"Examine My Hands" Good Friday Meditation

Writing in the "With Bible" magazine a Religious sister recalls her visit to a convent with a deaf person, during which they attended a Mass. She watched carefully as a sister at the front of the church passed along to the hard of hearing the words of the Mass and what was occurring on the altar, using not only her hands but her body to communicate. She wondered if there was any more beautiful way of giving praise than the soft and easy movements of the hands to form words, and the singing responses in sign language. It was, she said, like heat waves of life dancing in the air on a spring day.

For many centuries, artists have used the 14 stations of the cross as subjects for their art. She mentions a modern day rendition that appears in one of the churches in Seoul: the stations are depicted solely by the different positions of the 'hands of Jesus' carved in relief.

The hands are in different sizes, positions, textures and in a variety of frames.Each one separately can be seen as a unique masterpiece: hands supporting the cross, perplexed hands on the ground, violent hands grabbing the clothing, spastic  hands receiving the nails, entrusting hands after death. There is no extravagance in the expression of pain and anguish. Instead, the artistic description follows the  laws of the medium and is restrained in expression. Standing before the station, one is not overcome by the suffering  and extreme sadness but what is seen elicits repentance and regret. The form has been refined so it is not the emotions that are moved but one is still left with the meaning.

Jesus used his hands often in his ministry: Touching the lepers, blessing the children, holding simple food in his hands, washing the feet of his disciples, and finally stretching his hands out on the cross, and, after death, showing his hands to his disciples so they would know he was the one that walked with them before death.

The sister reflects on where the hands of Jesus might be found today. Haven't they been bequeathed through the Church to  us? she asks. They are a poor replacement, she admits,  but we, as Church, are his tools--weak and deficient as we may be. "My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection" (II Cor. 12:9). She ends her article by reminding us that it is all grace.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Paris Foreign Missioners In Korea

An interview with Fr. Georges Colomb, Superior General of the Paris Foreign Mission  Society (MEP), was written up in the recent Catholic Times. Korean Catholics, he said, invited the missioners to come to their country, and not  an invitation from Rome.  This desire of the Korean Catholics moved the hearts of the early French missioners, even though knowing that death awaited them in coming to Korea.

The early years of missionary work in Korea were not always without problems, but the  early missioners were still able to send three seminarians to Macau, as support from MEP continued unabated. Ten of the missioners died a martyr's death and there is no regret. The faith and sincerity of the early Christians were repaid by the love and sacrifice of the missioners.

The growth in the  number of clergy in Korea is due in part to the influence of the Paris Foreign missioners. This was the initial intention of the missioners and the first goal of the society, in contrast to the situation in the Philippines and Indonesia where the religious orders where the  evangelizers.

In Asia, from the time of the beginning of the Paris Foreign Missionary Society in 1658, more than 120 dioceses have been established and 5000 seminarians formed. Except for Cambodia, all the different areas have a smaller number of Paris Foreign Missioners doing mission work, but in recent times we are seeing , he said, an increase in the numbers entering the society. Presently, there are 20 seminarians in formation. This year we had three deacons and three priests ordained. In June, we are looking forward to  having four more ordained to the priesthood.

Fr.Colomb mentioned that 10 years ago the society started a program for associate members, and a program for lay volunteers. The volunteers are trained and, under the auspices of the society, sent to experience the life of a missioner, many of them eventually entering the society.

The MEP are considered married to the country where they are sent, feeling a connection not only with its history but with its language, culture, and traditions. The society is  happy to see the  dynamism of the different churches in Asia, and the missioners continue to work for the formation of the local clergy. As long as there is even one missioner left, he will be united with the local clergy. Having left their own country for the mission country, missioners remain wedded to that country for eternity.
 

Another Way of Seeing the Japanese Tragedy

  Another columnist in the Catholic Times returns to the subject of the recent Japanese tragedy: the earthquake, the tsunami and, making matters worse, the nuclear radiation--all adding to the great  suffering of the Japanese people.  She reflects on the her own life with gratitude but is it possible, she asks, to feel at peace when so many others are suffering?

She mentions that the Japanese ambassador, who attended the Korea Hope Concert, thanked the Koreans in flawless Korean for their help. It was not difficult to understand  why the entertainers who participated in the concert wanted to raise money, since Japan has been very receptive to the Korean world of entertainment. It was not so easy to understand the help that came from the 'comfort women, who for years demonstrated before the Japanese Embassy and saw many of their members  die  without  receiving recognition from the Japanese government. This brought tears to the eyes of many.

