Natural religions placed great importance on the place of virtue.
From Taoism, Buddhism and finally Confucianism, we see how grace builds on
nature. Catholicism's stress on virtues was not foreign to the thinking
of the sages who began to look into the new thinking that came from
China. This similarity in a virtuous life with which they were familiar,
made Catholicism in Korea, easy to accept.
In the spirituality
column of the Peace Weekly we are told that the first of the natural
virtues is prudence. Before Christ, in China and the Greek world we had
the wise and philosophers teaching the need for virtue in search for
the good life. They discovered that these required repetition. In
Confucianism we have benevolence, propriety, fidelity, wisdom, and
righteousness. We find lists of these virtues both in the Old and New
Testaments.
In the book of Wisdom: "Or if one loves justice, the fruits of her works are virtues; for she teaches moderation and prudence, justice and fortitude, and nothing in life is more useful for men than these" (8:7).
Philippians
4:8 "Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true
everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything
that we love and honor, and everything that can be thought virtuous or
worthy of praise."
One difference for a Christian when
we speak about the natural virtues is we understand God's grace can
enter to make our acceptance more complete but it begins in the
natural and our efforts are required. Cardinal Virtues are Prudence,
Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance. All the other moral virtues hinge on
these four and consequently are called cardinal. They can be infused
with the grace of God but they begin in the natural.
"Prudence
is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good
in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it;
'the prudent man looks where he is gong.... It is called the charioteer
of the virtues; it guides the other virtues by setting rule and
measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of
conscience" Catechism of the Church #1806.
On the first four days of December, a group of Korean Bishops made a trip to North Korea. Bishops and priests have made the trip as individuals but this was the first official trip by a group of bishops. One of the priests who accompanied the bishops writes his impressions of the trip for the Peace Weekly.
The distance from Seoul to Pyongyang is only 155 miles. They arrived in Beijing, and the flight to Pyongyang was delayed two hours. The trip from the time they left Seoul, and arriving in Pyongyang took almost 12 hours. They were greeted at the airport by a contingent from the Changchung Cathedral in Pyongyang and the Chosun Catholic Association. The arrival at the airport was not complicated and contrary to expectation, they were permitted to have their smart phones, cell phones and cameras which they used frequently during the trip. On the second day, they went sightseeing in bustling Pyongyang.
On the third day, they visited the Changchung Cathedral. At the front of the Church, they were greeted by the choir of six women all exquisitely dressed; facilitating admirably the liturgy of the Mass. About 70 to 80 attended the Mass, and the participation showed they were familiar with the liturgy.
The day of the Mass was the Feast Day of St. Francis Xavier, and the president of the bishops' conference who was the main celebrant, mentioned that we needed to evangelize ourselves if we want to be missioners. During the Mass, an Icon of the Mother and Child, symbolizing the desire for peace between the North and South was presented to the catechist of the cathedral. They found a photograph of Pope Francis, presented a few years before, by a group of priests to the community, on the wall of the sacristy.
The vice president of the Supreme People's Assembly, invited the delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly where he thanked the Church of the South for their efforts toward peace from the time of Fr. Mun's visit up until the present, and stressed the importance of the meeting of the leaders of the North and South. This was an unexpected official welcoming of the delegation from the South.
The faces of those they met were all welcoming and always natural, smiling and joking with the group from the South. Employees were all polished in the way they reacted with the group. The bishops did a lot of talking with the representatives of the Church in the North, bringing them closer together. They promised to work for a better tomorrow, repair the Cathedral and in the future work to have priests go to the North for the big feast days of the year.
A university professor, a dramatist, writes in a diocesan bulletin about a newsletter he received from a friend, who works for a scientific research center. He has little knowledge of the scientific world, consequently, enjoys reading in the field of science.
A recent newsletter he found extremely interesting: a poison mushroom and an edible mushroom has only a 1% difference in its makeup. According to the newsletter: mushroom is over 90 % water, protein less than 3%, carbohydrates less than 5%; mineral is 1% and can be either poisonous or medicinal.
Reading this information brought to mind his own human situation. We can easily turn into a poison mushroom. Like a knife, a sharp word can cut, coldness in dealing with others can be poisonous, an insult can leave lasting scars.
