Wrestling With the Problems in the World

Religion, and spirituality in general, continues to receive the respect of many Koreans, even though most have no religion and despite an increasingly secular lifestyle approaching that of the West.

Surveys over the years have consistently shown that Catholic clergy are very much respected and trusted for what has been described as their "authenticity" and "sincerity." They placed first in this category in surveys taken in 1970 through 2000; after 2000, respect for the  priesthood slid to 11th place overall, perhaps due to the increase in the number of priests. (Firemen came in first, nurses second, environmental workers third. ) However, within the field of religion priests still came in first.

Regarding the respect factor generated by organizations, the Catholic Church placed first, ahead of the Buddhists, and  Protestants.  A monthly bulletin for priests attributes the high rating to the involvement of the Church in past human rights issues.

In one survey that sought to determine the happiness index of workers from a variety of occupations, 100 in all, the priesthood placed 4th. Although the  priesthood is not considered an occupation by the Church, most people see it as a job just like any secular activity that receives remuneration. (Grammar school principals were first)

In 2006, a survey of 143 priests in a Korean diocese revealed that personal relationships among some priests were not ideal. Among fellow priests 37.1 percent were uncomfortable with the relationship, and 27.3 percent of them considered their relationship with the ordinary and bishop uncomfortable. It's the quality of the relationship with the bishop, according to the monthly bulletin, that will determine  to a great extent the spirit of the priest.

Although the Holy Spirit is active in the work of the Church, this does not guarantee that all priests will be in a trusting relationship with their bishop.

It's important to remember that the Church is not a place where clergy and laity are looking for ease and comfort or even looking for respect; nor is it an association of friends. It should be a place, the writer says, where we wrestle with the problems in the world, and work for peace. This is the work given to us as our core ministry by Jesus.

Forming a Healthy Society with the Proper Education

We have often heard that "Success breeds success; failure breeds failure."  Though generally accepted as true, one of the most admired teachers in my seminary years was the first rector who worked with a different standard. Instead of working with a student's strong points, he worked on eliminating his weaknesses.

Four years of Latin was once required before entering the seminary college. Those who lacked this requirement had to take a remedial program in Latin for a year before being accepted for full seminary study. The rector in charge of that preparatory year had devised his own remedial program, assigning tasks that would stimulate us to work on eliminating some of our weaknesses. 

Those who had difficulty getting up in the morning or being on time for class, he would put in charge of seeing that everyone got up in time and were ready for class; they would ring bells to mark the time for rising in the morning, putting lights out at night, and going to class.  Those who had difficulty reading became lectors in the refectory and chapel. Students who lacked confidence would be given work in the dispensary. During recreation you would be assigned to a different sport each day to learn the rudiments of the different sports, and to get a feel for teamwork, whether you were athletically inclined or not. The rector, with his hands-on approach, showed the depth of his interest in each one of us, which motivated us even more to do the best we were capable of.

Another rector of an alternative school in the Andong diocese, recounting in the Peace Weekly the return to school  of his students after summer vacation, explained there was sadness among the teachers because one of the students, Chong Su, did not return.  He had been absent from school before the vacation but made it known that he would return and be a better student. It is believed that his friends, who were either expelled from other schools or hated the regimen of studies and left, convinced him to join their vagabond lifestyle, and he couldn't resist.

In Korea, in 2010, over 30,000 students had been expelled from high school; 10 percent went on to study at an alternative school; the others probably ending up on the street. Most of these middle and high school dropouts are responsible for much of the crime in our society, according to news reports, and the Department of Education shows little interest in these disturbing statistics.

The Andong alternative school, which is connected with the Catholic University, has as its primary objective the preparation of students who can't for one reason or another function in other schools. Programs for hairdressing and cooking, among other practical pursuits, are offered in an ongoing attempt to find the aptitudes of their students so that natural abilities can be nurtured.

The article ends with the rector expressing hope that Chong Su will return to school. The problem, he says--and has been saying for the last six years--is a lack of love. Until this lack is supplied there will not be a change in the dropout rate.  There are no problem children, he says, only children who are not loved. And if we are concerned enough to pay attention to the problem, the dropouts themselves, he assures us, will be sending us the same message. Like the seminary rector, the rector of the alternative school is more interested in the needs of individual students than in a strict adherence to the curriculum or the needs of society. When the demands of society become the central concern of the educational program, the needs of many students are not satisfied.

In the long run, who suffers by this current state of affairs? Society or the individual? If we believe the news reports that school dropouts are responsible for most of the crime in our society, then the answer is clear: both suffer. To pit the needs of one against the needs of the other not only fails to grasp this simple fact, but puts the long-term health of society in jeopardy.

