Prosperity Does not Always Bring Happiness

There are probably few countries that are as introspective as Korea, which is still a homogeneous country, with a long history and one language, making  it easily accessible to this kind  of reflection. In recent years, with its ranking of 13th in economic strength, with a populace that is intelligent, diligent and devoted, it is hard to understand, writes the  priest columnist in the Peace Weekly, why the country ranks so low in the happiness quotient compared to other countries.

Is  it too much greed and not able to be thankful for what they have? he asks.  Although they have financial leisure and cultural advancement, he wonders if the lack happiness is a sign of spiritual disease, and proposes seven steps for achieving happiness.

Examine closely the way we live our lives as our Blessed Mother did in her life. Take care of our health. Make friends. Cut down the time watching TV. Study. Laugh; the Korean saying, "you get angry and age, laugh, and you get younger," fits, he says.  The seventh and last proposal is to be good to yourself; my happiness depends on myself; I am the subject of my happiness. If I am sad, tormented, and  unhappy this is what I will be sharing with others. When we are happy, thankful and at peace, this is what we will be passing on to others. His final advice is the suggestion that parents tell their children to imitate them when death approaches, and that they will meet in heaven.

Telling people how to live in order to be happy is big business. We have numerous entrepreneurs who live well telling others what to do to live well. Most of the wisdom that has come down to us from the earliest days has much in common with the search for happiness. Confucius wants us to overcome the  environment we were born in, wants us to study and have good relations with others. Buddhists want us to train the mind, the Taoist wants us to know that we think we know is not always the case. They are all seeing different aspects of life. Christians can use this wisdom, and add that Christ came to have us participate in divinity. This knowledge alone is enough to give us great joy.                  

What Is Success?

The present problems of Korean society are clearly evident to all, a columnist in one of the daily papers points out, and solutions are not easily found. To illustrate the complexity of a particularly troublesome problem, he relates a recent conversation with a businessman who told him he had been telling his  third-year high school son, repeatedly, to study hard so he will be able to get into a good school, get a good job, marry a beautiful woman, buy a nice house, and live the life of a prince. His son answered: "Dad, what is the value of  graduating  from a first class college, succeed in business, and end up in prison? Whether you have money and power makes little difference, when there are many who are under suspicion of corruption and end up in prison. Is that what it means to do well in life?"

The father said he was severely crushed  on hearing these words from his son. His many efforts to help his son break through the competitiveness of society and succeed left him feeling like a first class snob. He did have other words he could have used: be mature, humble, have good sense, dignity, respect, sacrifice for the country, love for the family. However, he felt these words would not have been helpful in the jungle of competition we now have in society--so our children only hear words such as  "study and don't play games."

What do our children see watching the news on TV? he asks. Usually another 'dirty hand' picked up by the police for questioning, big names in society who give bribes and receive them; bankers who are picked up for embezzlement and breach of trust; those close to the president, politicians, and company officials  who are making prison seem like a second home. 

Korea, the columnist says, is high up on the list of corrupt countries in the world. According to a Hong Kong research group that compared countries in Asia, Korea is listed as 11th out of 16 countries (with the 16th being considered the most corrupt.). Korean integrity in government  was shown to be less than Thailand's, which was 9th on the list, and Cambodia's, which was 10th. And in the last six years, the integrity index for Korea has steadily declined.

Though income has increased and Korea has become a leading exporting country, we should not be considered a developed country, according to the columnist, if we can't expose corruption and maintain a high moral standard in society. He concludes the article by telling the older generation that they have to show the younger generation a love for the good and a hatred for evil. If we continue to be insensitive to corruption and irregularity in our society and are not embarrassed by this, we will not become, he says, despite our material affluence, a truly developed country.

New Archbishop of Seoul

On  June 25, the Seoul archdiocese plans to hold an inaugural ceremony for the new archbishop, Yeom Soo-jung. On the opinion page of a secular newspaper, the writer gives us some background on the appointment.

Archbishop Yeom is a fifth-generation Catholic, 69 years old, who entered the seminary after graduating from middle school. Twelve years later, in 1970, he was  ordained. He worked in the diocese in many different positions and in many parishes, as well as in the minor and major seminaries. In 2002 he was made auxiliary bishop of Seoul and Vicar General of the diocese. He will follow Cheong Jin Suk as the 14th ordinary of Seoul.

The new archbishop has been in the Seoul archdiocese for 54 years, with a background that is conspicuously different from his predecessors. Cardinal Cheong, after 28 years, returned to Seoul to become the ordinary after being the ordinary of the Cheongju Diocese. His predecessor, Cardinal Kim, was a priest of another diocese, and after a period as the ordinary of the Masan diocese was made the ordinary of Seoul.  In the past, auxiliary bishops of Seoul have become ordinaries of other dioceses, but this is the first time that a Seoul priest who spent his whole life in the Seoul diocese was made its ordinary. He is considered an older brother to the 1100 priests of the diocese, and they have responded to his appointment with great joy.

