At the end of Lent and the beginning of the Easter Season, we bring with us the joy and hope that belong to our lives as Christians. Both hope and despair are strong realities of life. In the Vigil Mass of Easter, we come away with a live hope: words introducing an article in View from the Ark of the Catholic Times.
The columnist tells us about a Japanese TV serial drama that he saw a number of years ago at the recommendation of a friend. The drama was later adapted to a Korean audience and also proved popular. 'Midnight Restaurant' was the name of the drama. He wants us to see what the restaurant can tell us about our life as Christians and religious people.
Open
from midnight to morning in the middle of Tokyo in a secluded alley and
named Rice House, which in itself brings a smile to our lips. One can't
help but see it all as laziness: the place, the time, the name are all
contrary to what we know about market strategy.
Customers
are many and the reasons are not for the tasty food, nor mainly because
they are hungry. They congregate at the Rice House like birds to their
nests, proving the words of Jesus that we are not hungry only for bread.
The owner of the restaurant offers only two things to his customers. Gives them their rice and listens to them. A person of few words, and does not come across as the owner. If you look carefully, the writer says, he is always taking a step backwards. Moreover, each episode you have another person in his place, which would make you think it wasn't good for business; however, they keep on coming to share their lives and stories.
This reminds the columnist of an oasis in a desert, and the many different groups within a Church. God's house is humanity's house, and like the Midnight Restaurant, an Eucharistic Table where people come to speak what is in their heart and receive food.
Pope Francis' certainty is that all pastoral work begins by listening. The columnist recalls a line from a poem that keeps ringing in his ears: " I am in the Church but keep on longing for the Church." And he hears the words of the Lord said with a smile: "Are you not the Church?"
In a parish monthly bulletin we have the
greetings and meditation for Easter, and its meaning for us in
the here and now.
One of the famous quotes from Thoreau: "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." If this was true in Thoreau's time it's probably truer today for many. Certainly, it should not be so for Christians.
We are alleluia people who should be singing these words at least in our heart. This gift of faith and joy that comes is not for us to keep to ourselves but to give to the world. Our problem is without this feeling of joy in our hearts we are not able to pass it on to others: a great tragedy.
Christians
know that God works in the present moment but when we can't get out
of the past or when future worries keep us from the present moment we
miss opportunities:"Enough, then, of worrying about
about tomorrow. Let tomorrow take care of itself. Today has troubles
enough of its own"
(Matt. 6:34).
Creation's natural rhythm of life should teach us much. Each new day comes with a beginning and end. We go to sleep for the body is tired only to wake up again to a new reality and new day. We are a different person we were the day before, for God has worked through us with his graces and the works of the Spirit. We should be singing a new song, we are a new creation: born again.
This same rhythm can be seen in spring a symbol of the Resurrection. Farmers are digging the earth; seeds are planted; flowers are blooming all nature is coming alive.
We have liturgically lived the paschal mystery. We are not able like Jesus to raise the dead, but we can help to give life to those who have lost hope, and fallen into despondency. This is a mission that we have received as Christians. When we are working to give life to others and help them enjoy the gift of life, we have the joy of the Resurrection. Happy Easter!
At Mass, both parishioners and clergy find sermons difficult. In the Peace Column, a journalist gives us his opinion on why this is so often the case.
Pope Francis in Joy of the Gospel: "We know that the faithful attach great importance to it, and both, they and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them! It is sad this is the case"(#135).
Without need of hearing these words of the pope, we know sermons are a problem for priests and people. Not rarely do we have the congregation unhappy with sermons. Infrequently, but we do have parishioners standing up during the sermon and objecting, and those who walk out. On the other hand, we have priests who have a difficult time preparing and delivering sermons.
There are two reasons that a sermon is difficult. Dissatisfaction comes when they are more or less subjective: without any central point being made, but this is not the kind that prompts a parishioner to stand up doing the sermon. Invariably when a sermon enters politics or treats some sensitive pending social issue we have differences of opinion.
Another reason is when the sermons are extremely long. Even when the sermon is good, the parishioners find it difficult. When it doesn't have a main point, and overly long this magnifies the problem and makes it difficult to endure. They don't leave but they will in the future not go to that Mass.
