We are all Sisters and Brothers

 Circle

“He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In!”

 (American poet Edwin Markham)

 

In a bulletin for priests, a pastor takes a section of a chapter from a book by Ryu Shiva a Korean Poet, critic, and teacher, and wants to leave the readers with some helpful thoughts. 

An anthropologist who studied the lives of the native Africans suggested to the children of the tribe following him that they play a game. He hung a basket full of candies on a tree far away and promised to give all the candies to the first person to reach the basket after he signaled to start.

 

However when he gives the signal something unexpected happened. The children all held hands and ran toward the basket. And after arriving at the tree, they sat down in a circle and happily shared candy.

The amazed anthropologist asked a child why they all ran hand in hand. The child replied: "How can I be happy alone when other children are sad?" All the children cried out, "Ubuntu!" The anthropologist was speechless. He studied the tribe for months, but only then did he understand their mind. Ubuntu means personality, but it also means because 'we are, I am', you cannot be a 'person' by yourself.

 

 We are living in an era in which small circles are drawn and people who are different in their way of thinking or who do not support their side are pushed out of the circle. Even though it’s actually "we" who are all connected together. Here is a surprising truth. As you keep pushing others out, the circle gets smaller. The more you take and attract, the wider it gets.

 

There are two types of people. People whose circle continues to grow and those whose circle gets smaller. Some people have strong circles that others cannot enter, while others have a circle with infinite acceptance of the world. The poet Rilke asks us: What kind of circle are you living in now?

I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.

I may not ever complete the last one,

but I give myself to it.

 

I circle around God, that primordial tower.

I have been circling for thousands of years,

and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,

a storm, or a great song?

 

As Christians and Catholic, these are not words that we choose to use but Pope Francis in his latest encyclical has again made clear that we are all Sister and Brothers and we need act accordingly. Many of the non-religious find religions not to their liking for it comes across as exclusive. 

 

However the teaching is quite clear: "Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law" (CCC #1798). 

 

The reason we are Catholics is to learn how to love and become one with the love that Jesus showed us. It is to keep on making the circle larger and to treat all as sisters and brothers whether they belong to the community of faith or not.

The Dignity of Labor

The Bishops' Justice and Peace Committee held a debate on the topic: The Understanding of Labor in the Post Corona and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This was written up in the Catholic Times.
 
What will the church say in the face of the pandemic and human alienation problems caused by the 4th industrial revolution? Bishop, chairman of the Justice and Peace Committee, said in an opening statement: "In the era of technological innovation, Corona 19 and the 4th Industrial Revolution, labor has faced another new situation."
 
The dignity of the person is lived out in society by the fulfillment of personal responsibilities. Work shapes and fulfills human dignity by providing for the needs of oneself and family. Work belongs to the vocation of every person. This is why it is necessary to rethink the concept of labor today.

Focusing on the concept of labor taught by the church, they examined the meaning of labor today and the direction we need to go.

How has the church's social doctrine understood work? A university professor explained that the church teaching related to labor is divided into two stages. After the Industrial Revolution and before the Second Vatican Council, before and after the 1960s, the rights of workers were stressed, but since then, they have pursued a deeper understanding of labor through the anthropological and theological meaning of work.

One participant stressed the concept of "labor's superiority" through the above two stages of social teaching. In other words, it means that human activities as the subject of labor have a higher priority than the results of technology, capital, and tools. Work is for humans and cannot be vice versa. This concept leads to labor's superiority over capital and the universal purpose of goods over private property.
 
Mankind's first labor was the creation of God. According to the Second Vatican Council, God created the earth and everything in it for use by all people and all nations. Hence, goods must be returned to all people fairly and abundantly, always accompanied by love. This is why the universal purpose of goods should be superior to private property.
 
Based on these church teachings: As we face rapid changes due to the 4th Industrial Revolution and Corona 19, human alienation from unemployment is revealed, and there seems to be no other alternative than a redistribution of working hours and extension of labor— social redistribution.
 
