God's will is a phrase that we often hear on the lips of Christians. At times not knowing what to say we utter these words. However, when we think everything is God's will without many qualifiers, we are in danger of making God a monster.
The third anniversary of the Sewol tragedy will be remembered on April 16th: the Feast of Easter. We pray that the families of those that lost members in the tragedy will find some consolation in our belief of the Resurrection. We hear that the tragedy was the will of God, that the division of Korea into North and South, that the colonization of Korea by the Japanese was the will of God. Is this true?
A seminary rector spends time in an article in With Bible magazine explaining to the readers that everything that happens is not the will of God. If it were why would we daily in prayer say: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." No, not everything we see is the will of God.
Can we say the two World Wars we experienced was God's will? Cain killing Abel and Adam and Eve disobeying God were all God's will! We are in these cases horribly misunderstanding the Providence of God.
When we sin this is not the will of God. The will of God is that all be saved, that we all understand the truth, love one another, search for the good, justice, freedom and peace.
The Story of Joseph in the Bible is a good example of how God works to bring God out of evil in his Providence. His brothers sold him to the merchants instead of killing him with the help of Reuben and Judas. His life in Egypt was far from easy but after many trials, he did rise to a high position in government and was able to help his brothers during the famine in their homeland. God drew good from the evil. Even the sin of Adam and Eve were seen as a happy fault. For those who love God, all things work together for the good.
God's goodness is always in his providence ruling over the world: drawing good out of evil without taking away our free wills.The will of God was not to have the tragedy of the Sewol, it was to have all the passengers rescued. However, the tragedy happened because of the failures of the humans involved.
We now need to discover the reasons for the tragedy, humbly admit the failings and work for a society where these types of human errors and sins, no longer bring about such evil.
We are all dreamers. Chiara Lubich, the founder of the Focolare Movement, had a dream where humanity would share like the first Christians. "All the believers continued together in close fellowship, sharing their belongings with one another" (Acts 2: 44). In WithBible magazine a principal of a Catholic Middle and High School writes about the EoC, Economy of Communion.
In 1991 in Brazil Chiara began the movement, an alternative to the present economic system: free competition which often doesn't distinguish between methods and means to achieve capital. Profit is the goal which generates more competition. In the process, we have the gap between the poor and the rich. This extends to areas of a country, between countries and between members of society.
Chiara Lubich took the ideas of St. Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Centesimus Annus and gave them life with the Economy of Communion. "The obligation to earn one's bread by the sweat of one's brow also presumes the right to do so. A society in which this right is systematically denied, in which economic policies do not allow workers to reach satisfactory levels of employment, cannot be justified from an ethical point of view, nor can that society attain social peace. Just as the person fully realizes himself in the free gift of self, so too ownership morally justifies itself in the creation, at the proper time and in the proper way, of opportunities for work and human growth for all" (#43).
Neoliberalism is the financial system by which most of the world has produced much wealth and benefited the lives of many but in the process a dehumanization of those who are not prepared for the cutthroat competition required.
With this kind of talk, many only see Communism as the alternative and consequently the opposition to social movements of this type. There are other alternatives and Economy of Communion is one of them. A very Christian alternative which the Church has promoted with its teaching.
811 such communities exist in the world today. Europe has the most with South America, Africa, North America and Asia in that order. We have a number of these places of work in Korea.
This year in Feb. they celebrated the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the EoC at the Vatican with 800 members from all over the world, 33 from Korea. The pope in addressing those present said three things that were listed in the article.
Money must not become an icon but must be shared with the poor. Secondly, those who become victims of capitalism are not only to be helped but the structural evil that continues to hurt them needs to be changed. With the profit, good can be done in helping society.
The Social Gospel of the Church becomes alive in movements like EoC and the problems that arise from neoliberalism are overcome. The Church in its work of evangelization is not only interested in the soul but also the body, consequently, concern for the financial and social areas of life. God made us in his image and this image needs to be protected.
South Korea is a small country with an excellent transportation system with easy access to all parts of the country. Internet communication network is one of the fastest and connects with most of the homes: ideal to spread information. Obviously, this is both a plus and a minus for not all the information is for the good.
Moreover, Korea is still a very culturally homogeneous country which makes the evangelization work of the bishops' easier than in other countries. An editorial in the Catholic Times is asking the bishops to look for a new approach to the pastoral work of the Church. The reason mentioned is that we have opposite realities facing the church.
