The Desk Columnist of the Catholic Times recalls a class in the
humanities where they were asked what five things
would they do if they knew death would come the following day. She
mentions up until that time she had no experience of death in her
family, relatives or acquaintances. She only knew death from movies,
books and talk, but no direct contact with death.
She doesn't remember what she said when her turn came but it must have been fragmented, romantic like
preparations. She had her own experience of death shortly after with the
death of her mother. It came suddenly. She had been a journalist
for the Catholic Times for a year when her mother died. She had no
health problems, she was in a sleep from which she did not awake: a tremendous shock.
Both her parents where baptized
shortly before, she believes it was to help her along in her new work.
They probably thought that that being Catholic would help her get
points in the work place.
After the mother's death she would
open her prayer book and often pray for the dead. She cried much but she
also had the hope of the resurrection, and the belief that she would
meet them again which was a great consolation. She believed in the
communion of saints which words she often saw in her prayers
which gave her great strength. Death for a Christian, sad as it is, also brings hope to the person who
is bereaving.
Elisabeth Kubler Ross (1926-2004) a
psychiatrist, was the one who made a study of death and dying and gave
us the five steps that are often experienced by the dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. A
priest working in Japan who has made death his own area of study,
Fr.Alfons Deeken, a Jesuit internationally known in the field of
education about death has added another step: a happy death-- the mental
state of desire and hope.
Hope not for a return to health but hope for eternal life and the meeting of those they loved.
We
are coming to the end of the month dedicated to the souls in
purgatory, and the beginning of the liturgical new year with a new feeling in our hearts. We begin the new again with
expectations and hope.
Reflection is in order with our
hand on our breasts to determine if we have made the preparations that
are necessary for the new year. During the first day of the new year we
pray: "Come O Lord Jesus". The word "advent" means "coming", a
coming that is here already and one that is not yet.
We
probably tend to forget that the happiness, if we listen to what Jesus
came to teach us and do it, should begin here in the now, and
continue for all eternity.When we sing: "Come Lord Jesus" we are asking
him to come to us now, if we are ready and prepared to meet him now, we
are also prepared to me him at our death and at the end of time.
A
religious sister writes in the Catholic Digest about her trip to the
market and a taxi ride back to the convent. The taxi driver helped her
with the packages and weakly asked her where she was going. He looked
worn-out.
In the taxi he asked her the easiest way to get to her house. She was surprised by his question
and told him so, and he told her this was the second day of work, and began to give her his personal history like a reservoir that had burst, all came spilling out.
His
wife had died a number of years ago. He had two sons, the older one
died of a sickness, and the younger one was not married and living in
Japan. He had borrowed a lot of money, despite it all his business failed, lost everything, and was in debt.
Some of the debt was to persons that were well off but there were also
those who had given him all their savings, and for these he was
especially concerned.
Life had been hard on him. There were many times that he contemplated suicide but he couldn't do it because
of those that lent him the money. He didn't want them to lose hope so
he went to those that lent him money, and told them he would repay them,
and began his work as a taxi driver.
When
he thinks deeply about his situation he realizes that they are the ones
that kept him alive.The sister could see in his face the determination
to make good on his promise. She was amazed at his words. Where
did he get the strength to want to pay back his debt? Although he
failed in his business he was not a failure in life. When life doesn't
have too many downs it may not be difficult to keep smiling and keep
going, but when the zingers are many the person's real and true self
appears. These were the thoughts running through her head.
When he arrived at the convent he helped the sister with her packages, and before he got back in the taxi he turned to the sister and told her he also was a believer, but hadn't been to Mass in a long time. He wasn't able to overcome the shame he felt in not been able to repay the debt. He did say he would return to church soon. She thanked him, and told him he was always welcomed to come to her parish church.
As
the taxi moved out of the yard she sent a prayer along. She felt like
she had just finished watching an emotional movie scene. She knows that
God will bless him for his desire to pay off the debt.
