From Dust to Life

 

In the Catholic Times, a journalist from the paper gives the readers some thoughts on the meaning and precedent of 'Ash Wednesday' reflecting on the Christian's journey from dust to life.

Ashes in the Bible symbolize repentance. It also implies the need to be purified revealing the frailty of human existence symbolizing the need for salvation through mercy, always greater than sin.
 
This year February 22nd is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent; a time to remember the suffering and death of Jesus. At the same time, it is a gracious time to wash away sins and purify the inside in order to welcome the resurrection of the Lord with a proper attitude.
 
The Jews had a custom of putting ashes on their heads when they sinned against God. Christianity accepted this, and on the Wednesday before the first Sunday of Lent, putting ashes on the head was performed as a penitential ceremony. This is where the name Ash Wednesday comes from. Pope Saint Gregory I (590-604 AD) instituted Ash Wednesday as the first day of the official Lent season of the Catholic Church, and Pope Blessed Urban II recommended that all believers participate in the rite.

Ash has various meanings. Ashes symbolize the 'sorrow' that we have sinned and separated from God. Ash, is the residue left over from burning. This is a remnant of human sins, and it also reminds us of the act of "reparation" for the sins committed. It also means 'passion' to burn ourselves out for God and his kingdom. After everything is burnt, the remaining ashes are free of impurities. Placing ashes on the head also implies that human beings must be purified and clean as when God first created them.
 
In the time of Pope St. Paul VI, the church prescribed fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday. Believers must keep two things at the same time on this day. Fasting means skipping one meal a day. Abstinence from meat is observed from the age of 14 until death, and fasting from the age of 18 to the day before the age of 60. Fasting and abstinence have the meaning of participating in the Passion of Christ with self-control and self-denial. In addition, it contains practical tasks to practice love by giving and offering to the poor neighbors what is saved through fasting and abstinence.
 
The ashes used in the ceremony of ashes are prepared by collecting, usually, in Korea, the twigs from evergreen trees that are distributed to believers on the Sunday of the Lord's Passion the previous year and burned the following year for the Ash Wednesday Ceremony.
 
After blessing the ashes the priest performs a ceremony in which the sign of the cross is made on the foreheads of the believers or placed on top of the heads. At this time, believers hear from the priest, "Man, you are dust, remember that you will return to dust" or "Repent and believe in the gospel." It reminds us of the fact that human beings are finite, reminds us that life and death are in God's hands, and calls for repentance.
 
Beginning with Ash Wednesday, priests wear purple to symbolize repentance and atonement. From this day, when we meditate on the passion and death of Christ, we do not sing the Glory and Alleluia, which symbolize joy. The Liturgy of the Word is composed of contents emphasizing penitence, fasting, and charity. The first reading (Joel 2:12-18) emphasizes God's mercy and calls for repentance. The second reading (2 Cor 5:20-6:2) calls for reconciliation with God through reflection and conversion. The Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6.16-18) teaches us the right spirit in charity, prayer, and fasting.  
 
"Our wretched ashes are loved by God," Pope Francis said at Mass on Ash Wednesday 2020, calling for "accepting the love of Jesus who hung on the cross, asking him for forgiveness and going through the journey from dust to life."
 
Participation in the Ash Wednesday liturgy is not obligatory,  however, the Church invites us to pass through this day of repentance and solemnly enter the season of Lent, joyfully awaiting the Lord's glorious Resurrection. 

 

Oxygen of the Christian Life

 

In  the recent Catholic Times a former President of the Catholic Journalists Association gives the readers some help to become missioners in his column Eyes of the Believer.

"Mission is the oxygen of the Christian life." This is the topic raised by Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience on January 11, asking us to begin a new catechesis journey. The Pope emphasized the "passion for evangelization," saying that the Church’s mission is to joyfully proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the world. He also said that each person should preach the gospel with charm, not proselytizing ( respecting the beliefs of others) in the environment they find themselves in. The part he paid attention to here is 'catechetical education'.

 

The teaching of doctrine or catechesis is the ongoing process of preaching the gospel. According to the「Korean Catholic Encyclopedia」catechesis is 'the church proclaiming and teaching the word of God, that is, a form of ministry of the word'. Efforts to help individuals or communities to acquire and deepen their faith, and to help educate Christians to form their conscience. 

However, there are many cases of being embarrassed or evasive when faced with an unfamiliar term or vaguely known doctrine. It is more so when conveying or explaining Catholic doctrine to people who do not yet have faith or Protestants. Why? For the catechesis we received is almost entirely in the teaching before baptism and confirmation. He recommends a axiom  from the past to know yourself and the other and you will have little trouble in discussion about the faith.

When you do have difficulty he recommends reading to strengthen your faith. The Faith of the Church Fathers, written by Cardinal James Gibbons and translated by the late Dr. Chang Myon (John), is by far the best. It explains the essence of the Catholic faith with deep reflection and abundant examples. and one will  find it greatly helpful. This is  confidently emphasized  by the columnist.