In the many studies and questionnaires of the pastoral research institutes made over the years, they have determined that the biggest problem is the secularization and privatization of a person's religious beliefs. Much of the teaching of the Church is not accepted by the faithful. What follows is that we have a distancing from the community of faith with the majority living on the peripheries.
The editorial goes on to say in contrast we do have a small group that is living a deeper spirituality with a greater understanding of the Christian tradition and a maturer faith life. They are freed from the secularization of society and not following the crowd.
Those who are secularized and those who are not, are the two opposing groups within the church. The minority are those with the essential teaching of the church and the other group which is the larger are on the peripheries with a pluralistic understanding of their religious belief not in harmony with the traditional teaching which polarizes the community of faith. This group will increase.
We have three possibilities opened to the Korean community of faith. Satisfaction with the loyalty of the minority, accepting the situation and continue as in the past. Secondly, concern for the majority on the periphery with programs addressed for them, helping them to enter the community of faith from the peripheries. Or thirdly, uncover the reasons for the division within the Church and work to present the teaching in a way that we don't have the division we have presently.
With the impeachment and incarceration of the president, we have
a division among the citizens on the righteousness of what has
transpired in Korea. The religious segment of society wants to see the
issue resolved amicably. Politicians are looking forward to the
elections and want to see the uniting of citizens.This is a serious
issue in the country.
Persons involved in the scandal
do not accept any blame for the situation and those who sympathize with
them do not accept the results of the court.The majority of the citizens
have shown approval for the court decision.
The road
to reconciliation and unity is not easy. Politicians are concerned on
how to gain control of power. Leaders in society are unconscious of the
structural evil in society. Choi-gate which brought about the
impeachment of the president was self-interest, collusion with big
business and lack of concern for the rights and welfare of the citizens.
In View from the Ark column of the Catholic Times a Catholic Medical
School professor gives us his ways to work towards unity and
reconciliation.
First of all, we have to acknowledge
our own involvement little as it may be. He quotes a philosopher who
says that when we live without thinking, evil will always be close by.
We often surrender to authority and look for security. In our busy life,
the easiest thing is to follow the flow. When everything falls apart
it's too late to do anything. We have to acknowledge our involvement.
The
second step is how am I to accept the other person's understanding of
the situation. Our political behavior, is formed for the most part by
our experiences in society, habits, and consequently not done alone. The way we act follows a person's convictions,
values and patterns of thought. Even at times we hear a cry asking for understanding.
We need to not only return to
understanding and dialogue but to understand the place of emotions. When my position is not pushed as absolute we have the
possibility of welcoming the other's idea.There is no complete
theoretical system or methodology. We are just making the best choice
now. We have to make clear that we are both looking forward to what is
best for society and we need to do this together.
Our third step is to forgive each other. We need to be able to forgive
ourselves if we are to forgive others. Even if the other is not able to receive the forgiveness we should be ready to give it, and wait for the
time it will be received. Forgiveness doesn't need a condition. It is a
sign of our love. This becomes the motivation for all we do.
Pseudo is a word we attach to anything that is not true, not genuine a sham. Often used in respect to adherents of some teaching, politics, religion in a pejorative way. We are dealing with the phony the bogus and the tragedy is most of the followers are sincere.
Catholicism has always been a little skeptical about experiences that were distant from the reality in which we live. In the encyclical of Pius X on the Doctrines of the Modernists, the following are the words we read.
"This is their manner of putting the question: In the religious sentiment one must recognize a kind of intuition of the heart which puts man in immediate contact with the very reality of God, and infuses such a persuasion of God's existence and His action both within and without man as to excel greatly any scientific conviction. They assert, therefore, the existence of a real experience, and one of a kind that surpasses all rational experience. If this experience is denied by some, like the rationalists, it arises from the fact that such persons are unwilling to put themselves in the moral state which is necessary to produce it. It is this experience which, when a person acquires it, makes him properly and truly a believer."
This is not the understanding of religion or the way we are to come to the truth that a Catholic would accept. We see how this understanding permits the unlimited possibility of beliefs and tragedies that result from jettisoning our mental faculties. Sincerity is an admirable quality but it does not take the place of truth.
In the Catholic Times, a member of a pastoral research team gives us his ideas on the pseudo ideas that are prevalent in our society. He recalls seeing on a wall the words: "Make the abnormal, normal." A wry smile came to his face for he remembers the past and the ways we tried to justify many of the actions of the government.
He recalls the words of Confucius who was greatly opposed to the pseudo for it distorted the meaning of justice and truth. The writer considers the Sewol tragedy a case where we see distortion, fabrication, and concealment-- no transparency. However, the time has come where the darkness will give way to the light and lies to the truth.
