he saw open to him. God did give him peace and another way of seeing what happened; the results were very satisfying to him personally.

He mentions the case of one of his younger college classmates who lost everything in a large business operation, even causing financial loss to his older brother. He was fleeing to Seoul with the intention of killing himself, when his daughter's image flashed before his mind's eye, and the words, "let's live," changed everything. He returned home, and with a new determination and effort, he was able not only to recoup his losses but expand his operations to other countries.

He reminds us that in Korean the word for suicide is made up of two sylables; when read with the last sylable first, the word means "let's live," which requires a change of thinking, a new attitude towards life.

Many pray as if everything depends on God, forgetting that we should act as if everything depends on us, otherwise we will fall into the same frame of mind as those who have a fatalistic way of looking at life.

The writer concludes his opinion piece by telling us that we live by habits that have become part of us. The time we spend thinking about the spiritual is limited, but we can continue to work zealously at what we do daily and also increase the time we spend with God: meditating, thinking about spiritual things; praying, conversing with God; and spending sacred time at Mass with Jesus. When we think about the words of our Lord and act on them, God will change what we think is our unfortunate fate to one of blessing.