Continuity and Discontinuity

The desk columnist, in the Catholic Times, after returning from the U.S., comments on the frequent interruptions of that countries' TV dramas by advertising. This interruption repeats every 15 or 20 minutes, and  he found the discontinuity annoying in trying to keep the emotional content of the story intact.

Continuity and discontinuity is the theme the columnist wants to explore in his column. In life, there is an interchange of continuity and discontinuity in many places, especially, in the workplace and in marriage, which starts off with a desire of the partners to live in heavenly bliss, and very shortly the promise gradually loses its flavor: there is fighting,  misunderstandings, and the discontinuity from the day of the  promise. This is also true in our faith life.

Baptized as an adult, the columnist remembers the great happiness of being on fire with a sense of the holy but shortly all became habit, and even the Mass became an onerous burden. And this is also experienced by priests: fervor at ordination, but slowly disappearing as living one's life becomes more like a job than a special vocation. Again, we have discontinuity from what it was meant to be.

This year is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, which sought to move the Church closer to the modern world and to revitalize itself for the new times. Using the words of theologian Ormond Rush, the columnist says the Church was seeking more continuity by discontinuity, by continuing some practices of the early years of the Church and by discontinuing some of the stiffness, the authoritarianism toward the world and the laity that  we became accustomed to. The Council wanted more continuity with the ways of Jesus, and to discontinue some of the ways we accepted and practiced before the Council in order to return to the ways of the early Church.

This does not mean that all that was done in the past has no value or was unreasonable.  In  retrospect, they helped to build the Church; all of it was a part of the continuity.

However, if what was done was excessively limited by the times in which they developed and became too rigid, isn't a change or revamping required? he asks.  Wasn't this the reason for the Council? Wasn't this the inspiration that was given to the Church Fathers of the Council?

The columnist wonders if there are serious problems with discontinuing the habits that make us less Christian, preferring the peace of continuity that we have been accustomed to.

This talk of continuance and rupture that we hear so often in the West is not part of the dialogue heard in Korea. The Koreans seem to have an easier way of understanding growth and do not see continuance and discontinuance in the black-and-white way some  Americans tend to see it. Using the word 'rupture' does not, fortunately, come easy to a Korean.

Labor: Renewing the Body and Soul

Labor, as physical or mental work, is a means of disciplining ourselves, a necessary part of life, a way of sustaining ourselves. The Church has always seen labor as an important value: a way of participating in God's work of creation.

A priest-columnist in the Peace Weekly who works in the labor apostolate reflects on present day views of manual labor. It is seen by many as lowly, something to avoid. Our laborers, for the most part, do not see the results of their labor nor do they receive fair recompense for their efforts.

He goes back to his seminary days where he experienced working in volunteer service as a member of a club. However, perhaps because of his training as a priest, he found the work was more of the head and the lips than of the whole being. While in the seminary, he decided he wanted to continue being involved with manual labor after becoming a priest, but it always remained a dream.

Last year the opportunity to do manual labor came to him when the person working with him returned to the  farm. Because of this he went to the country to help in the farm work once a month, spending many hours in the field doing back-wrenching work. He didn't realize how difficult farming was. When he hears people say that those who are unemployed should work on the farms he wants to lash out at them. 

One day while working in the field, he wanted to show what he used to do, years before, when cutting sesame plants. However, his efforts was allowing the seeds to fall to the ground. He was criticized for doing so by an older farmer; the plants, he was told, are very sensitive to any shaking and seeds are easily scattered. After the reprimand, he wondered if he wasn't more of a hindrance than a help and expressed his concern to the owner of the farm. The owner told him: "Father, don't be concerned about being a help to us; if you want to do it for yourself, you're welcome to do so. "

He realized he was not suited to manual labor even though working in the labor apostolate. He remembers many of the older priests who wanted not to forget, after becoming priests, the value of labor, disciplining themselves by cleaning their rooms and washing their clothes. When he heard this for the first time he wasn't too impressed but with time his thinking has changed; he is beginning to live a simpler lifestyle, cleaning his own room, riding public transportation, and becoming more conscious of those who do manual  labor for a living.

This spring he hopes to spend more time on farms experiencing the farmer's life. He wants to feel that he is a part of nature and believes this to be a wonderful form of prayer.  Whether it is the farm or some other workplace, he expects that manual labor will be part of his life, taking advantage of its special gift of renewing both body and soul.                                                    

Divination Among Catholics

"All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to unveil the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect and loving fear that we owe  to God alone." These are the words from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (# 2116).

The Catholic Times describes the many ways the lack of trust in God leads to many of the superstitions of folk religion. Surveys have shown that the number of Catholics participating in different forms of folk religion is not negligible. One survey indicates that 40 percent of Catholics after baptism have at least once consulted Tojeongbigyeol (Book of Fortunes). Those who have chosen an auspicious day, changed their names, checked horoscopes, and participated in other forms of superstition are estimated to be one out of every four Catholics.