A Christian's Goal in Life

What is the goal of life? God, for the religious; for the nonreligious, living well. Although pursuing the material comforts of life is a tempting goal for many, the believer knows this will not bring true happiness. For a Christian, the direction of our life can be summed up by  the familiar words of Jesus in the Beatitudes. The columnist writing on spirituality for the Catholic Times says the secret to attaining happiness is to have the proper goal in life: living in harmony with God's will.

The proper goal for a Christian married couple should be, first and foremost, to live for the glory of God, and secondarily to save one's soul. In the same way, he says our students who often study hard primarily for personal success, should have as their primary goal the glory of God. This approach to life requires obedience to the will of God.

Faith needs obedience. Without obedience, says the columnist, we will have the temperament of migratory birds, and problems that are fundamentally spiritual will come to the surface. We can do well for a time with a fickle temperament, but then we flutter off to something else, when dissatisfied or in trouble.

Obedience  requires that we cease being migratory, that we be steadfast in our pursuit of our goal, while being open in our responsiveness in meeting the challenges of life. If we are restricted by our thinking, the columnist believes that the option of choosing among multiple possibilities will not be available to us.  God is always there  to fill us with his word; with his grace, he  is moving our minds and hearts in the right direction. Throughout  our life God continues to move us, whether through those we meet in life, or through the Scriptures, the lives of the saints, or our reading--both of books and of nature. We have no way of knowing the  many ways he speaks to us, so we have to be ready and open.

This is not an easy path for most of us; there are many things that militate against this openness to God and others. Those fixated on  yesterday will not be open to the dawning of a new day, or be open to the possibility of an ever-renewing self that is responsive to our neighbor and to whatever situation in life comes our way. We contemplate  yesterday only to learn about living today, striving each day to be more in harmony with the will of God. To insure that we stray as little as possible from our good intentions, it's helpful at the end of each day to reflect where discord made its appearance in our life, and take note of what can be improved to bring us more in harmony with the will of God.

A Natural Byproduct and Ultimate Gift

Why do you go to church? A straightforward, simple question that usually calls forth a similarly uncomplicated answer: to find peace of mind. Life is full of trials and difficulties, and for many of us trusting in Almighty God is the hoped-for  way to peace. However, it doesn't take long before we realize the Catholic way is different from what we expected. When nothing seems to change after baptism, and peace of mind doesn't come, we fall away. 

Seeking peace of mind is not the correct motivation for a religious life, says the Peace Weekly columnist in his column on happiness. Peace, he says, is the result of a faith-life lived well. It is not handed to us before starting on our life's journey. 


Jesus tells us clearly in Luke 12:51: "Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." Jesus, judging exteriorly by the trials he endured, was without peace, a dying every day, to be reborn every day, until the last dying before the resurrection. Baptism  is  also a dying, which a person well-catechized understands, the columnist tells us, that begins our journey following Christ, a journey that demands endurance and patience. Peace is not the goal of this Christian journey; it is, instead, living a life of worship of God, a life of gratitude and praise. Put starkly and simply, the Christian's first responsibility is the worship of God, and secondly saving his or her soul.

"So then, let your light shine in the sight of men, so that they may see your good works, and may glorify your Father, who is in heaven" (Matt.5:16). Our life should be guided not by decisions that will bring us what the world prizes most, but by decisions that will bring more glory to God. Many Koreans believe, as do many Jews--following traditional beliefs--that a sign of God's favor is to receive five blessings: long life, wealth, children, a good name, and a peaceful death. Of what was considered important in life, the five blessings, Jesus didn't possess even one of them.


What is important is that God be the center of our lives. When we make ourselves the center, everything is turned upside down. Instead of making God the center, the temptation is to make our happiness and peace of mind of central importance, using God to enjoy creation when we should be using creation to enjoy God. The effort is unnecessary and destructive; God is always there to make us happy and bring  us peace.

Yes, peace is important but peace is not what we should be searching for. When we live a fully Christian life, peace is the natural byproduct. And the ultimate gift.

Importance of Reading

Though illiteracy has been mostly eliminated in Korea (ranking 23rd in the world with a literacy rate of 99.0) it has not led to increased "thinking power," says Anastasia, the young woman recently interviewed by the Catholic Times. Describing herself as a "reading coach," she claims that learning to read well is the easiest and most economical  way to strengthen our thinking powers, enabling us to solve many issues that may now seem too vexing and difficult to face.