There is a great difference from the two ordinaries that he follows, says the writer. Cardinal  Kim is remembered as a prophetic voice and a light in the darkness during the autocratic years from 1970-80s. Cardinal Cheong, on the other hand, was a canon law scholar and continued his writing during his busy years as ordinary, with a total of 36 books published. And Bishop Yeom stands out as a pastoral worker during those many years, and, in contrast to his two predecessors who had very strong charisms, Bishop Yeom is seen as a humble and gentle person. Those who have met him see him as informal and  warm.

The new ordinary will be the head of a diocese that has 27 percent of the Catholics of the country and  13.5  percentage, for the ratio of Catholics in Seoul to the total Seoul population, the highest in the country. However, at the same time, there are problems. The number of Catholics attending Mass has decreased, the number of babies baptized has fallen greatly, and the number attending Sunday schools are small. The future seems far from promising.

The changes in the world and society will demand a strong voice from the Church. Bishop Yeom, since he was involved directly in the  diocese, will have much working in his favor.The writer hopes that with the change of leadership in the Seoul diocese it bodes well for a change, both in society and in the Church.                                                                 

Serious Problem of Society

Last year in Korea 108,000 persons attempted suicide. Of this number over 90 percent had mental problems, most of which involved depression of some sort. Those who succeeded in killing themselves were about 43 a day, which placed Korea first among the developed countries of the world with the most suicides.

This tragic situation was the focus of the cover story on suicide in the recent Catholic Times. There are indications that society, according to the Catholic Times, is attempting to work together to discover the reasons for so many suicides, to spot the signs of helplessness, and to do something about it.

A  seminary professor of ethics referred to statistics from last year showing that 16 out of one hundred persons with mental problems contemplated suicide and 3 actually made the attempt. The Catholic Church has consistently seen the  evil of suicide but because of the mental state of the person it is rare that a funeral will be refused. The reasons for the large number of suicides generally given are depression, difficulties in life, pessimism, alienation, school bullying, but it would be unwise to try to select one as the primary cause, since in most cases multiple factors are in play complicating the problem.

Media also does not help matters by the way they tend to sensationalize their coverage of suicides, leading some vulnerable people to take on the same mindset, unwittingly preparing them for copycat suicides. The news, in attempting to present the suicide as factually as possible, often give reasons for the suicide which is no help to those who are looking to overcome their difficulties.  For a Catholic, the remedy would be their faith and a strong  spiritual life that sees adversity as a part of life, giving them the strength to overcome the adversity with God's grace.

Families of those who kill themselves, it must not be forgotten, are deeply hurt by the tragedy. This is also an area of concern for all those who are working to prevent suicides.  In his article, the professor reminds the Church of the important work that needs to be done to prevent these deaths. This will require a great deal of love on the part of the diocese and parishes to help those with financial, emotional and psychological  problems. Dioceses and parishes will have to have a safety net for those that need it. It will also require more targeted education of those who will work in this area in order to build a network of talented counselors to provide the help when needed. And at the same time to  contribute in changing the values of our society that all too often are a breeding ground for alienation and despair.

Celebrating the Beauty of LIfe

A university professor, writing in the Peace Weekly, reflects on the many ways Koreans have of celebrating memorable events. In the East the Shi Jing (One of the 5 Chinese Confucian classics), variously translated as the Book of Odes, the Classic of Poetry, the Book of Songs, the Book of Poetry, is Korea's earliest collection of poems, comprising 305 poems, some possibly written as early as 1000 BC, portraying seasonal and religious celebrations that go back to the time of its writing.

Korean history enables us to see the development of the festivities as embodying a composite of many varied elements of the culture, especially its religions and its artistic accomplishments as they developed over time. The festivities were all ultimately about celebrating life: its dynamism, our common destiny, our overcoming adversity, and our attempts to sublimate life artistically. We are able to discover in these celebrations, according to the professor, three common elements.

First,  we see the social nature of the celebration. It was not celebrated alone. It can be compared to the shaman rites, when others would be present, celebrating together our common humanity. We are social beings who are naturally suited to relating to others, and this was the core aspect of all celebrations.  

Second, its religious element. The celebration helped to maintain the community by providing the participants with an experience of the generative power of their coming together. It deepened their religious experiences, showing them how to live and avoid, or minimize, the difficulties of life by recognizing their mutual suffering and its meaning.

Third, its artistic element. It compressed life into drama and artistic activity, expressing the peculiarities of our life by replaying it with music, art, and narration.