According to the social teachings of the church, fair wages are wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to enjoy a human life. A priest participant stressed that: "social measures such as basic income can restore the personal and subjective character of work, and will help to achieve human self-completion in community and society."

Regarding the role of citizens, one priest said, "It is not only the matter of politicians who move society and make policy decisions. It is important to raise the civic consciousness of each individual so that public interest does not conflict with universal values."

The chairman emphasized: "There is a social atmosphere that takes for granted that the socially underprivileged suffer from intensifying polarization. It is also the role of the church to change this social perception."

Why Do We Go to Church?

 

Why does one go to Church? This question has been asked of the believers over the years and a great many will answer for peace of mind. They are looking for peace.  You also have  those who finally entered the church community because they were tired of hearing the nagging of family members. We have those that have remembered what they were taught and want to be 'saved'. (In biblical language the deliverance from straitened circumstances or oppression by some evil to a state of freedom and security)

In one of the diocesan bulletins a retreat master explains to the readers that there are various  answers to the question of why  a person enters the communion of faith.  Many not only attend Mass but also participate in the many different groups and serve the community in many different voluntary capacities. Of this number you have those who separate life of the believer and their daily life. In the home or the workplace you would never now they were believers. There religious life and what they do daily is clearly differentiated.

Often those looking for peace after joining the community, in their relationship with the pastor or other Christians they lose the  peace of mind they had and became disillusioned. God did not hear their prayers and were distraught. Why do we go to church? To find consolation, on the recommendation of another or is it a duty? The writer is going to give the readers his answer to the question.

The main reason for going to church is our love for God. We want to praise and worship and make happy the God who made us and loves us. The duty of the  members of God's kingdom is to respect God and this is the way we achieve our goal of being delivered from the many evils in life. 

In the beginning those who enter the community are looking for what they lack. Of course we have many who with no choice of their on were born into the community and had to make a decision to remain within the community. Those who remain members and do it for God are not many. The sign of spiritual growth is the movement from self centered faith life to one centered in God.

To think of God first and to make God happy we have many different ways but the most important is to love. God is love (I John 4:16). To make the God of love happy is to love God and neighbor—To share the love shown to us, and become that love. 

When we offer Mass together with the community and pray with the community we are expressing our love,  Especially at communion time when Jesus becomes one with us in the sacramental union of the Eucharist. This is a union which we don't have the words to even  imagine. It is a moment of  exorbitant grace. We become one with the love of Jesus. It is not my love but the love of Jesus that I share with others.

The church is teaching this love. This is expressed especially in the communion rite. Everything we do should be manifesting this love that Jesus showed us. This love goes beyond ourselves to all others we come in contact with.  The spirit of Jesus is in all our areas of life. The Holy Spirit is there to bring this truth to our attention.

Why do we go to church? To learn more of Jesus' great love and to become one with that love.

The Signis Movement In Korea During the Pandemic

 

In the Peace column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, the chairman of the Korea Signis Movement gives the readers some ideas of the new normal in the time of the pandemic.

Probably for many of the readers the term Signis is unfamiliar. The movement was created in 2001 from the merger of the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television and the International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisuals, both founded in 1928. Since the objectives were similar to bring together professionals working in the media they became one, in the mission to engage media professionals and support Catholic Communicators to transform our cultures by promoting Human Dignity, Justice, and Reconciliation.

The Signis World Congress was to be held in Korea at Sogang University in August of 2021 but it will be postponed for one year. All the preparations were discontinued. Souvenirs were made and all the elaborate preparations stopped. The warm encouragement of those around the Korean director, who said: "He will be able to better prepare to have another year," did little to elate his spirit.

Signis is a Vatican-accredited global lay group of media workers. All international events have been postponed or canceled since Corona 19. The Board of Directors of Signis Asia, where he is acting director, was delayed and switched to Zoom Meetings. It is uncomfortable and leaves much to be desired but he is getting used to it.