The columnist mentions that the Koreans, known to be a warm and compassionate people who in their 5,000 year history have been invaded hundreds of times, have not once invaded another country. That should be sufficient proof of their outstanding  character.  In contrast, the Japanese could be described as cold-headed or, more accurately, persons of reason. We can congratulate them on their calmness and order during this tragedy. They have been educated from an early age to be concerned for others and not to inflict harm on others.

These are wonderful attributes, she goes on to say, but is curious to know why Japan is not  known as a country  concerned with the needs of other countries. The Tokdo island (now occupied by the Koreans but claimed  by the Japanese) is still an unresolved controversy. And why, without a word of explanation or warning, did they release radioactive contamination into the ocean? Nonetheless, during the disaster Korea has continued to help.

Japan has many reasons to be thankful to Korea. The culture and art of the Paik-chei kingdom flowed into Japan and continued even later at the time of the  invasion of Korea by the Japanese in 1592. And they still refuse to correct the mistakes in their history books by giving a correct understanding of history to future generations of Japanese.

She recalled that Pope John Paul asked for forgiveness from the world for faults of the Church during its long history. The columnist wishes, as she continues to give to the suffering people of Japan, that the Japanese would reflect on their history--in the manner of John Paul--and ask for forgiveness from the countries she has harmed with invasion and pillage, and  be 'born again' with a good, friendly policy toward her neighbors.

A history of suffering at the hands of another is very difficult to forget; we know memories tend to linger within a culture and in the hearts of those who have been subjugated. It  should be a lesson to keep before our eyes even when we continue to do all that is necessary to show our love for those in pain, despite the pain they have caused others.

The Possiblity of the Good Life

Competition is a word we hear often and most of the time used negatively in Korean Catholic thinking. In the column devoted to  the making of a culture of life in the Peace Weekly, the writer considers competition as having a very negative effect on our happiness.

Even when we have all that is necessary for life, we are not always happy. In our society, many have a superabundance of the good things, and still not the happiness they want. When success is the goal, there are always some who will be more successful; money is often a means to more money and not a way of enjoying leisure, and time with those they live with.

We all have a different idea of what the good life should be, many sacrificing everything in search for it. We compare ourselves to others and try to reach and overreach them by any means available, and at the same time, tiring and stressing ourselves in the process. 

There are many who have all that is necessary for the good life but have many internal scars and sickness of the heart that prevents them from enjoying what they have. Enjoying a great deal of success, some can't dismiss the lingering attachment to other possibilities in their life. The weariness and the desire to better themselves operate against the present happiness they should have.

This spirit of competition in the life of many diminishes the spirit, gives birth to jealousy, and depresses us. The person we have become, we do not like.

This way of looking at who we are is far from what the reality should be. We are God's masterpiece and one of a kind; not  one that  should be compared to another. It is finding who we are to be that will bring happiness into our lives. God is leading us now, we are God's work, and once that realization enters our consciousness things will begin to change.

In life, there are times when all is upside-down, we don't know where to go. At those times we should stop and reflect and let God direct our path. We are breathing, we  have life; it's a great gift, a blessing, a miracle--reason enough for gratitude.  

College exams, finding work, desiring a promotion--all the many ways we are  in competition with our friends and colleagues consume too much of our precious time. In our Church society we try to promote a warm and friendly community--one that will help us overcome the negative influences of the competitive society we live in.
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A View of the Tragedy in Japan from Korea

A Religious Sister at one of  the Catholic Universities writes about the generous response of the female students to the earthquake and tsunami destruction in Japan. They collected a sizable amount of money and publicized the needs of the victims and asked for prayers. Pictures of the devastated regions were placed on classroom walls and the corridors of the school, covering them like wall paper. It was a heart-felt expression of their desire to help the Japanese materially  and spiritually.
 
Korean society, from the famous to the ordinary citizens, in a short period of time, generously contributed large sums of money for those hurt by the catastrophe. However, what was most surprising was that the 'comfort women,' who have been asking the Japanese government for compensation for using them as sex slaves during the second world war, and have demonstrated every Wednesday before the Japanese Embassy, met to show their grief for what happened. They can see the difference between what was done to them and the current tragedy in Japan. 

There have been all kinds of reflections on the terrible tragedy by those who believe in God. How can God allow something like this to happen? Where is God in all this? Some see it as a punishment. Others see it as a warning. There are also those, she says, who see it as a punishment for not accepting God and being immersed in materialism.

Sister says if she were asked the same question, her answer would be that God is not the cause of what happened. God is present in those who are suffering and, she believes, participates in their suffering. The scope of the suffering experienced is immense, but we also see the growth of love and  mercy and the greatness and goodness of humanity. She notes that what the students did in response to the tragedy brings all of us closer to a feeling of oneness with them.