He admits that priests know what is required in a good sermon. However, to give a sermon that helps the parishioner to grow spiritually is not easy. Working as a reporter for the last 25 years, he has not met any priests who found sermons easy. Sermons are more important than the administration of the parish, and they know it is an important duty.
What is required to give a good sermon he asks? He wants the believer to pray for their priests, help them be better preachers. He would like to see them get feed back from the people, not hurting their feelings and done diplomatically. He would like priests to read carefully the section on sermons in Joy of the Gospel and concludes the article with #137.
"The homily has special importance due to its Eucharistic context: it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people, which leads up to sacramental communion. The homily takes up once more the dialogue which the Lord has already established with his people. The preacher must know the heart of his community, in order to realize where its desire for God is alive and ardent, as well as where that dialogue, once loving, has been thwarted and is now barren."
In many of our TV dramas, unwed mothers are often portrayed, no longer a hushed-up social situation. We even have those in their teens, little moms: they show the women not accepted in society. Rare is what we consider the career woman who chooses to have a baby.
Many
have difficulty with poverty, overcome their mother's love, find
the right man and happiness. Often unmarried mothers are the scapegoat
and the place of immorality, which excites and increases the number of
viewers. Some dramas give a good portrayal of the
thinking of unwed mothers and the way society looks upon them.
An unwed mother who is fired by a company will have little help from the law which maintains that children are born after marriage, and this order needs not be broken. Mothers are often left the task to raise the child.
Hesitatingly she speaks: "I am pregnant."
"Let's go to the hospital. What will it cost? It's my child, right?" These are the words the man often blurts out.
With difficulty, an unplanned pregnancy is overcome without an abortion, and a choice to raise the child is made. After this choice, however, there are other problems that have to be faced. How is she going to live, raise her child and do the household chores?
The chaotic moral situation in society, difficulty to find work, bias of society for the women and not for the man, is a great obstacle.
Women's biggest problem is the irresponsible behavior of the man. If they want to keep the child, they have to avoid the forced abortion the man and family desire. Occasions are common, where the connection with the man's family is broken, or where the girl will have the child, and the family will give some money. It is estimated that there are over 5,000 unwed mothers recorded yearly, but the article believes it is over 6,000 when you include the mothers who don't report the birth.
In many of the developed countries the man once it is proven he is father has to pay child support. In Canada when the man is derelict in his duty, his car license and passport are taken away.
In and outside the church, we hear about the need to prevent the unmarried mother's problem with education. When it is not prevented there is a need to understand the situation and help in the care of the child and avoid the abortion. Many other groups and society are working together to increase the help, but it is still too little.
The number of unwed mothers continues to increase, and they are getting younger, which means efforts have to be made to strengthen the family bond and the need for society to be concerned.
A professor at the Catholic University of Taegu, writes in an opinion column of the Catholic Times about the American film Spotlight. The film was acclaimed as one of the best pictures of 2015 and received
many awards. Portrayal of the investigation by the spotlight team of the
Boston Globe on widespread child sex abuse in the Boston
area by Catholic priests was the story. At the presentation of the awards the director
said: "This Oscar amplifies that voice, which we hope will become a choir that will resonate all the way to the Vatican."
The
investigation began with the new managing editor of the paper in 2001. Mass media needs to help the readers with information that will
instruct, was his conviction. Independence of the paper
has to be maintained in the face of power and personal connections, and
this became the background for their efforts.
Two things
are suggested by the film: the role of religion and the press. Boston is
an area with many white Catholics. The spotlight team was uncovering
attempts to hide the truth with habits from the past and policies among a
readership that was largely Catholic. Of course the Church, lawyers,
doctors, competitive newspapers, Boston Catholics, friends of the
victims were part of the systematic disregard and coldness
concerning the issue and consequently the number of victims and suspects
continued to increase. All were in some way responsible.
Even
the Boston Globe paid no attention to what it knew, and helped to
ignore the issue. It was not a scandal only of the priests but of the of
policies of the church that systematically ignored the pathological
situation. It was an issue that the Vatican needed to be acquainted
with.