On September 2nd, a “Catholic Forum” was held with the Catholic Journalists Association and Signis Seoul. The number of participants was limited to 10 by the quarantine stage 2.5. Except for the six presenters, only the technical staff and the event management team were present. Instead of an audience, the entire process was broadcast live on YouTube. It was unfortunate, but over 300 participated, exceeding expectations.

The theme of the Catholic Forum was 'New Normal after Corona, Korean Society, and Religion'. We looked at the social phenomena that changed from the face-to-face era and looked into what direction Korean Catholicism should go. Amid the difficulties facing the church, the main argument was to look back on the essence and make change a new opportunity.

After the second spread of the corona in August, the number of mass participants in the parish he attends has decreased significantly. The number of Mass participants, which was around 700, fell below 300 during the first coronavirus outbreak, and this time shrunk below 200. Other parishes will have similar results.

Choosing doesn't mean choosing between 'to do' and 'not do'. You can do new things, and you can do different things. On the way, when the road is blocked, don't stop, but turn around and find a new way.
 
There are so many things that cannot be done because of the virus. We have plenty of excuses to do nothing and easily give up. Even if someone steps out and opens a different path, we will hesitate to follow. It will be less than before and you will see problems. But only when one decides to do something will you find a new way. When you get used to that path, it becomes a new normal.

Catholic Social Spirituality-Choi Chung Sook

In the recent issue of Theological Perspective the writer who is a lecturer in a University  Education  Program  for the whole person gives the readers a profile of Choi Chung Sook (1902-1977). A study of Catholic Social Spirituality as expressed by her life.

The article had an abstract in English which explained the purpose of the study of Choi by the writer as an effort to  reveal her understanding of social spirituality which applies  not only to her inner spirituality but how it was expressed in the society of her time. 

Since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1962) the Catholic Church has striven to set a new relationship between the Church and the World: the Church should actively participate in establishing  truth and justice within society rather than isolating the Church from the world.

In this historic context, the Catholic social spirituality does not separate the spirituality from the life of the people but rather has highlighted the efforts to actively express the spirituality in order to create  a world that will evolve into the Kingdom of God.

In previous research on Choi Chung Sook they separated her life of faith and her secular life but the present writer shows that they were one.

In society she is regarded as a feminine leader who left  a remarkable legacy in Korean modern history. She was a patriot opposed to Japanese imperialism, an educator who was a leader in the enlightenment movement and a doctor helping the poor.

She was the first female principle at Jeju Shin-sung middle school. She was elected the first superintendent of schools in Jeju in 1964. She is considered an outstanding leader in Korean modern history.

She came from a strong Confucian background, baptized in middle school with the name Beatrix. She had dreamed of being a religious sister but this changed after she was imprisoned for participating in the March First independence movement.  

At that time the place of religion and politics in the lives of the believers was clearly defined. Catholics were to be concerned with the salvation of their souls. At that time the hierarchy was composed of men from the Paris Foreign Mission Society. They were interested in the freedom of the church and increasing the numbers of believers and wanted to decrease political conflict. Consequently they forbid the Catholics  from participating in the  Independence Movement.

Despite this, patriot An Jung-gun, Choi Beatrix and many others disagreed with the church and thought working for independence was the right thing to do. In a study made they found that 53 Catholics were imprisoned, of that number 8 were woman and Choi was one of them and the reason she would not be a nun.

Choi's various activities can be seen as based on Catholic spirituality. This spirituality was expressed in her struggle for the Korean people and not only for her own spiritual  well-being. She was not only a leader in modern Korean history but also a female lay leader in the Korean Church.

Ideology and Faith Life

We are quick to criticize sharply the corruption and evil we see in society, culture, politics, and religion. Often the criticism of others comes back like a boomerang to the system or organization to which we belong only to a greater degree. A professor of spirituality in a diocesan bulletin gives the readers much food for thought.

If we don't understand the dynamics of God's love we despair, feel frustrated. We fail to see his mercy and turn towards others, the community, the church, society, even ourselves and see only sins and faults and denounce.

