All Souls Day

Today we remember all those who have died and also bring to mind our own impending death. Three articles in the November issue of Kyeongyang Magazine help us to reflect on this important part of life. 

One article focuses on life as a preparation for death. We are always preparing for our death. If we forget death we will not be able to live the full life.  'Well living' is the preparation for 'well dying (expressions commonly heard  in Korea). It is in the 'small dying' each day that we can have new life, and in the last dying that we can enter eternal life. The Paschal Mystery has made this possible for us.

To believe thinking about death will lead to depression, make us anxious, pessimistic or passive is contrary to what we've been told by those who have thought deeply on the subject. Meditating on death is to face death calmly, with an easy conscience.  It allows us to see life as it is. It doesn't matter when we die or what the circumstances are. What will be important is the state of our internal life at that time.

In Korea, we have the term 'returned' when referring to a person who has just died. The dead person is considered as being away from home and would be returning. This is an understanding of those who have a religion and those that do not.

Another articles stresses that in recent years there is a tendency to avoid using the word death; it is missing in our art and literature. Love is easy to talk and write about but personal death is another matter entirely--it's taboo. But as we know when we suppress anything it is not easy to keep what we have suppressed from affecting us negatively; it can appear under many different guises.

Up until recent times most persons died in the home. The family was present and children were brought up seeing the death of those they loved. Today most die in hospitals or nursing homes; this makes death seem unnatural, far off and not part of life.

The way  the next life has been described is not  helpful. It is a mystery and when we spell it out too concretely, whether it is  heaven or hell, we are not approaching the subject in a way that many would find emotionally easy to accept. Trying to make our future more vivid than the message we have  received in the Scriptures leaves us open to misunderstanding and revulsion, according to one of the articles.

As Catholics we should be thankful for the many ways that we come in contact with death in the liturgy and in life. We have had saints who used a skull and other concrete ways to remind them of death. It was for them a way of enjoying the gift that has no end. We also should think often of the way we will meet death, and should not hesitate to make it a topic for our discussions.

Exporting Catholic Spiritual Books

Korea  exports many products and even the Catholic Church in Korea is beginning to export to the rest of the world--books on spiritual themes. Though most of the books here on spirituality are translated works imported from the West, we now have books written by Koreans, translated into other languages. The Korean Church does not have internationally-known theologians, but the publication of these books may well be a sign that their authors will soon be making an appearance on the theological world.  The Peace Weekly introduces us to six of these books.

Blessing of the Rainbow has sold close to a million copies. It is a book on self-improvement by Cha Dong-yeop, head of the Future Pastoral Institute in Incheon. The book has been translated into four languages, and this year into Spanish. In Korea, we have a plethora of books on self-improvement from the West; to have one written in the Korean style is good news.

Jesus and Confucius, by Choe Ki-seop, rector of the Catholic Theology University, and Professor Kim Hyeong-ki, compares the words of Jesus with those of the Analects of Confucius. The book has been translated into French and German.

The Lord Calls My Name, by Seong Pong-mo, a Jesuit priest, is the 12th book of a series on Scripture and Humanity.  It was written for those who  are troubled with depression and thoughts of suicide. Among those who will find it helpful are English-speaking immigrants to Korea, those who are living in Korea as workers, and Koreans living overseas. It discusses the grace of a layperson's vocation and others that want guidance on how best to serve in becoming true disciples of Jesus. 

Inside the Catholic Church of Korea, by Kim Seong-tyae, head of the Korean Church History Institute, is a brief history of the Catholic Church in Korea, from its start over 220 years ago--the persecution, the opening to the West, the liberation, the Korean War, and the canonization of 103 saints.
 
Prayer From the Heart, by Jesuit Priest Jong  Kyu-han, who gives retreats in the Spiritual Exercises, teaches us to  pray not with the head but with the heart. The book leads us to a deeper appreciation of prayer, and a correct understanding of prayer and its practice.              


Jesu-maum Prayer, (Prayer of Jesus' heart) by Sister Kwon Min-ja, discusses the  prayer process, the importance of prayer and how to pray in our daily lives. It teaches us the way to talk to Jesus like a little child. Sister has traveled widely to give her retreats and now the book has been translated into Thai, Chinese and English, and will soon be translated into  German.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Even With Trials-- Appreciating the Gift of Life

The recent suicide of the popular TV celebrity known as the Happiness Evangelist has elicited many questions and provided a topic for much conversation. A columnist in the  Peace Weekly uses this tragic incident as the introduction to his article, for the  series on the culture of life, which focuses on the frequent occurrences of suicide in Korea.

In comparison to  countries like Greece and Mexico, Korea last year had ten times more suicides, a total of 15,000, about 30 killing themselves daily, many of them either young or old. The number one reason for the deaths of those from 20 to 30 years of age is suicide.