Even though we are now living in an information-filled digital world, where reading is more important than ever before, many people do not read or don't read well; her life's mission, she says, is to change this reality by working with anyone who shows an interest--the young and the old, individually or in groups--instructing them on how to become better readers. And in the process, she teaches them how to create personal myths which can be useful in guiding their way through life.

She developed the program, she says, believing that our thinking powers have to develop so that we can help ourselves and others become more thoughtful, discriminating people. One such benefit would be an enhanced ability to discern the hidden messages, often masquerading  as objective news coverage, disseminated by an increasingly agenda-driven media.

We shouldn't be fooled into thinking, she says, that, because we are more agile in thinking rapidly, our thinking  has become less shallow.  Knowing how to use search engines, she says, is one thing, to have a contemplative appreciation of life is another,

When she was in college, teaching part-time, she soon became aware that many students were having difficulty expressing themselves in writing, which spurred her interest in teaching reading skills. She went on to graduate school to take courses not only in education but in psychological counseling in order to develop  her abilities as a reading coach. After graduating, she opened her own educational center and would like to be instrumental in developing a culture more open to reading. Recently she was given a prize from the government, acknowledging the contributions she has made in this field.

As a Catholic, she expresses her disappointment that her fellow believers are not as interested in reading as are members of the Protestant Churches, but is hopeful that Catholics will soon begin to share their interest in reading.  She feels that more informed reading, especially in the field of spirituality, would do much to make our Catholics grow in the faith.

The Eucharist not a 'Hot Button' for Many

The Korean language has a word that signifies a person's 'hot button' and when touched an angry response is sure to follow. This hot button should have been set off by Catholics when they heard of the recent incident in Jejudo.

The incident occurred at a Mass celebrated outside the construction site of the controversial naval base.  Many inhabitants of Jejudo do not want to see the island militarized, increasing, as they believe, the possibility of war, as well as not wanting the beauty of the island  destroyed.  Riot police dispersed those at the Mass, and some of the hosts fell to the ground; a policeman was seen stepping on the Eucharist.

The news of the  incident, by way of the social network system, was carried throughout the country and made front page news in the Catholic Times. The journalist, a young Catholic himself, found it difficult to understand the indifference of the Catholics regarding the incident, especially on the part of the young, and expressed his surprise at the lack of an appropriate response.   

He concedes that we are all entitled to our opinions and that we need to respect the rights of all to express themselves. Some commentators on the incident would like to know why Mass was being held in such a location in the first place, where there was a greater possibility for the disturbance to happen. Others do not think what happened was any big deal. To those who side with the first observation, the columnist would answer by reminding them of the central place of the Mass in the faith life of Catholics. In answering the second observation, he would question whether they fully understand what is involved when they receive the Eucharist.

The journalist ends his article by noting that for Catholics the preciousness of the Eucharist is our hot button. When we remain silent on this issue, he wonders what others are going to think, knowing that non-Catholics see the Eucharist only as a wafer. To make sure this kind of incident is not repeated, he suggests that we speak out whenever such incidents occur, not only because of the nature of the offense, but for our own spiritual health as well.

Burial Culture

At one time the Church opposed cremation because of the anti-religious beliefs of some of its proponents: denial of immortality and resurrection. However, the Church no longer forbids the practice. And in Korea, among religious groups, close to 70 percent opt for cremation.

Cremation and the new burial procedures that come with the new burial culture was the topic of a recent Peace Weekly editorial. Because acquiring land for cemeteries is no longer possible, the priests' council of the Seoul Archdiocese decided to include, in the burial plot for priests at the main diocesan cemetery, a mausoleum for the interred remains of priests. Standard burial procedures would  continue as usual, but after twenty years the remains would be removed, cremated, and placed in the mausoleum. The cremation procedure will begin with the interment of priests, a decision by the archdiocese that was very much praised by the editorial.

Hopefully, this will be the start in the diocese of a new burial culture among the parishioners, as well. The many cemeteries within the diocese are now filled, and the only possibility left is to convert these cemeteries to this form of burial. The example of the priests should help the parishioners to take a more informed look at what is now being done, which should help them see the need for the cremation procedure.

Although there are many problems associated with conventional burials, few cemeteries are interested in changing over to mausoleums and crypts. The main reason is the opposition of many Koreans; death is not a subject they, or anyone, for that matter, like to think about. If, however, the new burial culture does catch on here and more mausoleums are built, which are often beautifully constructed, these buildings alone may help us experience more directly how death and life are part of existence.

The example of the Seoul Archdiocese should help make cremation a more acceptable option than it currently is for many Koreans; that was the hope expressed by the editorial, adding that visiting these mausoleums may also be a spur to increasing their growth in spiritual maturity and spreading the new burial culture throughout the country.