Structures in society influence the way we think and act, some for the good and some not for the good. A university dean
writing in the Catholic Times tells us that children who know how to
play are the ones who are successful, and goes on to explain his thesis.
In
Asia, he says, we like to see landscapes with mountains, and rivers. It makes us feel at peace. However,in much of our society we are
separated from nature, and those who suffer the most from this isolation
are the children. There are many maladies and mental difficulties that
can be traced to this isolation.
Sports are good, but
other games and being close to nature, animals and plants are a great
help in relating with others, and developing the imagination, and
creativity. A Japanese scholar is quoted as saying that the children who
know how to play do well in their studies.
All parents
want their children to be leaders in society. Preparation for this
comes in friendliness with others, having a moral sense, able to
understand another's situation, and able to sustain a loss. We want a
person who is genuine, and has developed their humanity. Capability in
society demands more of their emotional make up than IQ. Nature
stimulates the child's senses, they come in contact with different
sounds and smells, they feel the bright rays of the sun and fresh air,
all help to heal, console, jolt the spirit of inquiry, adventure and
creativity.
We know that there is not a direct connection
of success in life and honors in study. Without the ability to related
with others one will not be successful in life. According to the dean,
the International Civic and Citizen Education Study placed Korean
students very low in cultural interaction skill, and the ability to
live harmoniously with others. The results have been shocking to many
in society.
Our students no longer have to go to school
on Saturdays and have the weekend to play and to develop their
emotional and human qualities. Our students, says the dean, have the
longest hours of study compared to other countries and when they go to
Sunday School and are faced with more of the cramming methods of
education it is easy to see why they don't want to go.
He
recommends another way of conducting the Sunday School programs so that
the students will be looking forward to meeting their friends and to
enjoy the time they are together. He feels that if that is accomplished,
even if they fall away later, they will remember the happy days of
their Sunday School years which will help them to return.
Here we have a
ideal situation but there is the need to impart some knowledge to the
students, and without that we only entertain which is not what a Sunday School program should be.Those who
are responsible for the programs of the students in parishes
know the difficulties and the need to make the programs more
attractive and better attended, a work in
progress.
Prayer,is a frequent topic of Lenten Sermons; the Peace Weekly
reports on the talk given by a Benedictine priest at the Cathedral
Parish in Seoul. He begins with the definition of prayer as the soul to
soul talk with God, briefly describing what is central to our religious life.
This was the thinking of Clement of
Alexandria (150-215) and Evagrius of Pontus (345-399). Prayer is dialogue
with God. What can be said about the subject is plentiful. God transcends us but also has 'personality'. Our prayer is from one
person to another. Christians believe they can relate with God.
We need to understand, he says what we
mean by dialogue. It is not a simple give and take of words but the
receiving and giving. Receiving the word is to hear the word
attentively; giving is to respond. With this understanding we have
hearing and responding. Since we have difficulty hearing what another
says there is a problem with our response. Our prayer with God also has
this pitfall. We need to hear what he says, and live it in our
lives.
Steps for prayer: with the body-- vocal
prayer, with our head-- meditation, and with our spirit--
contemplation. We do not know God with our mental faculties, but with
our whole being-- the inner recesses of our being. We have to go from the
head to the inner most parts of our being. At Baptism we received this
Gift from God, his Spirit.
Prayer should be
short and simple. In the Gospels the tax collector and the prodigal son were reconciled with God with few words. Prayer is not a transaction
with God but done with a pure heart not to receive something but to turn everything over to the providence of God, and desire all that he
wants for us. This is the way the Blessed Mother prayed: "may it
happen to me as you have said." Jesus in the Our Father taught us to
pray: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." We pray not to
have our way, but by the help of the Holy Spirit to become the tool that
will accomplish his will by emptying ourselves.
Our attitude in prayer
should be one of humility. We are to lose ourselves in God. In
searching for God we are to forget our self-- the attitude of the
tax collector in the Gospel. We need the attitude of gratitude.
The highest point of our prayer should be as in the Mass where we thank
God for all he has done for us.
Prayer continually draws us to a oneness with God, which requires sorrow for our failures; the key that
liberates us from the illusions of our spirituality.
Yesterday, March 17, we remembered the 150th anniversary of the
finding of the Hidden Christians of Japan. Both the Peace Weekly and the
Catholic Times had articles on the history of the Church in Japan. In
1614 Catholicism was banned in Japan. Many were martyred but many also
went underground, passing on what they received to their children for
over 250 years.
Japan opened the door to foreigners
only slightly in 1853, and Catholic Missioners from France belonging to
the Paris Foreign Missionary Society built a church in the Nagasaki
area that was only for foreigners. The priest Fr. Petitjean had just
finished the church and shortly after was visited by a small group of
those living in the area.
The story of this first
encounter of a French missioner with the ancestors of the Christians from the
16th and 17th century are well known. Details are told in many different ways but
the essential elements are pretty much the same. A family of ten who were the descendents of the early Christians met the French missionary with trepidation and the expectations that this
had something to do with their belief, and when they learned about the
Blessed Mother, the Pope and that the priest was celibate, they knew
the priest belonged to the church of their ancestors from 250 years
earlier. They had continued to use the word from the
Portuguese--Christao, transliterated in Japanese meant Christian.