She was greatly moved by the encounter. It gave her another reason to appreciate the pleasure of living. There are many like him who overcome difficult odds to do the right thing, and show the resiliency that we are all called to manifest because of our trust in God.
College entrance exams for 2015 have ended, and the same lies continue to circulate within society. The Desk Columnist of the
Catholic Times expresses his strong opinion on the situation. "Those who
have learned what the text book teaches have no difficulty with the
exams," and similar words, make little of the results of the exams.
From November to the beginning of the new school year in Feb. we will have more
than 200 young people kill themselves. If family members are
included we have over two suicides each day.
All are
faced with few or many exams during life, but the college entrance exams are
uniquely different for it will determine the life of the family for years to come. Results determine the price tag for the individual given
by society. Scholars in the field see this as an evil, making for a
society of academic cliques.
Some see the problem as a
weak disposition of the young people, others see it as a rite of
passage that exists in all cultures, and we should not be too
sentimental about the situation. The loss of so many young lives, and
what we need to do is not a problem easily solved.
Suppose,
he says, that the number of students died because of Ebola or SARS
what would happen? The government official responsible would have
to resign, and the president would be apologizing to
the citizens with head lowered, and measures to remedy the situation
would shortly be in place. Why is it that the adults do not look into the
situation? But instead like parrots repeat: "they only need to study the
text books...."
Christians along with the president and
the ministers in education are disinterested spectators: a really strange society in which we live.
All seems hunky-dory, and nobody wants to ask the right questions.
Young
students are weak living in a vertical and authoritarian society.
They do not vote which is another reason for the lack of interest of the
older generation. This lack of interest in the young is also shown in
the churches where we have a large number of students no longer seen in the pews.
Our response should be to approach them, listen to them, and feel with
them.
One of humanities great gifts is the ability to sympathize
with those who are sick or hurting: the capability of empathizing with
others and to act. Jesus is our example; he was sent by the Father to be with
us and he showed this feeling for others by his healing. His empathy for others brought about the healing.
One
of the great weapons that we have as Christians is the grace to
sympathize with others in their hurt. More important than being number one is to relate with others. We need to become more sensitive to the hurts of others, and to develop this part of our personality. This
seed was put into the hearts of the followers of Jesus, and this seed for love needs to find expression in our lives.
Farmers at this time of the year are looking forward to a period of
leisure. The life of a farmer gives them little time to admire the
scenery, and now with the Free Trade Agreement with China there is a
great deal of uncertainty and worry on what the future will bring. In an
article on the opinion page of the Catholic Times, a city dweller, who
worked for a large construction company, some 12 years ago returned to
the farm and began raising grapes. He gives us his thoughts on country living.
The situation for farmers, he says, is like the flame of a candle in the wind. With free
trade he sees everything in a fog and is uncomfortable. He wonders
whether there is a future in farming? Many feel the greater wealth of
the country will lead to the greater happiness of the populace, this he strongly believes is false. This is a belief held by many in
government, and yet we know that wealth does not determine the degree of
happiness of the citizens.
The numbers of those
retiring from work is increasing. He mentions a number of his old
buddies who ask about life on the farm. They are now white haired and
have time on their hands.They are looking for ways to occupy themselves
after the many years in the work force. They mention how infrequent are
the visit of their children and would like to see a change in the way
we live. He compares life for some after retirement like the male bee,
the drone, who is kicked out of the hive.
His son
will be in third year high school next year and he comes home every
other week end. The father casually told his son that after graduation
from high school he could always work on the farm. The son shook his
head derisively to which the father told him if you go to college and
after graduation you can't find a job you can always come back to a big
farm which I will buy for you. Now when he comes home he is more relaxed
and magnanimous.
In the country along the road you
see banners fluttering in the wind especially during the winter months
they look out of place. You have them congratulating some recent son or
daughter of the country who has just received their doctorate, passed a
civil servant exam, or was hired by a big company. They make known to
all, the family situation, and how proud they are of their children. He
would love to see banners flying in the wind mentioning a son who has
decided to return to the country to work on the family farm, or a son
who has set up a cafe in the area and is asking for the people's
patronage.
