Vacare Deo ( to be free for God) a Latin expression, is the title
of the column: View from the Ark, in the Catholic Times. A monk of the
Benedictine Order wants us to reflect on what is meant by this injunction
form the past. We need holy leisure and we have less of it with our
busy life.
The monastery at this time of the year gets
many visitors for retreats both individual and group retreats. The word
retreat in both Korean and English means to leave the busy life and
retreat to a place of quiet to spend time with God. Adults and children
both are busy with TV, smart phones, they have little time to think.
Why
is everybody so busy? Is it not that one feels uncomfortable in doing
nothing? Fear that we will fall behind others in our money orientated
society is one of the reasons for the busyness. We are caught in the
trap of competition. What are the results? We see it in the indexes for the present and future: in the present suicides, and in the future
the birth rate. The first is our present reality, and the second a sign for the future.
Life
is becoming difficult. We have a word for the three things to avoid: no
romance, no marriage and no children.The feeling of pain from
frustration and loss is great. We do not know where we are going but we
are running to get there.
We need to stop and look
around and begin again. We need to find the meaning for rest--a
long breath-- a breathing in and out and realizing the simplicity of
life. Our breathing will move us on to see the simplicity of our lives.
Stopping means to rest, moving from the complicated to the
simple, from the non-essential to the essential from the external to
the internal,
Where is the Christian to find this rest?
It is not only the wealthy that can enjoy rest: often they are the
busiest. We do not find rest only in nature or in a monastery. Rest is
not an external place but in ourselves, where we give God the chance to
work within us. God is always working within us but we are too busy to reflect about his presence or interested.
The founder of L'Arch
Jean Vanier has these words of wisdom: "We don't realize the spring
we have in us. We know the intelligence in us and what we can
make-- emotions, craving and impulses but the warm spring that gives us
life, and the God who gives us his love we don't
know."
Prayer is what makes this presence felt, when we
say we are too busy to pray what we mean is we don't want to pray.
Our whole existence is present in God. When we are living a
troublesome life and are fatigued God enters and gives us relief and
leads us to rest, and the result is that our whole existence is in God.
Hard work beats talent when the talented doesn't work-- seems to be
the majority opinion. We see this expressed in a multitude of ways; put
simply, without sweat little is achieved, talent or not. Success is 10%
inspiration and 90% perspiration.
A comedian writing in
his column in the Peace Weekly uses the Korean phrase: 'sweat does not
lie', and tells us what he has learned about effort and results. He has
always liked the meaning of the phrase 'sweat does not lie'. As a child
it meant little but when he began playing sports, it began to make
sense. As a child after playing and sweating he would come into the
house and take a refreshing shower. However, with sports you always have
the win and lose divide, and one's goal is to win.
When
in high school, he became interested in Hapgido (Korean self-defense
martial art) and spent all his time outside of school, working out in
the gym. He did achieve the silver medal in the National Hapgido
tournament for his efforts.
His spirits were
high. He began to have goals which he tried to reach, which developed
into a habit. To reach the target he had to sweat, and this became his
ironclad rule of life.
In college, his major was
computer science, and he wanted to master the use of the computer but
where did the sweat come into play with the computer? You sat down and
used the fingers on a keyboard, there was no sweat involved. However,
when he struck the keys, they were struck to sweat. He
gave his best to the study and did feel drops of sweat on his back.
There
are many kinds of sweat: the kind one experiences in sports, the sweat
from eating hot foods, and the kind of sweat when you need to go to the
toilet and none are in sight.
After military service,
he began working as a gag-man--a stand-up comedian. During this period,
there were many times he experienced cold sweat. Going on the stage he
trembled and was overcome with fear. When given lines to memorize before
going on the stage by his elders, he was petrified.
Gradually, these feeling began to disappear. Often he would come down from the stage and forget what he said during the performance. He is
thankful for the experience; the cold sweat disappeared, and with
the communication with his audience during his performances he now
sweats.
With acquaintances, he reminds them to sweat. He tells them not to lean on family or college classmates but give themselves to the work at hand, and learn to sweat and not look for recognition but learn to satisfy oneself.
A survey made by a research institute discovered that most of the elderly over 65, spend their leisure time watching TV. A column in the Catholic Times gives us some facts that the writer wants us to ponder. The elderly are limited to the channels that are of interest and fun to watch. Sadly, because of economic difficulties, many are not able to take advantage of the cultural events in society.
Many viewers, even though vaguely, put trust in what they see and hear on TV. When a restaurant is introduced by the media, it becomes the restaurant of choice, and viewpoints become the majority opinion.
Those who are producing TV programs know they have to grab the attention of the viewers when they surf for channels, the time is less than 3 minutes, so they have to fill their offering with sensational and stimulating fare. Those who think that TV is offering the viewers something objective and impartial are not sufficiently discerning.
TV is often called the Fools Box, but the writer quotes the French intellectual Pierre Bourdieu, who felt TV was hindering democracy with its vulgar industrialism-- not only distorting our culture but hurting a healthy democracy.