What makes us like a poisonous mushroom? What is the percentage of difference between the one who builds up and the one who tears down? Just 1% proud and prejudiced, can do harm to others and society. It doesn't take much energy to do great harm.
We can spend a great deal of our time in what we think is loving and doing good, it may be 99 %, but its the 1 percent of time spent in hating, that can do great harm to ourselves and others.
99% in doing good is not enough in the professor's way of calculating. One percent of poison can unravel all the good we do with the 99%. This is not difficult to understand and a reality we have experienced in our lives. A small defect can destroy much of the good we do. This should not upset us but make us humble and ask for mercy and be merciful to those we encounter daily; something to remember during this year of Mercy.
Father Benedict Min-seo is the first unable to hear or speak Korean priest; ordained in 2007 after many years of discernment and study. Thirty years ago, the handicapped found attending college almost impossible. He writes this month in the Seoul Bulletin on the people he wants to thank for making the path to the priesthood possible.
He was on pilgrimage in Turkey when he received news of the sudden death of a priest who was the vocation director of the diocese. There was no possibility of receiving the necessary education for the priesthood in Korea but was told of the possibility in the United States. He spent 10 years studying in the States and communicated monthly with the vocation director about his studies and spiritual life.
He had heard that the vocation director for the diocese because of eyesight problems was asking for a change but when he returned he was still in his position for which he was thankful. He was the one who persuaded the cardinal, bishops, and priests to permit his ordination. He was ordained to the diaconate by the cardinal. The vocation director was changed, and he began to have doubts about the ordination to the priesthood, but all went well and the vocation director was there to receive his first blessing.
As
soon as he returned from the pilgrimage, he went to the grave site to
thank his mentor for the concern and love he showed him during the many
years of preparation.
Fr. Park doesn't express himself completely on all the difficulties that he had in his article, but has made known in his writings obstacles faced by those with disabilities.
He was born in1965, and lost his hearing at the age of two after receiving the wrong medicine. His desire for the priesthood began at a young age, but this was not possible in the Catholic Church. Protestant Congregations have had deaf pastors for years.
He wrote an article: Deaf Culture and Deaf Church, in New Theology Review, Nov. 2009. In the article, he shows us the way the deaf perceive the way Christians look upon the deaf and the difficulties they have in relating to fellow Christians. As we know it is difficult to understand problems others have, and the only way is to walk in their shoes for a good period of time, which is not really possible. The article written in English gives us an understanding of those with hearing problems and reminds us how little we know of those with disabilities.
Often we are told the deaf feel more alienated than the blind. Concern for those with disabilities has improved greatly. We have parishes in Korea for the deaf and pastoral care people devoted to their needs. We are more sensitive to the needs
of others: thanks to people like Fr. Park.
"Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of hope!" With these words from Joy of the Gospel, a seminary professor, in an article of the Kyeongyang magazine,gives us a meditation on the ever-present fruitless pessimistic temptations of culture.
Pessimism's
dictionary meaning: seeing only the dark side of life, gives rise to sadness and an attitude of despair. He uses a line from a novel in
which the author says pessimism is a conscience without courage that
continues to eat away at itself.
In Gaudium and Spes #16, we have the words: " In the depths of his conscience, man detects a law which he does not impose upon himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience when necessary speaks to his heart: do this shun that."
"In
some places a spiritual 'desertification' has evidently come
about, as the result of attempts by some societies to build without God
or to eliminate their Christian roots. In those places the Christian
world is becoming sterile, and it is depleting itself like
over-exploited ground, which transforms into a desert” (#86 Joy of the
Gospel). This attitude according to the pope leads to pessimism.
He brings to our attention the film: Life is Beautiful, directed by Benigni in 1997. The last part of the movie takes place in a concentration camp. Under the Nazi regime, they rounded up the Jews in Italy and the hero, and young son were sent to a concentration camp. The father makes a game of the incarceration. The point the professor wants to make is that even in such unspeakable circumstances, forgetting the merits of using the Holocaust as a background, the father was able to give the boy hope by turning the boy's experience into a game. Briefly, what images we have in our head and the understanding we have of God is going to determine what we see, how we judge and what we do.