In the time of Jesus, we also had pseudo teachings and teachers. They worked against the welcoming and solidarity of the community and brought in idols that restricted freedom.
Jesus came to remove the chaos and replace it with the cosmos. In these times of upheaval, we drink new wine from new wine skins and pray for the eyes to see what is phony. We need to ask for the gift of wisdom to distinguish the pseudo from the real.
An article in the Catholic Digest by a seminarian gives the readers a brief overview of his growth as a human being.
In the 3rd grade elementary school, the writer with his father, visited a nearby monastery for Mass on Sunday. The priest he met left a lasting impression on him for his kindness and peaceful demeanor.This remained with him for years after and a reason he entered the seminary.
He was considered naive and gullible. He always tried to do what was right and say the right things to receive approval. More than happy to be a good servant of Jesus he was acting under pressure. No joy, only duty, it was an obsession. What he did had to be done.
He finally did enter the seminary and this way of behaving followed him. No big fights with others but he was strong in his opinions. His dignity was important, in comparison to others he always considered himself right and in his own eyes number one. Everything needed to be seen thru his own eyes and his values needed to be satisfied. "I am right others need to follow."
This gradually came to an end and the faults of others were seen as his own magnified. This brought discouragement. The priestly life and his own life was seen negatively. He saw himself as a monster. Like a person in flight, he entered the military and thought after two years things would get better but it was not so. The Seminary became a trial. All was habit. Attending Mass and communion he felt like a hypocrite. He tried to change but nothing worked.
He continued being conscious of others and felt he should leave but couldn't and time passed. He began to feel more alienated from the spiritual life and began to become involved in other distractions. On vacation, he would contact his high school buddies and go drinking. He behaved other than like a seminarian and didn't want to be considered one.
One day on vacation a grandmother saw him at Mass and put something in his pocket. She was a street vendor with her small articles for sale in the village market. She told him that she prayed for him and was touched to see him at daily Mass and kept him in her prayers, praying that he would be a good priest.The crumbled piece of paper had a Korean bill valued about 10 dollars. He was moved by the encounter and the knowledge that he was loved by the grandmother left him embarrassed but also a warm feeling.
He was struck with the knowledge that he was not called because of his goodness or ability. Knowing this did not change his way of life but knowing the love of God and of others made him conscious of something that was nor present before.
He remembers the recent ordination ceremonies for priests and deacons and the answer to the call of their name: " Yes, I am here" He looks forward to the day when he also will shout out: "Yes, I am here".
The religious vocation crisis in the west was a topic of discussion
for many years, but now we have the same problem facing the Korean
church.
A religious sister, a high school teacher,
writes in the Kyeongyang magazine on the issue.
According to the Catholic Peace Network in 2013 we had 11,734 religious.
At present comparing with the past this was an increase of 74.1% for
the men religious and 48.6 % for the women. When we look at the
statistics all seems rosy but the reality is different.
In
comparison to 1994 the number of men religious preparing for vows
decreased 41 % and the women has decreased 67%. Over half of the
religious orders have no one in formation.
This is not
simply a problem in the church for the reasons affects all of
society. The signs of the times are not only confined to the
church.
Pope Francis at the end of the year of the
Consecrated Life in his talk to the religious stressed the three pillars
of the religious life: prophecy, proximity and hope. The pope is
telling people that there is a path to happiness and grandeur, a path
that fills you with joy. If we lived this life would the crisis end?
The
sister has talked to many of the young who are not interested in the
religious life. They have little knowledge of the spiritual life and
living in a complicated world. We don't only have a crisis of vocations
but a crisis of society. What are we to do?
We live
in a time where values are missing. How am I to live? This is the guide
for life. They are surrounded with materialism, invited to find ways to
make money. They are absorbed in finding employment, make money and be a
big class consumer. Is there any thought of the kind of person they
want to be? Asking the young what they want to be is a dangerous
question.
The pope speaks about the prophetic life.This
is not difficult for it requires saying no when a no is required and
yes to a required yes. We need to be strong in our quest for truth. We
are prepped to look for success, results. Society, she says,
sees us as means to achieve goals and when not needed discarded as a
spare part. In her own teaching profession she wonders how much her own
encounters with the students are person to person.
She
concludes the articles by telling the readers that we should not
concentrate on the problems or be obsessed with the numbers entering the
religious life but to be hopeful and remember that we are to work in
the building of Christ's kingdom. Isn't this for a Christian, the reason for the creation
of the world, the reason we are here. How we are to live is the decision that follows on this.