Since we do not see the defeat of sin and enjoy the realization of goodness and justice we end up with fear, frustration, and disappointment. When matters don't turn out the way we envisioned and no change for the better, we are tempted to see it as the absence of God. 

It is often easier to believe that sin and evil are stronger than the mercy of God and push him aside. The magnificent forms of criticism of reality created by rational logic and exalted justice stand higher than our faith in God's mercy and love. Boiling anger serves us as an exhilarating catharsis and the driving force behind maintaining self-esteem, turning the criticism itself into an ideal belief. The bleak emptiness that flows after the cathartic storm is filled with self-justification— the reason for criticism was piety, affection, and concern.

A faith life without knowledge of God's mercy is the worship of one's own convictions, an ideological faith. There is a remarkable difference between non-believers and believers who participate in the liturgy and observe the commandments, but the boundaries between non-believers and believers disappear when we examine the practice of love and mercy.  

When it comes to calculating gain and loss, and the sense of sacrifice and concern for others the differences ceased to exist. The writer considers right from the beginning there was no separation between the person's convictions and faith life.

The reason for criticism by saints and the masters of the spiritual life was neither individual convictions nor emotional anger, separated from the love of God. The mercy and love of God in the good news was the basis for future ages to bring about change and reformation. Therefore, despite the sins of the world and the church, we must help each other to restore a positive gaze on God's work in the world and the church itself.    

The person to be wary of is the one who doesn't do anything and shouts that there is no hope. Criticism without sacrifice is like resurrection without death. Only in the absolute belief in the love of God, not frustration, skepticism, pessimism, and criticism will the sins and evils of our lives, conflicting structures, institutions, and values, be changed.

Problems in Believing

In a diocesan bulletin, a spiritual director mentions the many ways people lose their faith and leave their community. Sometimes it is a sudden tragedy, the death of a loved one, a sickness of a devoted believer, economic loss. That's not supposed to happen. You have problems with pastors and religious, the spiritual life is filled with darkness, no consolation so they leave. These are scars that arise from feelings, our emotional life.

Modern times and the young, their loss of faith may have more to do with the head than the heart. Scientific knowledge keeps increasing, the faulty ways in which the Scriptures are understood, the failures, sins, and crimes of believers and especially the leaders of these communities, and the hypocrisy that the media has made known is too much for many to deal with. We shouldn't however, get rid of what is true because there is some falsehood mixed in with it. We discern, keep what is true, and get rid of what is false.

All these problems should help us to deepen our faith. Look deeper into what we thought the Scriptures were saying and find out what they really are meant to convey. The Scriptures are not a history or science book but a book on how to live. If we have accepted misinformation as truth than one has to change the way we look at Scripture. The truth in Science is not denied by Scripture but my understanding of what I thought was the truth may be denied.

The society in which many of us live is secular and it can't help but influence us. The unseen world is hidden, the eyes of the heart are not activated, the meaning many found in life has no place for religion. They prefer to ask what and how rather than why? God is no longer meaningful in their lives.

The faith life that a Christian tries to live, the spiritual joy, vitality, darkness, emptiness, doubts, and conflicts in community and the fellowship are all part of a process trying to identify with Jesus. We are imperfect human beings on a journey with other imperfect human beings trying to better ourselves by identifying with Jesus in our thoughts and actions. A believer has trust in God's grace that enables one to overcome the difficulties that will arise if we don't put up barriers and harden our hearts. He is the Way the Truth and Life.

Life is full of mystery and the atheist as well as the believer can't deny what is seen. There is too much beauty, too much that is noble, good, pure, too much that we love and honor, virtuous, and worthy of praise to be attributed to chance. At least the doubt, at times, has to arise for the unbeliever.

In our process towards Jesus we grow in wisdom, and discover the meaning of love. When we encounter persons, situations that offend or confound we don't avoid the situation but try to understand. What is God saying to me here and now? It is an opportunity to get closer to God. Spiritual life is the process and tool in growing in love; we are not blinded by what is before us but use it to grow spiritually.