The article notes that in the West those who kill themselves do it, mostly for philosophical reasons, a despairing response to perceiving life as meaningless. In Korea, it is more likely to be alienation in the family or workplace, or loneliness, or poverty and disease that provoke the drastic step. Because of this difference, the numbers of suicides in the West are less but also more  difficult to work for a decrease, but in Korea, we have   larger numbers but if efforts are made, we will see a decrease. It is for this reason that we see suicide as societal murder.

The Korean government  has taken an interest in this societal problem since 2004. But even with a five-year plan to prevent suicides, over the years there has not been a decrease of suicides but an increase. Although efforts have been made to recruit different sectors of society to help in this effort, there has been little change because of a lack of specialists and finances.

Catholics see suicide as a great problem, and we can't remain unconcerned.  Up until now, the Catholic Church  cannot be said to have done all that it could in this area of life that calls for justice and for demonstrating the love we should have for others. How can we remain unmoved by the large numbers of young and old killing themselves? The young are the future of the country, and the old should be enjoying their twilight years without having to contend with problems of health, poverty and loneliness.

There are some hopeful signs. Even though past governmental efforts have not been successful, recently the government has commissioned the Catholic Church to work through  the  'One heart and One Body Movement' in  setting up the Center for the Prevention of Suicides. This should produce some concrete results. The Church will also use Cyberspace, along with education programs for the young, and training programs to get qualified people involved in preventing suicides.

Life is a gift from God, and  the Church should be doing all possible to help those who because of circumstances have difficulty in seeing this.The Church with government  help should be able to work in a manner that befits the situation in which Korea finds itself.

A Lay Missioner Overcoming Obstacles

The Catholic Church of Korea has over 1,000 mission stations: small communities of Catholics who do not have a resident priest.  Stations are part of a parish whose pastor  is responsible for their  pastoral needs and makes periodic visits to the station. Distance is the reason for the designation, the site often developing into a future  parish.

Those who represent the pastor in these stations are volunteers who take care of the spiritual needs of the community, and  conduct the mission station Liturgy of the Word on  Sunday. Mission stations  often have permission to have the Eucharist and in the absence of the priest the community leader would give  communion.

This past week the Peace Weekly had a  front page article profiling a catechist, a lay missioner, who was sent to one of these mission stations by the pastor to instruct the community. The mission station was over 40 years old but never had over ten attending the  Sunday service. The reception was anything but welcoming. Not a person said they were happy to have him there and the head of the community himself was cold to him on their first meeting. It was very difficult to accept, and although he thought of going home, the effort of becoming a lay missioner, his dream of many years, was not easily given up.

He  had left a successful occupation to become a lay missioner. He received permission from his wife who also wanted to become a lay missioner but because of their two unmarried sons has put it off until one of them gets married. Leaving  the family was difficult for him; he goes home 3 or four times a year.

After arriving at his first assignment and receiving a very cold reception, he rented a room in the town and told the Christians that he would be saying prayers in the church each morning at 5:00 am. Not one person came until  40 days later someone  appeared at the door of the Church and said he wanted to join. The lay missioner's joy was hard to describe.  All seemed to change from then on.  7 or 8  came every day for morning prayers.  Gradually,  the atmosphere in the mission station changed. On the anniversary of his arrival the community had a placard placed out in front of the mission station acknowledging the anniversary and celebrated the occasion with the missioner by preparing a banquet.  The community had grown to over 70 attending Sunday Mass. Not once did he ever ask anyone to come out to the church.

The parish priest seeing the results sent him to another mission station, a new station with only one Catholic, started the previous year. Within a year they had a congregation of 13.  Just recently he has been moved again to another mission station where he will undoubtedly be just as sucessful as he has been in his other assignments. .

He finds this life very satisfying.  In the future there will be a greater need for these lay missioners as the church continues to grow.  Many of the mission stations need stimulation from the outside which is the work of these lay missioners. The Church in Korea has had few paid lay missioners in the ranks alongside the priests, brothers and sisters, so to have a whole new group coming into the front lines as lay catechists and  missioners will take some time for our Catholics to appreciate. The programs of study for lay Catholics have been around for many years but finding suitable full time positions for lay people within the Church is not always an easy task.

Gender Equality Programs for Priests and Brothers

Sex is not taboo but a topic for  discussion and understanding. This was the heading of an article in the Catholic Times, discussing the educational program for Jesuit priests and brothers on gender equality held at Sogang University in Seoul.

Clerics and religious are hearing a great deal about sex lately in lectures and workshops because of the clerical abuse cases. One of the presenters at the educational program for Jesuits, a professor and a woman, treated the subject of sexual harassment and violence under the heading of gender equality. She asked them how they understood the term and then proceeded to tell them what might have been for some of them a new understanding of gender equality.

There was an atmosphere of tenseness that was  sensed. The professor gave concrete examples of what was meant when dealing with sexual harassment. Examples had to do with pouring drinks at the table, holding another's hand, making comments about another's appearance or clothes, and a series of explicit examples of where one has to be careful not to be misunderstood.

