Hwang Kan Church Fire

The word 'Hwang Gan'  caught my attention when reading the Catholic Times' editorial recently. It's the name of a parish that was built by one of our Maryknollers some 54 years ago. The church was almost completely guttered by fire on the 4th of this month; it was a case of arson by a man who wanted to commit suicide, a reckless act that stunned everyone.  Failing to kill himself, he was arrested. Fortunately no one was hurt. The incident caused much wonderment among the Catholics who witnessed the meaningless destruction.

The editorial uses the occasion to remind us that there is much we can learn from this random act of  destruction. It brings to mind that the act of this man who  was fighting  his inner demons and attempting suicide was not an act of a  person on the Galapagos Islands unrelated to society and Church. Something similar happened in 1998 when the oldest western style church in Korea was set on fire by a man who had been drinking. The editorial wants us to give thought to those who are having difficulty with life and feel left out from what is going on in society. It is our job, the editorial says, to wipe their tears and give them strength.

The number of suicides in Korea are many and not all have anything to do with the economic situation or societal problems but are caused by personal problems that can't be overcome with the present state of mind of the victim. The ripple effect of suicide is  great and the family of the individual would suffer the most possibly because of the failure to read the signs.

There is a history to any act that only God knows. The Korean Catholic Church is trying to sensitize or better to conscientize (  to make someone or yourself aware of  important social issues)  the Catholics on the role of the Social Gospel  in society. This is readily seen by the number of articles that have appeared in the Catholic press. This year is the 120th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum Novarum" (Of New Things). It was an attempt to clarify the Church's social teachings as society was trying to cope with the newly emerging industrial economy.

Pope Benedict XVI puts service to the poor and love of neighbor at the same level of essential activity of the Church as the administration of the Sacraments and the proclamation of the Word. This is what the Catholic Church in Korea will be working to inculcate in its new evangelization of Christians. 

Organic Farming in Korea

In the Catholic Times' "Window of the Ark" column, the  writer gives us something to think about for Farmers Day this Sunday. The Korean Catholic liturgical calendar pays tribute on this day to all the farmers of the world. Noah, according to the account in Genesis, after the flood was the first to  plant a grape vine. It was then a different type of farming from what we have now. And our columnist would like us to return to this environmentally friendly farming.

The ecological world thrives on balance among the various ecosystems, which is the natural state. Humans are the only ones that can break this harmony of  the environment. We can see much of the pollution that harms our environment, but when it comes to the pollution of the soil it takes a longer time for us to become conscious of what is happening. When we realize life that exists in the soil is 10 times greater than what we can see, we quickly appreciate its importance.

What Korea produces from its organic farming is less than 1 percent of the country's total food production. In Austria, it's 12 percent and in Germany 10 percent. When it  comes to raising livestock, farmers not using antibiotics would be under 1 percent. And about 90 percent of livestock manure does not go through a process of aging but is used fresh on the soil as compost. While this may seem that organic matter is being used, that is not the case. In reality, antibiotics, vaccines, growth promoting hormones, feed additives, and germicidal agents--all being excreted along with the fecal matter--are being spread on the soil.

Up until now, those using small amounts of pesticides, though otherwise farming organically, were considered organic farmers; this will change beginning in 2015 when there will be a strict understanding of organic farming.  During the last 10 years, organic vegetables  have grown 20 times from what was produced in 2001.  However, it must be acknowledged that inferior organic matter can be used as a fertilizer, and this can be harmful to those who eat the vegetables. The government will continue to help farmers who use environmentally friendly methods of farming.

For this change to take place as quickly and efficiently as possible, the city and the rural communities will have to come together and communicate their needs and intentions. Consumers and suppliers must have a common goal if we are to return to the way of farming of Noah and his descendants. The columnist would like to see our Christians take an active role as catalysts in bringing about this change. 

Catholic Cultural Arts Center in Kimpo, Korea

The  Inchon  Diocese is building a Cultural Arts Center in Kimpo, the first of its kind in the Catholic Church of Korea devoted exclusively to the arts,  a place where Catholic artists will be able to meet and share ideas. It will also be a sign, says the editorial in the Peace Weekly, of the Church's interest in building an infrastructure for the evangelization of the culture. The editorial mentions that although Catholics have gloried in their cultural assets and tradition, they have  little to show in its cultivation, structures, systems, or support compared to the other religious groups.

For over ten years solitary efforts have been made to work toward this day. The editorial thanks Father Paul Park Yu-jin, art director of the center, and others who have been working to realize this dream. There has been much talk about the evangelization of culture but implementing the talk has not been a prime concern.