March
17th 1865 at noon was the beginning of a new era in Japan of
Catholicism. At the beginning of the 17th century there were 400,000
Catholics in Japan who because of the persecution were killed or forced
underground, and this year is the 150th anniversary of their discovery in
the meeting with Fr. Petitjean. They have kept the history of
Christianity in Japan alive. Little by little they began to appear from
other areas of Japan.They became the central figures of Japanese Catholicism.
Even
after this meeting with the priest, however, persecution of
the Catholics continued,with death and exile to remote areas of Japan. Because of
the serious criticism of many of the countries of Europe the Meiji
government withdrew the edict of persecution in 1873, but it wasn't until 16
years later that the constitution was changed, allowing religious freedom for the country.
For
seven generations Christians were considered wanted criminals; in
exterior action they acted like Buddhists and when they were thought to be
Christians and picked up for questioning, often would walk on the
holy pictures to save their lives and on returning to their homes
would ask God for forgiveness. For hundreds of years without priests or
books they remembered the liturgical feasts and continued to baptize
and have Catholic weddings. This year they are formally celebrating the
Feast of the Hidden Christians, with the representative of Pope Francis present at the festivities.
Sunday Mass: can't help but not go (obligation),
others look forward to going. The subject of an article
in Bible & Life written by a priest who spent 40 days on a silent
retreat at a Benedictine Monastery where the monks go to Church four
times daily: early morning, before noon meal, before evening meal and
before going to bed at which time they sing the Liturgy of the Hours.
The
article mentions the numbers of Catholics who come from different parts
of the country to spend time at the monastery and attend the liturgy.
The large church is often filled. On feast days the Mass is sung in
Gregorian Chant; visitors are given books with Korean lyrics below the
Latin, with the strange musical notations, few are able to follow.
The
Mass usually lasts about one hour and half, and on big feast days two
hours, yet they come long distances to be present at the Mass. There is
nothing extraordinary about the Mass except for the singing which many
fine moving and helpful in directing their minds and hearts to the
altar.
The priest who is from Seoul sees a big difference
in the way those who come to the monastery for Mass and the way some of
his parishioners are quick to leave after communion and some after the
last blessing even though the Mass on Sundays only takes 40 minutes.
After the Mass is over at the monastery the 70 monks process out which takes time for them to leave the sanctuary, all the visitors wait in their
pews.
He
has spent some time in the country parishes and notices a difference
in the way the city and the country parishioner attend Mass. It is not
possible to say that the country people have more time on their hands;
they are also busy. The difference is not, country and city however, but the way we look upon our spiritual life, and the importance we give it.
The
future will without doubt see greater distractions and reasons to be occupied with our daily cares. Advances in technology more common, and we will be more attached to our smartphones as a 'vade
mecum' (something useful that one constantly carries about), which
already is the case for those both in the city and country. We are
already finding it difficult to address the question of smartphones and
liturgy for many will see it as a help instead of a distraction but
this is an area where we need a great deal of personal discernment and
discussion.
Some remember to set the phones to vibrate
so the ringing will not distract others but at Mass should not we be so
intent on what we are doing, that God and what he wants to
say to us is all important. On our part we do everything we can to diminish the distractions, smartphones and even watches distract. We need to see the time spent at
the liturgy as the most precious time of our week and not do anything
that will take our mind off the Mass.
Anger is one thing and violence that follows from anger is quite
another; in our present society we see the results of anger
increasing. Catholic Times has an article on anger in society, and
begins with a number of the recent incidents where anger was not
controlled: resulting in murders, injuries and serious violence.
One
report said the number of those seeking help at hospitals for anger
disorders continues to increase. The difficulty that Koreans have
admitting a problem in this area, says the columnist, indicates the
numbers are much larger. Social problems from this uncontrollable
anger syndrome accounts for 40 percent of the crimes of violence. Last
year over 366,527 crimes of violence, 152,249 were from fits of anger.
What
is the reason for this uncontrollable anger? Authorities say much of
it comes from the self-centered environment that we have. Society puts great value in satisfying our personal desires, and when obstacles are in the way, anger appears. Our society is a very
competitive, and ways of relieving anger are not easily
found.
This
is not a sufficient reason for the situation, however. In the family we see the development of this
anger, not solved, it extends out to society. A professor is quoted
in the article: all are somewhat angry in our society. Those in the 20s
and 30s face unemployment, and are not happy with the way structures are
managed. The generation of the 40s and 50s are fearful of losing their
jobs, and fear the unknown retirement, and those in their 60s and 70s are not appreciated.
Last year we had the Sewol tragedy-- the reason for anger of most of our citizens for something that
need not have happened. We had the International Monetary Fund crisis
in 1997, that left Korea with a restructuring process that is still felt.
There are also those who find the
polarization of society and the income disparity a reason for the
anger. A situation that many feel is not possible to overcome no matter
what they do: the haves and have-nots of society and the stratification
of the situation.