Compared with these traditional ways of celebrating life, our present celebrations have a temporary societal aspect; the mystery is absent. We are left only with an unfocused enthusiasm, gatherings without solidarity, acclamations without thought, beauty without having nurtured a place in our hearts to appreciate it, leaving us unable to reflect this beauty in our lives. Consequently, says the professor, our celebrations are not able to encourage life but only able to give temporary  pleasure.

However, humanity cannot live without celebration, he says.  Our own individual enthusiasm for life is the foundation for the celebrations, our enthusiasm is the holy place where we experience unity and love. Celebrating this enthusiasm for life is not achieved without effort, and its special beauty, he reminds us, has been there from the beginning of time.

How to Enjoy Freedom

All of us want to enjoy as much freedom as possible, but we know that we are not as free as we think. Writing in the Catholic Times on spirituality the columnist starts with the example of himself with a rope tied to his wrist, he wants to free himself but the rope disappears into the fog. He pulls the rope but there is also a pull on the other side.

This is the way we live, he says. Many say:   I am free, and it is true that we have a certain amount of freedom of the will, but it is not complete.It is like the freedom in a tug of war game. I have the freedom to pull the rope but if the other is strong,  I am  not able to go very far. The fact that I have the freedom to pull the rope becomes meaningless. I have the freedom of not pulling, but then I am dragged by the other side. In this case, whether I like it or not I pull.

We do not have complete freedom. So many acquiesce  to this way of living; we give up pulling the rope with all our  strength and instead accept being  dragged and think that we are free. This low grade of freedom  being dragged and passive is not what God wants.

We all want to  enjoy as much freedom as possible. God has made as to live this life of freedom. It is the life of agreement, compassion, harmony and competence: living  in agreement with God, compassion for others, in harmony with  creation, and displaying our human competence. Pulling the rope with all our strength is the way to this kind of life. This is the life that we have been called to live and given to us freely and consequently, the obligation to respond is great.

The columnist lists  ways in which we respond.  With grammar school children parents take the responsibility of their lives from 40-50 percent, while in middle and high school from 20-30 percent and in college about 10 percent the rest is handed over to the children but we have parents who take responsibility of children even after they marry.

To feel responsible for everything that we do is going beyond reason. Even dealing with ourselves we can be immoderate in taking responsibility. We leave no room for God in our formation which makes it hard to develop in the life of virtue for we trust only in human power. In the example with the children we also have the other extreme of no concern for the children. They are old enough to take care of themselves, let them learn the hard way and the like.


We all have been created as unique individuals  to live in harmony with God and creation. To live  in harmony with the will of God is our calling. The ultimate education is to live in the way we have been called to be: helping the person live in harmony with all of creation. Since we are a small part of this creation, we contribute to this harmony and direct ourselves to complete harmony in God.     

How Should One Live?

How should one live? is a question reflected upon recently by the desk columnist of the Catholic Times. There are people, he says, who live as though life were a bouncing ball, following it wherever it bounces. And there are those who fatalistically leave everything up to heaven. The Christian, however, believes that living in God's glory is the eternal goal of  life and attempts to do so daily.

The only time of life when we had no worries was infancy, soon followed by school, work, raising a family, financial concerns, and other pressures of life. Until death, this is the life experienced by most people.

Animals, outside of the time of sleep, do not shut their eyes. They are completely controlled by their five senses. With their eyes closed they are not able to judge anything. People without belief in God are not much different, says the columnist. They may shut their eyes briefly for meditation and reflection, but they put their trust solely in their senses and intellect. Decision making comes from their innate capabilities that they muster from the data available: seeing a wall they avoid it, lacking money they worry, feeling pain they grieve, and having the good things in life they are happy.

The real Christian deliberately closes his eyes, trusts in God, listens to his voice, reflects on his words, prays, finds joy in life despite its sadness, and sees hope in  pain. She not only trusts the information from the senses and intellect but trusts in our faith in God. 

There are many that do not ask why they live, concerned only with what they see before them. The columnist compares this to the paduk player who forgets the  stone in the middle of the playing board and rejoices with the making of a few houses on the fringes. When we forget the ultimate meaning of life, when we have no strategy for the future, concerned only with tactics for the here and now, we may win a small victory but we will surely lose the greater victory.

He is reminded of the words Cardinal Kim left us. "Lord, I will not think of this or that. I will not be concerned about how much I love you.  I will just look upon you and walk with you. Everything is yours and will entrust it all to you." The cardinal's words, he acknowledges, have deeply affected him, bowing his head whenever they come to mind.

This is the way of experiencing joy in life, which we try to share and practice with the alienated of our society. With God with us, we can overcome everything.