Whenever the idea of a cultural center came up in the past, it was usually rejected by responses such as: "That is when you have a full stomach." However, culture in the world today is nearly as important as clothes, food and home; culture can change the way we think.

There is great hope for this new venture that will also serve as a research center for the arts. In an interview in the same issue of the paper, the director says, "The Cultural Art Center and research center will try to bring the spiritual values of Catholicism into our secular culture and art, and give Christian artists a spirituality that should influence their efforts."

The director, a priest, has been involved in this work since 1998 when he set up the Catholic Cultural Center to provide creative opportunities in music, dance, drama and other artistic fields. He has tried  with many different programs to celebrate and spread the inspiriting creativity of Catholic culture into  society. Affiliated with the center are the Catholic Symphony Orchestra, Liturgical Dance Team,  Theater,  Orchestra,  and  Chorus Groups. They are prepared for performances during any time of the year.

The Catholic Arts Center is a big dream and everyone who has worked to see the beginning of the project should feel great satisfaction. Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on July 3. Completion of the Center is expected next year. May the expectations of those who have worked so hard for the project see the successful completion of their work.

A Personal Story of Depression

The  Catholic Times column on spirituality discusses the subject of acute depression. The columnist met one of his older priest friends and asked him about his bout with depression, which lasted about three months. Since he was looking back on something that had happened in the past the friend had no difficulty recounting this part of his 

history.

Looking back in retrospect he feels that what happened to him was the result of grace.  He was  building a church and was under stress. The church was finished and he had the blessing.  Right after the ceremony  he received notification of the death of a cousin  he loved greatly. The cousin died  very suddenly. He spent the time of mourning with the relatives at the home of the deceased.

On returning to his rectory he began to feel a heaviness in his body and he couldn't sleep. He went to his priest friends and did some drinking but nothing helped. He couldn't concentrate on anything he was doing. He would be critical with the parishioners and get upset quickly. He hated himself and cried a lot and even had difficulty in breathing. He goes on to say, "I decided to go to see a friend that I knew well, thinking he was a doctor but found out he was a psychiatrist."

The columnist  told the priest that what he did took a lot of courage. It's difficult for priests and religious to speak about their condition for they feel they can overcome whatever is bothering them with prayer and will power.

"Yes it did take courage," he admitted. " I am a priest but also human. If I stayed with the embarrassment and tried to hide what was happening to me I would only be hurting those with whom I came in contact. So I thought that since this came upon me suddenly, I would quickly take the treatment," he laughingly added, "and be over with it quickly." 

The priest in his pastoral work was always telling the parishioners  about hope and  joy, and here he was in the pits and was not able to speak about it to anybody. He recalls that after the ceremony of blessing of the new church he felt no joy, and after the visit to the home of mourning of his  cousin he went into the acute depression.

The columnist asked him if he ever felt like he wanted to die. The priest said that once when he was staying in a high rise building and looking down at the pavement, he did think that he would be free of his worries if he jumped. Since death will come, he wanted it to come quickly. He was not able to express his anger, which stayed within to grow and to harm him. In his self-examination, all he could see were his imperfections, belittling his values and himself.

He took the drugs for depression, the necessary therapy, and learned ways to express his emotions, especially  anger. It wasn't long before he was in control of his life. The bout with depression saved his life, he said.  He learned about his emotions and his faults and, even more importantly, now has a greater sympathy for those who suffer from depression. And he thanks God that everything that happened can in God's providence work out for the good.

Preparing a Masterpiece for God

A Catholic Times' columnist reflects on the word  'discovery' and tells us that it should be a part of our lives. Although the word is often associated with geniuses and great minds, that need not be the case, he says. It depends on what we understand the word to mean. There is one condition that helps to nurture discovery, and that is an interest in life. He associates interest in anything with a love for life.

Life lived with intensity and sincerity enables us to discover many things. It is like parents with a new-born baby, who if writing a diary would have a new discovery to add each day. He expresses a few of his discoveries in a short passage:


            Time is the vessel for space, and eternity is the vessel for time.

             Each day of 365 is a season.

             All the stones I gaze at are jewels.

             The stronger the manure I use the redder will be the flesh of my watermelon.

             Understanding  comes in a flash.

             Jesus was a poet of poets.

             If you have a terminal illness go in search of the  Doctor of the  flowers. 

         

These no doubt are insipid, he tells us. But they are not what you usually hear so he calls them discoveries. Actually the columnist tells us they are lines that have been taken from his poetry. This is a very natural result since poetry has to do with invention and discovery.They all help to form the masterpieces of   life, and, he says, it is our destiny to work on fashioning masterpieces.  Everything we do comes together to form our concrete, or nonspecific  masterpieces.