Hope was that the church with this sincere effort
of advice would recover its rightful place in society. A choice had to be made on what the press
needs to do and what it is doing.This incident
shows what was necessary. 'Reporting of garbage' should give way
to the reporting of truth was a message of the film.
Another
issue was the church's role and the way the hierarchical system works.
The system is to help Christians live a Christ-like life, and grow
spiritually. When some of the clergy are behaving otherwise the movie shows
what needed to be done. Church is there to help the
Christians and not to cover over the faults of the clergy. If we are
afraid of light on our faults we need to become more transparent.
The
writer was happy to see the response from the Vatican; it was a consolation. The movie is not Anti-Catholic. A Vatican Radio
commentator said the film helped the Church in the United States “to
accept
fully the sin, to admit it publicly, and to pay all the consequences.”
In conclusion, she says, we Catholics should not be afraid of criticism but need to look carefully at our wounds.
In a booklet from Bible Life, the writer introduces us to a Korean maxim: "my heart tells me one thing but there is no evidence." Sadly, this is the reason for many problems and hurts that we encounter in life. Following your gut feeling or your hunches may be a wise move at times, but far from reliable.
We are hurt, and others may be hurt with this approach to behavior. We make judgments on fragments of speech we heard, make guesses, follow vague memories, deceive ourselves, and go in search of illusions.
The writer introduces us to Francis Bacon (1561-1626) a devout Anglican who gave us the ways we can be deceived by what we hear and believe. He called them idols, and the four of them: he described as idols of the Tribe, Cave, Marketplace and Theater.
Idols of the
Tribe come from our human nature; idols of the Cave are the problems
that come from our faults and failings; idols of the Marketplace are the
problems with understanding words; and the Idols of the Theater
come from philosophy, theology and tradition. These are all ways that
prevent us from attaining truth and are hindrances that come from
falseness and unreasonableness.
The writer concludes his article wanting us to beware of these idols that are all pervasive, and wants us to experience truth that is open to experience. We can be familiar with the Scriptures and the teachings but without the experience of God in our lives, we will always be going on impressions. Knowledge that comes only from these impressions does it make us Christians?
Paradoxes in Christianity are many; where the culture conflicts with Christian values, we can easily see what makes a Christian. Society wants us to be winners; Christianity sees strength in losing. Weakness is not always bad, to be empty is the means of being filled, what we see is not as important as what is not seen, and dying to ourselves is the way we begin to live. It is only when we are able to experience these truths and similar ones in our lives can we consider ourselves disciples.
In recent months, we have heard a lot about peace on the Korean Peninsular. Recently, the relationship has become frozen with the nuclear experiments and the long-range rocket firing. South Korea in retaliation has closed the Kaesong factory complex managed together with the North. International sanctions against the North will be tightened and expanded. In the Peace Weekly column, the display of military power on both sides is a return to the cold war days.
What is the reason for the sudden drop in the temperature of the cold war? The columnist sees it in a lack of trust. In many areas, the North has brought about the situation with the nuclear experiments and the launching of the rocket but here, he says, we have two issues we need to remember.
Can we say that South Korea has shown trust towards the North in its policies? If we say we have steadfastly trusted the North in our policies we are....
For well over a half a century our relations with the North have not been one of trust. We have been weary in our relationships; if we were somewhat more flexible, we would not have closed down the Kaesong project: a symbol of our desire for unification.
Have
we acted to receive trust from the North in our policies? Our humanitarian aid often has been politically motivated. We have considered
unification as hitting the jackpot. This motto has not been a reason
to nurture trust. During the cold war the iron fence was in place, the
South envisaged unification by the collapse of the North, while the North considered communization of the South. The North
would not countenance the former nor the South the latter, which makes
the unification dream unrealistic.
If we want
reconciliation and peace we need the two sides to meet and begin talking: more often the better. The
closing of the Kaesong factory complex is a great sadness. It doesn't
mean that we want to use some magic words to reopen the factory, but we do not want to slacken our consciousness and we need to continue looking for openings to
begin talks. Christians have prayer always available.
We need to think hard and in depth on what is
necessary for the two Koreas to put aside their estrangement and
sit and talk.