Life on the farm is busy and the future will
not see any big changes but he finishes his article with the joy that
comes with life on the farm. He would like to see the government make
life on the farm easier, with less worry, but he also knows farmers have a great deal of
joy from the small things of life that are all around them, and hopes
this will continue in the future.
Recently in Korea as in other parts of the world there has been a renewed interest in natural farming. We talk a lot about organic farming but natural farming is going to another level of the natural. In the View from the Ark in the Catholic Times, a priest writer introduces us to a Japanese farmer, Akinori Kimura, and his new way of growing apples.
Another Japanese Farmer Masanobu Fukuoka (1913-2008) a philosopher, besides being a farmer believed the less a farmer did to disturb the natural ecology- no plowing, no chemical fertilizers, no weeding or use of herbicides or pesticides the better the land would respond. Akinori applied this teaching to growing apples and gave us the 'Miracle Apple'.
The articles mentions a talk that was given at one of the concerts by an educator to raise money for unwed mothers. A video that was shown moved many of those present. The talk was about the farmer Akinori Kimura and the documentary that caused a sensation in Japan when it was shown Dec.7th in 2006. His apples at a normal room temperature will not rot even after 6 months. They sell out as soon as they hit the market. A soup that is made from the apples is famous in all the first class restaurants in Japan. When a typhoon hits an orchard he has less damage than the ordinary orchards.
However, to reach this point in raising apples required a great deal of time, frustration and failure. Not using pesticides, blight and harmful insects reduced his harvest to almost nothing. Neighboring farmers considered him a fool. He was so demoralized, he even contemplated suicide. He withdrew to the mountains. During this time he saw an oak tree with its acorns that were not fertilized, no pesticides used, and gave us healthy acorns. He realized that it was the grass and earth that allowed it to happen. It took him 10 years to reach this in his orchard.
He gives credit to his family for the success he was able to achieve. The immediate cause for the change was his wife's allergy to the pesticides he was using. The love he had for his wife enabled him to overcome all the difficulties that he met during the ten years of work. This was a difficult period for the family because during the transition little money was coming in for the family to live.
The priest reminds us the word to learn and the word for spouse in Korean are written the same, leaving us with the message that a couple are made to love and to learn together up until death. Sadly, he says that for many it is teaching and the power of authority that has priority. In families of this type all may seem well but they are not happy, and there are many problems between parents and children.
He believes this is also true with priests and parishioners. They should both be interested in learning. The priest should be learning from the parishioners, and achieve happiness by working for the miracle of love.
The lesson that can be derived from the natural farming methods for growing miracle apples can be transferred also to our place in families, communities and society. The reason that Akinori was able to work for 10 years to achieve the miracle apple was the love he had for his wife. He wants us to overcome jealously, backbiting and lack of love which we often express, and make the effort to harvest the miracle fruit of love.
This past Sunday was the last Sunday of our liturgical year, and this Sunday is the first of Advent and the start of the New Year for us Catholics. A vocalist and part time columnist for the Peace Weekly give us important words of advice to begin the new year.
Every time he goes on the stage or is being video taped for a program there is a great deal of preparation. Arrangement of his clothes, the makeup, the tuning of his guitar, always effort to make a better appearance for his audience and the TV viewers. Rehearsals are required and since this involves others, a lot of time is spent waiting.
Rare is the time when he goes on the stage completely prepared. At times after rehearsals and a simple meal he sees that his hair, clothes, and makeup is messed up and because of the weather his guitar is in bad shape. All requiring fixing to get back to where he was in the first place. Despite all this preparation after the performance there is always the feeling that something was not right leaving him dissatisfied.