Every year since 1993, 20 students from Japan come to their school in the summer, and in the Fall, 20 from Korea go to Japan. Following the visits and for many years after, they continue to exchange messages and news. At the end of one exchange, a student said, " Japan is no longer a place on a map but a country with a face, extending not only to  the students but also to their families." The sister hopes there will be more of these exchanges that will put a face on a place that usually is just a place on a map.

The Place of Competiveness in our School System

The  premier Korean National Government Science and Technology School has been in the news lately. Since the beginning of the year, there have been five suicides at the school: four students and one teacher. The Desk Column in the Catholic Times reports that some blame the way the school is run for the suicides, including a grading system that can determine tuition costs, and other policies that put the students under a great deal of stress. The journalist feels that the competition engendered at the school is the primary cause. It is the way we have made our society, she says, and not surprisingly it tends to  appear in our schools of higher education as well, leaving students with few other options but to compete among themselves. But this competitive atmosphere is not conducive to learning.  Our colleges, long touted as temples of learning, have been invaded by the same competitive spirit that has infected our society, becoming  places for getting employment at the expense of learning. The students, the teachers, and the governing bodies of universities are all primed to compete, and the stress affects each of them at their very core: Professors are pressured to excel and to do research in addition to teaching, leading to time-management problems that disrupt the relationship of trust between teachers and students. Obligations to make  financial capabilities public, ratings by the government, and decreasing student enrollment--all make for a competitive workplace.  Consequently, in many cases, the students take subjects with little relationship to their major but simply to get good grades.  Professors also become interested in increasing their capabilities and the temples of learning are no longer what they were meant to be. The rector of the school  felt it necessary to breed this competitiveness to attract the best students, and then educate them to contribute at a high level for the future benefit of the country. This is the present thinking of the government: competitiveness and efficiency. Not all think in this mode for we have those who feel we should not only be moved by financial reward but also by our own dignity as persons. Many teachers at the school are skeptical of the direction the rector has taken the school over the years to revolutionize the school.    And now the public has weighed in after the recent suicides with questions concerning how we run our educational system; the tendency now is to take another look at the schools to see what improvements can be made. Our writer concludes with a desire that the Catholic school system also be given another look to see if it also has taken on the competitive mode of our society, keeping in mind what it means to be faithful to the Catholic vision of education.

Making a Difference in the Life of Others

A priest recounts his experiences while on a spiritual pilgrimage to India, during which he visited the ashram of Vinoba Bhave (1895-1984) at Paunar.  He remembers Vinoba's room at the ashram as being sparse and simple, similar to that of Gandhi's. Although a Hindu, he had hung on the wall in the passageway in front of his room a crucifix, a reminder of the Christ spirit that Vinoba meditated on and that influenced his life--the same spirit the writer felt in making the rounds of the ashram.

Vinoba was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi in the Indian independence movement. He was one of his most intimate followers and his spiritual successor. "Love," he said, "is the strongest force there is. What changes the world is not knowledge but love." Love for him meant a life committed to  non-violence, which was the spirituality he pursued throughout his life.                                                                                    
Many considered him the second Gandhi; for 13 years he traveled barefoot throughout the countryside, urging landowners to give some of their land to the poor. "Steeling is a crime but saving up a great deal of money is a bigger theft. If you have five children, consider the poor your sixth child," he said, "and put aside 1/6 of your land for that child." The result of this movement, called the Land Gift Movement, was more successful than any government program that had been tried.

In one of his literary works, Vinoba wrote: "The work of women has not been seen.  We are not able to get peace with only the work of men. In the future women will also have this role; we have to become conscious of women's mental strength." (He was one of the first to have an ashram for women.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
The priest, along with others on pilgrimage, was able to see the caste system up close by spending time with the untouchables. The guide told the pilgrims that religion made it possible for the untouchables to face death peacefully. It was an expression that stayed with the priest even on his  return to Korea. "Religion," he said, "is what makes them able to face reality and gives them a goal in life.  In this world of darkness, they have hope." Isn't this what we mean by salvation in religion? he asks.  Seeing the faith of these untouchables made him see his own faith life differently.

In a movie they saw at the ashram, Gandhi was quoted as saying that in the beginning he thought that God was Truth; later he came to believe that Truth is God.                                                         

Marx famously said, "Religion is the opiate of the people."  A remark often used to show how religion can turn one's attention from this world to a pie-in- the-sky view of life that makes life bearable for those who live in this 'vale of tears.' In the case of the untouchables, this view of life is easily understood. But for most of us the dignity natural to humankind should inspire us to work to better the lot of those who suffer, replacing the pie-in-the-sky with a down-to-earth understanding of human dignity that religion endeavors to teach us. With this as motivation, we can in some measure do what Vinoba was able to do: make a difference in the lives of those who because of their lot in life find it difficult to experience this dignity.