The article notes that over the years those going back to folk religion for periodic guidance is increasing. There are many who do not believe there is anything wrong with this way of acting, especially consulting with fortune tellers. Each month of the lunar year has days when harmful spirits are said to take a rest; on these days people move or begin their trips and projects. This year of the dragon the leap month is considered favorable. The different forms this takes are numerous, and there are many who make their living by providing quick and consoling answers to the difficult questions all of us encounter in life.

One pastor has seen this desire for consulting 'those who know' as a great problem among his parishioners; they see nothing wrong with what they are doing. It is a form of religion that is thought to dispense blessings. What is needed, the pastor believes, is education on what true religion is.

This whole matter of divination is an indication that many Christians do not see that God made all things good. The article ends with a reminder from a priest of the Seoul Pastoral Research Institute that those who have been called by Christ to trust in God's love and his providence, and thus made free, should not throw it all away with this kind of unwholesome curiosity.

Economy of Communion: New Way of Running a Company

"Based on an economy of sharing, the vicious circle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer can be broken." This is the headline to an article in the Peace Weekly on the "Economy of Communion," a movement of entrepreneurs, workers, managers, consumers, and financial operators. It was launched by Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare Movement, in 1991, in Sao Paolo, Brazil, to demonstrate a possible social reality, following the example of the first Christian community in Jerusalem, that "no one of them was in need."

Repeatedly,  we hear that the middle class, and those even further down on the economic ladder, are finding their lives financially more  difficult, and at the same time we hear that the financial conglomerates are invading the world of small business, and putting many of them out of business. This criticism is also coming into focus in the political world, with the elections planned for this year. There is a growing desire for policies that will change the way the government deals with big business.

The article gives us an example of a bakery that is transparent in its running, honest in paying its  taxes, and is following the principals of the Economy of Communion. They return one third of their profits to the company and return the rest to the workers and the poor. Each month they give to the poor from 20 to 30 thousand dollars a month. The bakery employs 160 workers and is the largest, in one location, in the country. They have as their motto: "Do what we all consider the right thing to do." They seek to have a  family atmosphere and even have their own newspaper. All the workers have a voice in setting the goals of the company, and how the bakery functions on a daily basis is a joint decision, certainly something quite out of the ordinary in today's business climate.

Another example is from Brazil where the movement began. Femaq, with 60 full-time employees, makes automotive parts. Two brothers decided, in 1991, to share the running of the company and the profits with their workers, and also to contribute funds to helping the poor. Following this change, their profits increased; the new approach to running a company and treating their workers was vindicated. The firm, in 1994,  had a gross revenue of $8,200,200, making  it one of the leading firms of its kind, not only in Brazil but in South America.

The Economy of Communion has shown more interest in people than money and company growth. The economic achievements naturally come, not surprisingly, according to the principles of the movement, when a significant portion of the income goes into growing the company, helping the poor and benefiting the  workers. The problem with big business today, says the Korean  leader of the Economy of Communion, is that the bigger the company becomes the more it wants to continue growing, often at the expense of the poorer sectors of the society. The aim of the movement is to change this culture, he said.  It is not merely to help the poor but to have those who have been helped in a better position to help others.

The article concludes with the words of the one responsible for the Economy of Communion. "The conglomerates are getting into the commercial street markets   because there is money to be made." He hopes for a change: "More than income and money, there should be in any business enterprise an interest in people and relationships. This alternative proposal will be a solution to our present problems."
        

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Children of Illegal Workers

In the best-run  societies there will always be those who fall between the cracks. The Catholics of Korea are turning their attention to the children of foreign workers illegally in the country. The children of these foreign workers are not provided benefits other children routinely receive, such as educational and health benefits, because their births have not been registered. It is a blind spot in our societal concerns.

There are 1748 children of foreign workers now attending schools. However, it's assumed that about 8000 children between the ages of 6 and 15  are not attending school because their parents, being here illegally, fear to register the birth of these children.

However, children whose births have been registered get the privileges. The bishops' committee concerned for foreign workers met recently and publicly announced that all children should have the right to an education. Children of the illegals don't receive protection under the law, are confused about their identity, have difficulties in learning to speak Korean, and suffer because of the poor financial situation of their parents.

Concerned Catholics are hoping that there is some way of showing concern for these children. The Church also should be playing a part in resolving some of the problems that arise from the situation. The bishops said that we should not only solve the present problem but uncover the reasons we have this problem in the first place.

An article and an editorial in the Peace Weekly explain that Korea is now a multicultural society, with over 1 million 400 thousand foreigners residing in Korea; about half are foreign workers searching for the Korean dream. Even though many of these foreign workers, after their contract period is over, remain in the country illegally, creating the present problem, there needs to be found a humane way of dealing with this unfortunate condition that both the country and the illegal foreigners will find acceptable.
        

