Desiring a Deeper Faith Committment

In Korea where guns are not permitted, the shooting incidents in the States remain a mystery to many. The desk columnist of the Catholic Times discusses the problem within the context of our own culture. 
 
He  mentions that in the States many people want to limit the selling of  firearms while others want the right to buy them without restrictive laws curtailing what they believe is their constitutional right to do so. Because of the possible enactment of measures controlling gun purchases, there is now a hoarding of firearms and ammunition, with many dealers saying they can't keep up with the demand. All this happening despite the recent shooting deaths of 20 children while attending kindergarten class. He attributes this to the western frontier mentality of many Americans who feel a need to possess weapons. He also acknowledges that many citizens are influenced by the gun lobby: the politics of  money. Even though the majority of the people, according to the latest polls, are for a change in the possession of guns, he believes the influential sectors of society will militate against change.

The columnist refers to the book Who Rules America? by William Domhoff as representative of the thinking of many that the wealthy and the powerful  are in control. To protect their interests, Domhoff says they have easier access to the most current information coming from research centers, foundations, and ad hoc commissions, and from insider information from international big business sources, among others. This is not done in any covert way but is legal and easily seen.

No matter how certain segments of society feel about this state of affairs, the privileged groups within society will have control, according to Domhoff, and the hope for change is minimal.

In Korea we also have certain things that will not change. Still very much in evidence are the old regional differences, the bonds of political and economic friendships among the elite classes, the preeminent place and concessions given to the conglomerates in our economic structure, a general unconcern of the government with the common people, and at times the unmerciful unconcern of the most vulnerable in our society. Overall, there is seen a lack of will by our lawmakers to change in any meaningful way the status quo.

What about our religious life? he asks. Looking at his own life, he admits that if he has no personal experience of the truth of what he is asked to believe, or has not seen sufficient scientific evidence for its truth, then the difficulty of giving wholehearted response keeps appearing. Along with this, he believes our mental laziness often prevents us from participating with enthusiasm when we do believe.

What do we understand by community? As Catholics, we believe, he says, that we are a community that has been saved, and yet remain passive, without a sense of meaning, looking for consolation and a faith life that seeks to evade its requirements. We bury out of sight our Christian vision of life. And our clergy often finds it difficult to adapt to the times, holding on to a form of  clericalism. More so than at any time in the past, the columnist believes that Catholicism in Korea is in need of reform, renewal  and repentance.

Will this be more difficult to accomplish for the Church in Korea, or easier, than it will be for the States to do something about ending gun violence?  It may depend, he says, on how serious we are about this year of faith that we are in the process of living?

The Lesson Learned From An Apostate

A columnist writing on spirituality for the Catholic Times recalls a trip to a pilgrimage site commemorating Korean martyrs. While there, he stayed at an overnight lodge and met by chance a priest who was in the seminary with him. He was now the pastor of the parish where the pilgrimage site is located. 
  
As the pastor of a parish that went back to the time of the martyrs, he became interested in the history of the early Church, and became interesting in the life story of the martyr Yi Joon-chang Ludovico (1759-1801). 

Ludovico was a bright, talented person, which helped prepare him for the difficult times he would soon confront as a missioner to his own people in the Chungnam province. At this time, the Catholics didn't understand all the discipline and structural realities  of the Church and picked their own priests to minister to them. Ludovico  was chosen as the priest for  the community, and due to his efforts the community grew to over 300 members. It was from this community that years later the first two Korean priests and many other Christians would trace their roots. 

During that time no other area embraced Catholicism the way Chungnam did. The parish grew so rapidly that Ludovico saw the need for priests and worked to have a priest come in from China. During the persecution of Catholics in 1791, Ludovico was picked up by the authorities, denied his faith, and was released. He returned to his hometown but was persuaded to move because of his continued work with the Christians, and because the danger of being reported was always present.
 
Bishop Daveluy was quoted as saying the apostasy of Ludovico was a great sadness and embarrassment to the Catholic community. His parish did grow to over 300 members in a short time under his leadership, and, in a very worldly way, he may have thought they needed him, and denied his faith to be with them.
 
Ludovico later was sorry for his denial, and again professing his faith, he continued his teaching and missionary work. In 1801, he was again arrested and killed by beheading. The pastor used the story of Ludovico to address the serious problem today of many lax Catholics and those who have left the community of faith entirely.

The pastor thinks the Church should not only study effective ways of increasing the numbers of Christians but also how to invite back those who for one reason or another have decided to leave the Church.  

The words of the pastor made him think about the recent emphasis on the new evangelization. Not only do we have to continue our work of evangelization, as in the past, but at the same time look for ways to invite back to the community those who have left. Doing this earnestly will be a good example to those who have left, he said, but cautioned that we should not expect quick results.