Precisely for this reason the Church is concerned in the way the mass media and the news are conveyed. "Information is among the principal instruments of democratic participation. Participation without an understanding of the situation of the political community, the facts and the proposed solutions to problems is unthinkable. It is necessary to guarantee a real pluralism in this delicate area of social life, ensuring that there are many forms and instruments of information and communications... Among the obstacles that hinder the full exercise of the right to objectivity in information, special attention must be given to the phenomenon of the news media being controlled by just a few people or groups. This has dangerous effects for the entire democratic system when this phenomenon is accompanied by ever closer ties between governmental activity and the financial and information establishment"(Social Doctrine of the Church #414).
Consequently it is up to the viewer to be wise and discriminating when dealing with the mass media. Especially in viewing TV we need to be discerning and critical of what we see. It is not the wise thing to view programs to fill up our time. There are many other things that can be done: reading magazines, papers and the Scriptures.
The writer even gives the readers the possibility of not watching TV. He mentions his own experience in not watching TV, and has found many other profitable things to do. Time for prayer, and being more interested in those around him; his world has become larger. What is important is to be the master and not the slave. When that happens we are free.
A good question to ask ourselves is who takes the place of the Pharisees and Scribes in our society. They were the influential leaders in society the makers of the culture and the reason that Jesus was exceptionally severe in his criticism of their words and deeds. They were influencing society and not for the good-- distorting the values that were the message of creation.
We hear a great deal about the conflict between the North and South Korea these days: another reminder that we don't have a peace agreement but only a ceasefire.
Hopefully, the two parties will realize that 70 years with a ceasefire, and the continual threatening words and skirmishes on both sides of the demilitarized zone are not good for either side.
South Koreans are curious about the North and their way of life. South Korea has some 30 thousand defectors from the North living in the South, so knowledge of the North is easily available. A drop in the numbers coming to the South seems to be the situation at present, and we do have an increase in the numbers who return to the North. Reasons would be many, but the difficulty of adapting to a very competitive society would be one, but also the efforts of the North inviting them back with financial rewards.
In the column devoted to news about the North in the Catholic Times this week, the writer addresses the place of women in the society of North Korea. North Korea is very proud of their laws and policies in regard to the equality of the sexes-- "no place in the world is more welcoming to women than North Korea." The columnist does not disagree with this evaluation for in laws and policy this seems to be the reality.
North Korea had the laws in place even before the country was a political reality. Women's role in society was equal to the men, and their work in the house was recognized by society. On the books, women are equal to the men but the Confucian society, and the understanding of patriarchy is sill strong and operative.
During the famine years of the 1990s, the work of the women increased greatly. Although the treatment of women as inferior to men and the traditional patriarchal Confucian society were a hand down from previous generations, the sexual assault of women was not a problem, however, this has changed in the present society. The columnist finds that a lower status of women in society, despite the laws, has been accepted by the women and endured.
The open sexuality of the men and the expectation of purity on the part of women is making for a society contrary to the one intended. The lack of education in the schools and society is a reason for the change. The economic difficulties of society and the need for women to work to raise their families have increased the problem, and given birth to the trafficking of women and forced prostitution.
This has also increased the violence in the homes. No matter how serious the problem there is no recourse to the law. This abuse of women in the home, concludes the columnist, is a basic human right not respected: a problem in the North not perceived by society.
“If it should happen one day — and it could be today — that I
become a victim of the terrorism which now seems ready to encompass all
the foreigners living in Algeria, I would like my community, my Church,
my family, to remember that my life was given to God and to this
country. I ask them to accept that the One Master of all life was not a
stranger to this brutal departure. I ask them to pray for me: for how
could I be found worthy of such an offering? I ask them to be able to
associate such a death with the many other deaths that were just as
violent, but forgotten through indifference and anonymity.
My life has no more value than any other. Nor any less value. In
any case, it has not the innocence of childhood. I have lived long
enough to know that I share in the evil which seems, alas, to prevail in
the world, even in that which would strike me blindly. I should like,
when the time comes, to have a clear space which would allow me to beg
forgiveness of God and of all my fellow human beings, and at the same
time to forgive with all my heart the one who would strike me down."
These
two paragraphs are from the last written testament of Dom Christian de
Cherge, the prior of the Cistercian -Trappist Monastery In Algeria. He
was one of the seven monks who died at the hands of terrorist on May 21,
1996 in Algeria.
Writing in the View from the Ark of the Catholic Times, a religious sister reminds the readers of the many incidents in Korea in which people have suffered and their rights trampled, and we forget and move on. She writes about our lack of solidarity with those who are hurting.
She mentions a group of citizens who have decided to have citizens mourning for the victims of the Sewol tragedy. Every month on the 16th, they join in each village for a mourning ceremony that will continue until 2017, August 11: a thousand days with those who have suffered because of our apathy and concern for self.
Sister
mentions three types of solidarity that was expressed in the
testament by Dom Christian: solidarity in death, in life, and in
responsibility. This last solidarity is not just having a guilty
conscience but acknowledging our responsibly for the evil in the world,
and the need to do something about it.