Lay People's Vocation to the Foreign Missions

The Peace Weekly recently reported on a group of young people meeting monthly to determine whether they had a vocation to the missionary life. Meeting at the Columban Foreign Mission Society Mission Center, they were advised by Christina, a Christian missioner who has worked in the Philippines for 10 years, that "missioners overseas have to live like the poor in order to transmit the Christian message." Nine prospects from various parts of  Korea were present to hear her message and in the process to learn something about themselves.

The desire for missionary life came to the young people in different ways. One of the participants who had to travel quite a distance to be at the meetings, was attracted to service by  reading and by seeing the great happiness others have in serving. Another, who came regularly to the meetings for a year, felt the life of a missioner will deepen her experience God's love, and she wanted to share that with  others. 

Christina emphasized that missionary life is difficult. Fearing that some would have the wrong motivation for the life, she pointed out that it is not simply a life of charitable work, or service to others, but understanding and embracing others in the way Jesus did.

When they are sent to a mission area they spend the first 3 years learning the language and the culture, and returning to the simplicity of a child. One is continually being challenged, she said, and feels that having an open mind is a necessary quality in being a missioner.

Once they have decided for missionary life they sign an application and wait about two or three month before being assigned to lodge with a missioner for about 10 months.  It is during this time that they learn about the spirituality of mission, and dialogue with other religions and cultures. They also begin studying conversational English, visiting the sick and providing similar services to others, and, finally, begin a retreat to discern in more depth their call to the mission vocation.

The Columban priest responsible for the group stressed that it is in knowing God's presence in our daily lives, the God who has come to us in the love of Jesus, which is the fundamental message the missioner wants to convey to the people.

Catholic Novelist Facing the Silence of God

Shusaki Endo, a Catholic novelist, is the topic of the  Catholic Times' column 'half transparent notes on life', by another writer with a great interest in literature  There are few Catholics interested in literature today, he tells us, who would not be familiar with Endo.

He was baptized at the  age of 11 and went on to major in French studies. Both his Japanese culture and his Catholicism fascinated him by the contradictions he found in that encounter.  We can't say he was not a Catholic writer, the columnist asserts, but Endo continually pondered in his writing the doubts that arose from the conflicts that were generated by his faith and the culture of his country. His struggle to reconcile the two had a special attraction to many, not only in his own country but to those who were trying to reconcile a secular culture with the truths and values of their own faith.

He was greatly attracted to Jesus' message of love, but in his novels he revealed that he did not fully believe in his miracles. In "The Banks of the Dead Sea," a pitifully sick person asks Jesus for help, but Jesus tells him he doesn't have the power to heal; he wants only to share in the suffering of the sick. Endo presents us only with a human Jesus. This is the  problem the columnist has with Endo.

In the same book, Endo mentions a meeting with Annas, the high priest, who wants to reconcile with Jesus. Annas confesses that although he doesn't believe in God, he knows how to pretend to believe; God for him is an eternal mirage--a thought the columnist feels that Endo entertained.

This similar theme appears in his masterpiece, "Silence." The storyline is about the persecution of the Christians in Japan in the 17th century. Word was received in Portugal that a missioner was needed, so an outstanding Jesuit was sent to Japan to find out what happened. He was captured, tortured and was told that he would be able to save the lives of his follow Christians if he only appeared to apostatize. This would be what Jesus would want, he was told; it would be an act done for the Christians. A  way of beautifying apostasy was the columnist's understanding of what Endo was attempting to show by this aspect of the plot. In the end, after much torture and suffering the missioner did what he was asked to do.

One of the Japanese who had apostatized said that all those who come to Japan with a religion will find that its roots will not be able to withstand the culture and will rot away. This thinking, says the columnist, may be the result of the nationalism of the Japanese.  In any event, he reminds us that the conflicts of the plot may be--in addition to those issuing from Endo's own struggle with his faith life--also the result of Endo's skill in story telling. He was a cynical writer, he says, and a master of designing complicated plots. 

Blessed Cardinal Newman said that a thousand difficulties did not make a single doubt. To doubt means to be unsure whether a belief is true; to have a difficulty with a belief, according to Newman, means to know the belief is true but to be unsure just what it means or why it is true. This unsureness can be overcome. Faith is an act of the will helped by the intellect to assent to what we believe. Difficulties in faith are many, and they are good for us in that we are able to go deeper into what we believe, searching for answers, clarifying, and becoming stronger in our belief. In the Scriptures, there is the prayer of the father who cried out, "I do believe; help my unbelief" (Mark 9:24). This may have been the prayer of Endo, and of many others like him, when confronting what is believed to be the "silence" of God in the presence of so much suffering in the world.