Christians because of Jesus should see,
think, and act differently than those without this relationship. When we
have a defeatist attitude we can't help but fall into pessimism. When we lose sight of hope, and images continue to enter our head
that militate against hope, we need to look at the Cross. Because
sorrow and pain have disappeared we have not overcome pessimism; when we
fail to see the victory of the Cross, and God's providence, pessimism
remains. Consequently for a Christian the opposite of pessimism is not
optimism.
Christianity is a religion with hope in the desert. We don't curse the darkness but light a candle and know that something will happen that will give us more hope, and a desire to give these candles to all willing to accept them.
Numbers leaving the North for South Korea continue to decrease. This year, according to an article in the Catholic Times, up until October, 978 escaped to the South, which would be about 98 a month: first year the numbers have dropped to under a hundred.
Many
are the reasons for the drop, but in first place is the strengthening
of the borders between China and North Korea under Kim Jong-un. Once the
route for leaving the north is closed, natural to see a drop in the
numbers. Expenses are now higher since the dangers are greater than the
past: "High Risk, High Return." Although they have a strong aversion to
the principles of capitalism, they still are experienced in their use.
It was only a few who could take the freedom train for the South.
Living conditions in the North have improved so that many don't
feel the need to risk their lives in leaving. Citizens are permitted to
use personal funds in the market which has made the market a different
reality. They are able to take care of their needs for food and
shelter; living is no longer what it was.
In
third place is the difficulty in adapting to life in the South.
Coldness which the refugees feel and the financial difficulties they
experience, becomes big news in the North. It is well known that those
who fail to make Korea home, try to get refugee status to go to Europe.
When
the numbers decrease not because of the better living conditions in the
North but because of the treatment in the South and opting for a third
country should make us think.
Refugee response to life in the South comes to us by the media in many different ways.
When we have a scuffle with the police, leaflets are distributed; we
have the women with heavy makeup and short skirts bringing up in
conversations the strange things that happen in the North which adds to
the distance and curiosity towards the North, and a 'we against them'
scenario.
If
we want unification, says the columnist, should we not emphasis what
we have in common instead of what divides, to embrace instead of shun.
Are we as citizens and government doing what we can to include them and
co-exist with them using our resources to facilitate the relationship?
He doesn't feel there are many who appreciate the question.
We
have 28,000 from the North living in the South. If we can't
accommodate them in our society, and we talk about unification, he feels
this is hypocrisy, and to consider unification a desired goal and
continue acting in this way are we justified, he concludes, in speaking about unification?
The spiritual column in the Peace Weekly reminds us we live in relationships with others. We might think we are called as individuals for the spiritual journey but that is not the case. Relating with others is the way we grow in the practice of virtue and in the spiritual life.
He reminds us of the first Christians whose spirituality was relating with the other members of the community. "They spent their time in learning from the apostles taking part in the fellowship and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers" (Acts. 2:42). They partook of the Eucharist and maintained the unity of their oneness with Jesus.
One of the early Church Fathers Ignatius of Antioch in his letters to the communities stressed their oneness with the bishop and the importance of their relationship with one another. "It is therefore, befitting that you should in every way glorify Jesus Christ who has glorified you, by a unanimous obedience, you may be perfectly joined in the same mind, and in the same judgment, and may all speak the same thing concerning the same thing and that, being subject to the bishop and the presbytery you may in all respects be sanctified" (Letter to the Ephesians Ch. 2).
He gives us the story of St, Francis of Assisi who gave everything he possessed back to his father and was covered by the mantle of the bishop, symbolizing his oneness with the bishop and the community. At that time, many were leaving the Church but Francis embraced it more firmly in its poverty.
St.Ignatius of Loyola
in the Spiritual exercises also stressed the obedience to the Church.
He was one who wanted his followers to think like the Church. Bernard,
Charles Andre who taught spirituality at the Gregorian in Rome in the
present times also stressed the need for those on the spiritual path to
be related closely to the Church and its teachings.
The column concludes with a look at shamanism and the influence it has on Koreans. Folkways in Korea will show us the desire of many to go at spirituality as loners, but that is not the spirituality that is Christian, but we find many who find this more attractive in their way of thinking. Christian spirituality is through the Church, with the Church and in the Church.