In
the Sewol tragedy we have the pursuit of profit at all cost which is
pathological-- overlooking truth and justice for money and power followed by all kinds of vices. She wants more than sorrow for the harm
and injustices we have in society but solidarity with those
hurting."Not you are you, and I am me" thinking but understanding that we
are connected, and I should be moved by empathy and compassion for those
who are hurting and do what I can to improved the situation.
Mentioned is the web site SKY & SEWOL. Jesus came to be one with us- in solidarity with all humanity. This solidarity does not need theology to understand but a disposition of the heart.
Both
Catholic papers reported on the seminar on 'Trauma Focus Therapy' which
will continue at St. Mary's Hospital in Seoul. Korea has had more
than its share of trauma causing experiences: Japanese colonial rule,
the Korean War, the fight for Democracy, continues to influence
society. The recent Sewol tragedy will also, if not addressed produce
for years to come, trauma for the families of the victims and society.
One
article begins with the statement that with the external mental trauma
a person has to deal with, we often have a mental and a psychological
breakdown. Dr. Mary Kwan who arrived in Korea from the States is a
member of the team conducting a seminar for those dealing with trauma in
society. Efforts are necessary to train those who work with persons who
have experienced trauma: not treated the experience will be handed down to other generations. She mentions you can't treat all trauma in the same way.
She
mentions that in Europe and the States instead of dealing directly
with the mental and psychological difficulties in the beginning they
work with the body. Concern is for the way a person is feeling in the
body:
What are the physical sensations in the body? This is not what we do in Korea, she laments.
We often confuse psychological
treatment with trauma treatment. Dr. Kwan makes clear they are two
different approaches to the problems. In psychological problems
treatment is usually to bring up the events that have caused the difficulties, and speak about them and face the emotions that arise. She
maintains this is not what you want to do with trauma for it often makes
matters worse. Efforts need to be made to approach the emotions
aroused in a gradual way.
In
Korea we talk a lot about a nervous disorder they attribute to
pent up resentment: anger disease--"Han". The problems that come with
trauma, the scars are often deepened, and develop into unhealthy side
effects. The mass media has a great deal to do in the way they treat the
news--whether it will increase or decrease the trauma in society.
Those
in pastoral work should be conscious of the difference between
psychological problems and trauma producing experiences. People with
problems do not only go to the specialists with their problems but to
the religious people in their lives, which makes it necessary for
pastoral workers to be familiar with what is necessary to help those in
need.
In
the seminar she hopes to use many clinical examples that will make
clear some of problems that are faced dealing with trauma, without
speaking only abstractly. There are many who go to their pastoral worker
when facing trauma and often are disappointed, feel betrayed and in
anger leave their faith life.
Korea
does not have a healthy social safety net which makes it more difficult
for the citizens. She concludes with the reminder that people are the
best help in reducing the incidents of trauma. When we have mental and
psychological problems, and those in our lives are not at our side;
we have to deal with the problems alone, which increases the danger of trauma.
In View from the Ark of the Catholic Times, a priest columnist gives us his thoughts on what he learned from the tropical fish left him by the previous pastor. They were fish from Malawi--an unknown world for the new pastor. He searched the Internet for knowledge of what to do. He bought the filters and did all that was necessary.
For him, it was trial and error. He decided to raise 20 of them. In the beginning, everything went well but gradually each day one would die. He had no idea why they died. The water quality and temperature were correct, and no external signs to warrant death. Those who remained alive were very active, finally only 5 remained. Before he bought any more fish, he wanted to find the reason for the problem.
When fed, one species of fish would attack the food, and the other species would go to the bottom of the bowl with their bellies touching the bottom. Even when he put more feed in the bowl after the others had eaten, the other fish weren't interested. In the human world, you would say they were depressed, and being bullied gave up, dying of starvation. He had heard that one breed of fish would not live with another breed, but he didn't believe it would be in this way.
He went to the Internet to find out what to do. In a small area, you were to give the fish little food. He put the five fish in another large fish bowl and bought a small bowl for another 40 fish that he was going to raise. Since the space was small, there was no fighting. He gave feed sparingly and not as much as they wanted; they were not governed by the territory.
He
was gone for a few days and told the priest to give the fish each day
some food, but he didn't tell him how much, so when he returned the
shape of the fish changed. Fish were dying, and he was told to put
medication in the bowl.
He got rid of most of the water in the
bowl and the fish were crowded together in a small area of the fishbowl, they
were like the roaches in a paddy field, had little water, and
squirming around. He gave them no food for two days and then he added
water to the bowl. There was no more bullying of other fish and no
fish were estranged from the others, no dying fish and all went well.
It was an interesting
experiment. When the fish had plenty of space and food, we had fighting,
alienation and dying fish. Isn't this what is happening in the world? With quick economic development, we overlook the mental and
spiritual growth of the person.
The Israelites were
told to gather just enough manna for the day. The fish when they had the
problem with little space and no food it prepared them for the open
space and their daily food. The columnist would like this to be the case
in our own world.