If this is the case, for the same kind of effort is it not wise, he asks, to have a beautiful masterpiece to leave behind. It is the Creator of existence who will be the one to enjoy our  masterpiece. The columnist does not feel we sufficiently see the importance of our life, and makes this one of his central topics when the occasion presents itself.

The palette for this masterpiece is life itself. The gift of life is God's gift to us and what we do with life is our gift to God. If we could be more conscious of this, our columnist says, life would be much more interesting and precious.

Catechisis of the Young

We all know that most young people do not feel comfortable in the Church, and they are not often seen at Mass. It's a  problem in many parts of the world. The Peace Weekly has been covering the subject in depth, this week they focused on the present mindset of the young, as revealed by the following typical responses.

"In the Church there are many things you have to do, you have to be quiet. It is boring. I went on occasions to a Protestant church. It is different. You are free to talk. No one is there to tell you to be quiet. It is freer than the Catholic Church and more fun. In the Protestant Church, you are allowed to make friends while in the Catholic Church, everything is arranged for you, isn't it?"

"My Protestant friends enjoy going out to church; for us Catholics our faith life is important, but isn't there a way to make going out to church more fun?"

"The young peoples' Mass and the ordinary Masses are not that different. The young people do the readings and sing in the choir but that is about it. The priest during the sermon gives us questions to answer and those who give the correct answers get a prize. This makes the time entertaining and since students like to participate and talk, this way of spending the time, instead of listening to a one-way talk by the priest, is much more fun."

"When a student is a member of some club or society then they will regularly attend Mass. If we can get the students to become members of the different parish groups that would make a big difference in those coming  to Mass."

"Learning about our faith is important but there should be events for the young. We had an athletic meet for those in our part of the parish, and all had a good time."

And from one high school girl, "We like to play in an individual way, as we do with computer games, but when we go to church it is always in a group, and this does not receive a good response."

And then the columnist relates the experience of one of the dioceses that has spent the last three years in trying to come to grips with the situation: "The students do not feel that there has been much of a change in what is being done, while the teachers, priests, and the pastoral council believes this has been the biggest change in the parishes." One of the students interviewed said, "The grownups spend a lot of time doing this-and-that to draw up programs that would be enjoyable to the students but in all honesty, most of the programs miss the mark. They are not much  different than the many programs from the past."

 It is clearly evident, the effort to meet the expectations of young people is an ongoing process; especially important is listening to them and finding out where they are coming from. The dilemma is what and how much can be conveyed to the young with the expectations they currently have.

The efforts that are now being made will certainly make for a stronger Christian Doctrine Program in the future but at the same time the faith life of the parents will play an important part  if any of the programs are to be successful.

We Make the Future with the Present

In Korea we are now wondering when the rainy season will end. To find out, we consult the  weather forecasts. When there is concern for the economic situation, we go to the specialists in that field to find out. And when we try to get objective knowledge of what the future may hold for us, we often turn to science-based information to find out. However, in his column on Religion and Culture in the Catholic Times the columnist asserts that though science can  predict many future events religion still has its attraction.

Why is that? The columnist believes that the more expectations we have for the future the more unexpected fears will come along with these expectations. Will I be able to find a job? Will I be able to keep the job and continue to support my family?  What will happen to Korea in the near future? Science can tell us a great deal but not all of what the future holds in store for us--that, he says, is the reason religion still influences much of our life.

Throughout history, we have had those who considered the past more important than the future. During  the Chosun dynasty, when Confucianism held sway, the ideal kingdom of the past was looked upon as the mirror for the present. The past was the yardstick by which they judged the present, believing that the ideal present was the repetition of the ideal past,--an attempt to return to its garden of Eden and its golden age.

And then you  have those that looked forward to the future, each of them having a blueprint of the future that they would like to see; some  in search of the millennium kingdom. Others in search for Utopia and the messiah who will bring it about. These attempts to do away with faults and even small deviations from the ideal, while searching for the  Utopian World, often end up as a nightmarish experience.

Whether it's a return to a pristine state of the past or a preparation for living in a perfect world of  the future, our columnist says Catholics would not be in either group. Words referring to the end times in Scripture are taken, he says, more as analogy  and signs than as predictions of future events. With Christ entering our world we have already begun our life in his kingdom in the here and now. We do not sacrifice or toss aside the present. Neglecting  the present life or dreaming of a new future at the expense of the present is not our Catholic way of thinking.  "We are making our future," he emphasizes, "by the way we live the present."