The article goes on to tell us that what the participants thought was far from their lives as celibates was actually  an issue that came very close to them in their daily lives. They listened carefully to what was said, often surprised to hear what was considered sexual harassment. It made for a lively question and answer session.
 
If we are to rid ourselves of all possibilities of being misunderstood. we need more awareness:  the way we move our hands and bodies, the position of the door during interviews, and trasparency of the bulding by windows. One has to be concerned how another might understand one's actions. She stressed that becoming gender sensitive is the  key factor in understanding sexual harassment. 

The Jesuit superior in his talk after the lecture said: "We priests and brothers have to be alert to what is involved with this issue, not only preventing these incidents from happening but fostering more gender sensitivity in pastoral work ....Most of our congregations are made up of women, but they are run by men. It is necessary that those who make up most of the Church are  properly understood."

These programs were asked to be implemented by Jesuit headquarters in Rome and will  continue in the years ahead.  Maryknoll   has similar programs;  at the beginning of this year, all Maryknollers had to attend a workshop on sexual harassment. Sensitivity on this issue, which has caused much harm while escaping notice by many of us due to the bias of most cultures favoring a masculine view of the male/female relationship is bound to make our social relationships, both for men and for women, just  and harmonious.

Talents of Our Senior Citizens Should not be Wasted

According to the recent statistics, 11 percent of Koreans are over 65 years old. A columnist in the Catholic Times is asking what do we make of that. The standards of the  UN tell us that when 20 percent of a society has a population over 65, it is considered a super-aged society, and Korea will become such a society in 2026. We are racing to this figure four times faster than other societies, he says.

This ageing society poses problems for the larger society. The numbers of those working  to support the aged will decrease and the numbers of those that will be in the labor market will lessen, which will have an impact on the economic growth of the country. Presently, the concern is to help those who are sick or incapacitated in some way, which has to continue and increase but without interferring with other concerns.

There are many who  reach retirement age in good health, have a wealth of knowledge and experience, and can be of great use to society. We  should find ways to use this overlooked treasure. It can be a whole new way of looking at the retirement years. Finding ways of having these men and women return to society with their talents can be a positive help to the country. The care of the many who need it should be improved and  monies allotted but also to bring back into society many who have  talents and gifts that can help  society. 

 

In the  front page of the same issue of the Catholic Times we are told that 44 percent of our Catholics are involved in volunteer service work. This was the highest of all the religious groups. Protestants were second with 37 percent and Buddhists had 23%. 64 pecent  of Catholics do this periodically.

Many of our Catholics have taken the mandate at each Mass to go  and give back in some way what they have received to others. 44 percent is a good number but hopefully many more will take up the invitation.

There is much talent among Catholics who are retired and in good health and involving this group in works that will  benefit society should be encouraged. Government  should fund programs for these senior citizen, and the Church, with its close contact with this group on a frequent basis, should be creative in the way they are utilized in the works of the Church.

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Young Rebel Becomes Worker For Peace

Korean Poet Pak No-hae, Casper, has just published his latest book of poetry after 12 years of silence. The interview with the poet was written up in this week's Catholic Times.

He was  given a life term for breaking the security law of the country, served over seven years in prison and was pardoned in 1998. As with many of the young people, he wanted to see a better life for the workers, but the country was not ready for his views. After leaving prison, his life changed to one of  silence and concern for the poor in various parts of the world: Africa, Middle East, Asia and Central America. He became an advocate for peace.

Because Korean words meant little to those he encountered in his world travels, he used his camera to  express his feelings. He has 130,000 pictures, which are now being shown in an exhibition in Seoul until the 25th of this month. The poet handed all of his  pictures and poetry to a group of young people to select for the exhibition. Of the 5000 poems they selected 304, and from the130,000 pictures, they selected 160. They thought that some of the pieces that he liked were too much from the head and not enough from the heart.

The article quotes the poet as saying: "Many young people come to me baring their hearts. There are no adults in our society. We  have all kinds of nice words being used, idle solace and lying hope is lavishly given. However, it is difficult to find any who is taking a whip to the souls of the young. These unnecessary human beings, called losers, berating themselves, are looking for those who by their lives can help them but can't find anybody."  He hopes that seeing the pictures and reading the poems will serve as a confessional for many.

The poet mentions four crises in the world: the environment, wars, the disparity between rich and poor, and lack of spirituality. It is to confront these four problems that he presents his revolutionary message.

He says that his last 12 years were not only filled with writing poetry and taking pictures but there was also a change  in him.  He lost his fear, he says, and he is prepared now to go to God. He realizes that it is love that allows him to keep going. He finishes the interview by saying that his mother left him two things: his faith and his poverty. 
He wonders what it means to live life like Jesus. The interview ends with the words of Pak No-hae, "We do not see in the degree we know but  see in the degree we love."