Learning to Let Go

The Art of Aging, a book by Anselm Grün, is used by a columnist of the Peace Weekly to give us some helpful spiritual pointers for aging well. Learning to let go is the key. We are forced to let go of our infancy and years of youth, and old age is asking us to do the same, says Fr. Grün. With age this becomes more difficult, but he tells us the more earthly desires we get rid of the more spiritual fruit we will yield.

Those who have lived life sincerely and with intensity will find this possible, says Grün. The first part of life, infancy, youth and middle age, is naturally lived with intensity; the second part of life, old age, is time for letting go. Those who have not lived life sincerely and intensely will have nothing to let go, and will look back with regret.

In the last years of life, we have to give up our possessions, health, relationships, sex, power, and finally, our very self. At death all earthly possessions are given up, he reminds us. We give up all these things to prepare us to give up ourselves. The last challenge in life is to give ourselves up to receive God, the last spiritual challenge we will all face.

To grow old gracefully, as we confront the mystery of life and death, means to become calmer, more accepting of this mystery. Silence becomes more important to us, and peace comes forth. Loneliness is not a concern and one looks back with gratitude.

Our reminiscences of the past need not suggest that we are tied to the past, but merely a looking back on the way we have lived. There are those that go back in their lives and are bothered with guilt; they remember the hurts and the missed opportunities. These thoughts bring depression. There are also thoughts of hurts that were healed and these are profitable. This is not a return to the past that looks for the hurts, but a search for healing. 

We are all preparing for death: the completion of life. Only those who see themselves being born again in God will have peace and gratitude in facing old age; our older years will be lived with spirit. Facing death in this way is a blessing to others. To die well is not only for oneself but opening the way for others to die well. When we do not hesitate to go back to God, no matter at what stage in life we find ourselves, life becomes a gift to others.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Each year from January 18th to the 25th is Christian Unity Week, a time to go beyond our own communities of faith, blame ourselves for out lack of unity, while making efforts to do better, and pray for the day we will be one in Christ. This was the reason behind the creation of the Octave, renewing our desire for unity and fellowship among Christians. The Catholic Times editorial stresses the importance of this week of prayer for all of us.

The Church began a renewed desire for Christian unity after the Second Vatican Council. In the Decrees on Ecumenism and on Eastern Catholic Churches, and in the Declaration on Religious Freedom, ecumenism was  covered in detail. We have more in common that unites us than in the elements that separate us. The belief in Jesus and love, and the absolute love for the word of God that we have in common, makes the Church here on earth work for unity.

Our fellowship with other Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ, should also be extended to those with different beliefs. We as Christians continue to dialogue and to cooperate with the other religions in our own country. We should not  be limited, the editorial goes on to say, by our religious beliefs and different cultural backgrounds from embracing the whole world.
 
The archbishop of Gwangju, president of the  Korean Bishops Conference commission promoting Christian unity and Inter-religious dialogue, in a recent talk, quotes Micah 6:8: "You have been told, Oh man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness and to walk humbly with your God." This, said the archbishop, should be our concern.
 
We need this true unity and harmony within our own faith communities, as a prerequisite, if we are to be successful working for unity with others. We should have a unity of the diocese with the parishes and a unity and harmony of priests and parishioners. This should be our starting point when our goal is to live in unity and harmony with all religions and be of service to all of humanity.

It is easy to forget that the way we relate with those we know the best often translates into the way we relate--often even more so--with those not so close. Our attitudes are what affects our words and actions in our present communities, which can prepare us to be more effective peacemakers to the larger community outside.

Eating and Living Well Trumps All

Whether the material wealth of a nation brings happiness to its citizens is a question not easily answered. For many countries, however, it clearly does not bring happiness. Korea, for example, has become an economic powerhouse. Back in 1960, it had a gross national product per capita (the wealth distribution of a country showing the dollar value of its goods and services in a year, divided by its population) of 100 dollars. Today, with a GNP per capita of over $20,000, Korea is the envy of many developing countries, but despite the remarkable increase in the material wealth of the country, there has been no increase in the level of  happiness.

Writing the recent opinion column of the  Catholic Times, a professor with a doctorate in education introduces us to the Easterlin Paradox: poor countries, like Costa Rica and Columbia, have a higher happiness index than the economically advanced, OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), countries.

If this is true why do countries continue to praise themselves, he asks, for their economic achievements. There are many countries that have gone from a colony to independence, having received a great deal of help, but have not been able to leave poverty behind.

Although Korea has made great strides economically, she still has a large foreign debt, the middle class is disappearing, the number of the poor is increasing, and, with the acceptance of neo-liberalism, there is increased polarization within society.The upper 20 percent has 13 times more income than the lowest 20 percent and many families are in debt. At the beginning  of 2013, the competition is intense and employment is difficult to find. The disparity between the haves and have-nots is increasing. Moreover, Korea leads in the number of suicides among OECD countries and has the lowest birth rate and happiness index.