What can be done with the present
situation? Realization that anger is a part of daily life and find ways
to reduce, prevent and cope with the stress that one experiences in life. Find a hobby, asking others for help in managing the anger,
and if necessary to go to a doctor for help. Families should be
helpful in the process, and efforts in schools and families in character building.
When society has
problems that are not resolved, efforts are necessary to
make for a just and fair society. Extreme interest in results and
the competition in society has to be faced with the realization what this is doing to society. This can be examined with principles and theories
but continual efforts are necessary to prepare a level playing field for all the citizens.
In her Peace Weekly column, reflections on current events, the writer tells the
readers she has been baking bread for the last 20 years and it is not
difficult. The process of baking is science, cooking is art. The reason
bread is baked at home is that it is tastier than the bread you buy, because of the ingredients that go into making the bread. She even
thinks of bringing back some of the ingredients from her next trip to Europe. For with almost all things you get what you put in.
Without
putting anything into the oven you can't expect bread to pop out. Our
image of a welfare state is all about receiving. The columnist when in
elementary school studying geography, and heard about the Scandinavian
Countries, and the way they solved the problems with health and
education she considered it like heaven. This understanding is not
completely wrong, seeing the expense for a college education, and the part time work many have to find to finish college
When we receive something for free, there are those who are giving. When we go to the hospital and receive a
receipt for payment, noted is what the individual pays, and what is paid by the health insurance, paid for by
many.
We can't identify payment of taxes and expenses.
There are other ways to get the money: selling one of our islands down
South or deciding not to sponsor the Olympics or by other strange and
extraordinary means. Otherwise, something we are doing now has to be
curtailed. The fact, she says, we can think of welfare without
taxes is sad.
If we want welfare programs we need to face
squarely what we need to do.
Other peoples problems have to become our interest. If we want to give
help to the homeless and free lunches to our school children we need
to change our thinking, or else it is only pie in the sky.
No
matter what is done there will always be opposition. In Germany, tuition is free for a university education.Numbers going to a university
are much lower than Korea. The parents of the students going to the
university are relatively better off than those who don't, and the
free education system in Germany has opposition because those who go
to college earn more than those who don't, so many are not happy with free education that the citizens have to pay for with their taxes.
This is easily understood. Free health, secondary education and help for the elderly does not have the same difficulty that free university education has.
She concludes with the words of a German hymn. "When we
forget ourselves,/ and leave behind the road we have taken/ and begin
again,/ really begin again.// Heaven and earth meet/ we have
peace among us.// Heaven and earth meet/ peace is found among us."
Heaven comes down to touch earth that is not what we mean by heaven is it? However, a welfare state is getting close to what heaven would be like.
When we are sick we divide the world into those who are sick and healthy.
What kind of world do we have when we overcome this kind of thinking? We acknowledge that we have the sick and healthy but we go beyond that, and it doesn't influence us. This is being recollected.
A Jesuit priest commented on this word in his Lenten sermon that was written up in the Peace Weekly. 潛心 are the Chinese characters for the word we could express by 'recollection'. Knowing, but not necessarily having the knowing influence us would be his definition. During his talk all kinds of coughing was heard, but recollected (attentiveness) means that it didn't distract those present from listening. Those who are taken up with the coughing are captured by it.
When we pray we have many worldly thoughts that come to mind. 'Recollection' means we are able to empty ourselves.
Our aim in prayer is to be one with God. We know what God wills for us, and we work to implement it. We do not try to get God to do our will. Often our oneness with God is of the type where we want to control God, which comes from pride.
Believing in money we are controlled by money, believing in power we are controlled by power. We are controlled by what we believe. Jesus should be our hero. We listen to the words of Jesus and make sure they are his words, and not our words.
What is happiness? Is it possible to speak about happiness to those who believe that no matter what they do they will not be happy? We often decide what happiness means for us: mentally deciding what is happiness and what is unhappiness. But is unhappiness really unhappiness? A person who fails the exam for college has just taken the first step in a new world that wasn't even suspected.
We need to become attentive to what will bring true happiness. God, Jesus lives in me, how can I not be happy? Even if poor or not healthy, Christ lives in me. This for a Christian is mind-boggling.
He concludes his talk with the ways to achieve this attentiveness. First: God gives us only what is good. Secondly: need to understand the will of God. Thirdly: carry out God's will. One of the biggest distances we have in life is the distance from the head to the heart, and the distance from the heart to the feet is even greater.
One of the Korean proverbs similar to the English: once bitten twice shy--- once we have had a bad experience we are careful not to repeat it. Very difficult to abandon completely what we have experienced in the past. Being recollected is one of the ways we go about doing this.
Without effort this is not accomplished. We want prayer to be easy, and we want to approach God without effort-- not caring about what he desires. Is this not being interested in what the spouse wants, and desiring only what I want?
We need to know what we are thinking. It is in this recollection that we have attentiveness and we come to an understanding of God's will. The priest's desire was for us to to be recollected as the topic of choice for Lent.