He feels this is not only true with vocalists but with all of us; all we need to do is change some of the words he used for himself. Especially at this time we have the students who have taken the exams for college entrance and their parents who tried their best and are waiting for the results. But in retrospect there is often the feel there was a lack in the preparation, and a feeling of regret. A feeling that we all have felt, and the next time, we say, it will be different.
For a vocalist there is always another opportunity to go on the stage, another program. Of course there is always the chance of making a serious mistake that would threaten the end of the vocalist's career as a performer, but even here, working diligently there will be another opportunity.Only one chance to succeed: a life that would not admit of mistakes and failure would be hell. Difficult it is to even imagine that kind of situation.
We have St. Peter who in one night time denied Jesus three times and St. Paul who persecuted the Church. Two good examples of those who have been given a second chance. Life is filled with second chances. Is it not true, he asks, that what we at times considered important looking back at the past turns out to be of little importance.
The opportunities that await us in life are like exams. What we did yesterday that worked out well may not be the case today. Life is filled with exams in which we test ourselves many times over. We learn from what we did that was not so good, correct our mistakes, and do the best we can at the next opportunity.
He concludes his column by telling us that one of our greatest discoveries was the eraser. What we can erase, means we can start anew. Whether we are satisfied with what was done yesterday or not, it was yesterday. We want to completely erase our mistakes; remember what was done, and begin again.
We have this opportunity with the start of the new liturgical year. Let us remember that we are always given graces to overcome our faults, and on our part be prepared to accept them.
Maryknoll Local Superior, Fr. Gerard Hammond, was recently interviewed by Catholic News (Here and Now). He has made 57 trips to North Korea and considers them as pilgrimages, for Bishop Hong and many Christians from the Pyongyang Diocese, and the Benedictine Religious, died a martyr's death in the North.
He is secretary of the Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for National Reconciliation. The interviewer asked him what he thought about the UN resolution on Human Rights in the North. Father considers his work with the TB patients in the North as work to extend human rights. Need is for more humanitarian aid to the North. Sickness is prevalent and infectious diseases continue to spread.
Father has been working as a trustee in the Eugene Bell Foundation since 2003. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis has developed a
resistance to the antimicrobial drugs used to cure the disease.
Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is TB that doesn't respond to the drugs of the the past and the foundation is working together with the public health programs of the North to eradicate TB with a new series of drugs. In many areas of the North the Eugene Bell Foundation is bringing in new medicines and medical equipment to help in the fight against TB. Referring to the TB patients: Fr. Hammond says, "Jesus worked among the suffering of his time and we want to be among the suffering of today."
When those who are suffering are at their lowest, the Church should be with them. Conversing with them in a peaceful way, the encounter and the interest we show is naturally helping to reconcile the North and South.
Fr. Hammond mentions that one of the most fearful things we face in life is the lack of interest--apathy. We in the South have to show more interest in the North. We have to pray and act, not only with material help, but to search for ways to communicate with the North.
One of the big problems is the inability of the South to travel to the North. He knows that prayer is not sufficient: we need acts of reconciliation and ways of directly showing interest in the North.
Bishop members of the committee for reconciliation have shown a desire to visit the North. Fr. Hammond and the the Benedictine Abbot of Waegwon, before the division of the country are members of communities that worked in the North.
Every six months the committee meets to discuss and examine the new information that has been gathered about the North and decides what the South can do to help the North. Although the bishops may not be able to go they hope someone will go in their place.
Fr. Hammond has a special affection for the Catholic Church of Repentance and Atonement in Paju, Gyeonggi-do. For those that can't go to North Korea he would like them to make a trip to the Church to pray, reflect on the fratricidal war between the North and South, and determine how we can help to bring about reconciliation and renewal.
Although he is an American with permanent residence in the South, he has no difficulty getting a visa to go to the North. He hopes to grow in humility and poverty and to work as a missioner in Korea until he dies. He has great sadness that those in the South are not able to meet those of the North. He is only acting as a temporary bridge for those in the South, hoping the day will come soon when they will meet as brothers and sisters.