The professor, using the United States as an example, says that after a GNP per capita income of over $10,000 is reached the influence of economics on the happiness  of citizens decreases. Now that Korea has reached $20,000, there will be little influence on the happiness index of the country, the professor says. The Saenuri party expressed an interest in equalizing the income of 99 percent of the citizens in comparison to the 1 percent of the highest income earners. The Saenuri Party could read the pulse of the citizens, noting that the middle class was less interested in the right or wrong of issues but rather in earning enough money to eat, live well and pursue happiness.

The promises of the Saenuri Party will be their political platform for the next five years. They have promised to help more workers enter the middle class, and they have indicated that they will report on how successful they have been in keeping that promise each year. The citizens will be eagerly waiting to see if the Saenuri Party can deliver on their promise. 

Dowsing for Health

Today there are many unorthodox theories and remedies to alleviate medical problems, though most of them the medical profession considers old wife's tales and superstition. The Catholic Times recently interviewed a searcher, also known as a dowser or diviner, who goes about the country intent on finding subterranean water veins or streams. He has begun a research service to study the radiation from these water veins to neutralize them.

Many Koreans are willing to believe that underground water does harbor radiation that can seep to the surface to harm them. This belief is easily confirmed by media advertisements for beds that promise to prevent the radiation from reaching them during their sleeping hours. Many ill persons whose illnesses have not been helped by medicines will change the location of their beds to avoid what they believe are the harmful radiation. Since dowsing is so widely accepted in Korea, there is a general acceptance that this unorthodox approach to curing some medical conditions may be valid.

When the French foreign missioners came to Korea back in the 19th century, they introduced dowsing to find underground water for wells. This practice was continued as a result of some well-known priests who wrote on the subject. However, the subject is still surrounded with skepticism, and the scientific community has little sympathy for it.

Water diviners will often determine before building a house where the water veins are located in order to avoid them. This way of thinking is a throw-back to the days of the geomancers. During the  interview the research head said he began his study of water radiation after his wife became sick. He spent most of his money for treatment, and she was close to death. After her recovery he decided to devote himself to the study to help others with his research center.

Today, he is a firm believer and promoter of dowsing for  water, and what the practice can do to help alleviate medical problems.

He has traveled to different parts of the country to discover water veins and to neutralize their effects. His research center will train dowsers, he said, with the knowledge necessary to discover and prevent the effects of the radiation. He has given lectures at the Catholic University of Pusan in the life-time study program. He intends to prepare lectures on water radiation, its history and why it's harmful to health.

The center head admits that many who come to him have all kinds of doubts but are looking for the last piece of straw to grasp, after they tried everything else. He wants to be a missioner for this message.

Many ideas concerning health, long popular in the East, have been accepted in the West; acupuncture, for example, is no longer dismissed, but largely accepted as a valid medical remedy. Whether dowsing to discover underground veins of water seeping radiation up to the surface will eventually become as popular, we will have to wait for the future to tell us. 

Blow Away the Cobwebs

A questionnaire was sent to 626 college professors to choose a motto for the year 2013, and the motto chosen was 除舊布新"Blow Away the Cobwebs." Do away with the old and extend the new would be another and more literal translation of the 4 Chinese characters that were chosen. Our columnist in the Catholic Times uses these words as a meditation on the new year.

The wise of the past, according to the columnist, were not interested in getting rid of all that is old, nor did they believe that the new is always good. Wisdom tells us to keep the good of the old and to block the evil practices of the new. This is what it means to blow away the cobwebs.
 
To rid ourselves of abuses and unhelpful old ways is one means to be renewed. In our present society we talk a lot about renewal, says our writer, but he feels that this talk has little to do with interior change, but is an easy way of escaping our present crises.
 
The columnist recently interviewed the president of the Bishops Conference and was impressed by his comments on this crisis: "There are many who are talking about the crisis in the Church. We see many who separate life from  faith. Can we describe this as a pattern of secularization and relativism?  Our faith life is not being changed by a desire for renewal and a change of heart. We have a desire, a prerequisite for renewal, to believe and to confess Jesus, but many do not know him. There is a strong desire to know him. Many Christians know what we are to believe with their heads, the way to receive grace as something of habit, and the commandments seem to mean little.  The commandments should be embodied in us, but  we remember only the words. They have not become part of us but separated from life."
 
If we believe that faith is one thing and life another, this is not a sign of a Christian. Renewal means to become what we are. Faith is to make what we believe a part of our daily life. We are not to think that our parish can be used by us like a lifeboat, a Noah's ark; we need to be continually renewed. The first step is to see ourselves as sinners. We have to set aside our own opinions; expedients only weaken our ability to face the challenges. 

We often act like the squirrel on a treadmill, going around and around, making little progress. This is not what our faith life should be. We should make the crisis of faith into a challenge, an opening to a new way of living our religious lives.