Many spiritual treasures can also be found in the words of Pope Francis mentioned above. Why don't you come in contact with the teachings of the universal church more often through Mass sermons, Angelus prayers, general audience talks, etc.? This is a shortcut to make an unfamiliar doctrine my own. Here's one tip. Let's become friends with the 'Vatican News' Korean page. It is translated into more than 30 languages around the world. Personally, since he volunteered as a member of the translation team from the beginning of the year, it is a medium that I feel deep affection for. (https://www.vaticannews.va/en/taglist.paesi-e-luoghi.Asia.Corea-del-Sud.html)

 

The Catholic Theological Seminary, where he is  studying, will produce graduates on the 18th of this month. In both the daytime catechesis department and the evening religious education department, 37 students complete the two-year course and receive missionary and catechist licenses. The reason for the existence of the Catechetical Institute is to train missionaries who can contribute to the Catholic Church through systematic education on the Bible and overall Catholic theology. The role of the catechist who teaches the faith of the church through words and example is quite large. The attention and care of parish pastors is needed so that what they have learned can serve in catechesis of catechumens.

 

 "Your words should always be right and seem to be seasoned with salt. Therefore, you must know how to answer everyone" (Colossians 4,6). Meditate on the words of the Bible and resolve to study continually. He hope that we will deepen our faith day by day, pass on that faith to our neighbors, and become ' a light bursting out like the dawn' (see Is 58:8). We all have been called to be missioners and asks for God's grace for it to  be the reality of our lives.

 

Enjoy Your Old Age

 

A Religious Sister working with the elderly tells them to put down their worries in her spirituality column in the Catholic Peace Weekly.

The long-term care insurance system was implemented, and nursing homes were transformed into competitive structures. The facilities are well-equipped and the types of services are diverse, so there are many positive factors. Nevertheless, the faces of the elderly in nursing homes do not express joy.  
 
Compared to living alone, three meals are provided at the correct time, nutrition is a concern, bath service is provided regularly, and programs are prepared for each hour. Among the many rights that people need to live like human beings, how many do elderly people living in nursing homes enjoy?
 
Let's think in terms of the right to self-determination. When you go to a nursing home for admission counseling, it has become customary for most nursing homes to provide information to their guardians rather than to the elderly who will be living there, and the guardians to sign a contract if they are satisfied with the conditions.  Perhaps, for the elderly, a nursing home is the last place of life in this world, so they want to pay more attention to it, but their own decision or concerns are not taken into account. Upon entering the facility if you do not eat well and do not follow the timetable, you may be stigmatized as a difficult old person who cannot adapt.
   
The moment they enter a nursing home, the elderly feel depressed because they think their children have abandoned them. An old person who wants to live alone in a harsh environment says: "Even if I have to live on kimchi, being able to eat when I want to eat, sleep when I want to sleep, and go where I want to go is the greatest freedom and happiness."
 
Elderly people say that the most unbearable pain is ‘loneliness’. There is no one to talk to, and even when there are those present to talk to, some feel guilty for wasting their time. In order to soothe loneliness, some of the elderly say that time is a pain because they go out into the empty parking lot and walk the same path over and over again.
 
According to the National Statistical Office, the average age is 83.5 years and the healthy life expectancy is 66.3 years. A healthy lifespan refers to the age at which a person can live a healthy life without the help of others. Subtracting the healthy lifespan from the average lifespan yields the result that 17 years must be lived with someone's help. Since 17 years, which is not short by any means, can come as a pain, material preparation for old age is important, and extending a healthy lifespan is more important than anything else.
 
Stress management and exercise are essential to extending a healthy lifespan. However, the elderly say that it is difficult to put down their impatience in worrying about their children and grandchildren. We know from experience that the more we worry, the habit just continues to grow. It is said that only 5% are things you need to worry about the other 95% are not. How many children will thank you for worrying about them? Most children want and hope that their parents will put their worries down and put them at ease.  
 
They say that the older you get, the more stubborn you become. Children complain that their parents do not listen to them no matter how much they try. When the Sister was growing up, she heard the saying: "If you listen to your parents, you will eat rice cakes even while sleeping," but as you get older, the children say: "If you listen to your children, you will grow old and strong." If your children buy you clothes, don't refuse them saying that you're old and don't have much time left to wear them, and accepting their children's affection will be one way to actively live your old age in peace.
 
She hopes you will put down the worries you have had all your life and enjoy the peace of old age.

From Above? From Below?

A Catholic professor in the humanity department of a Catholic university writes about the Church in her column in the Catholic Peace Weekly as being like the soul of the world with the Synod on Synodality that will continue until next year.

There are times when she realizes what it is like to live as a Catholic. This is the case when people with different languages, customs, and cultures participate in the Eucharist together at a Mass held in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, even though they do not know the language. You can experience one faith, one Eucharist, and one church.
 
On the other hand, even though they are the same Catholic Church, they also know they are different from each other. The churches in Europe and Asia are different, and even within Asia, the situation within each country is so different that the methods of coping with it are bound to be different. So sometimes we ask if "one solution, one answer" is possible.
 
The hot issue in Catholic churches around the world right now is Synodalitas. Pope Francis said that the synodalitas journey is the path that the Lord expects from the 3rd-millennium church, and since then, churches around the world are moving along with synodalitas. Of course, the way each country responds to this will be different.
 
French theologian Yves Congar said that over the past 2,000 years, the church has repeatedly attempted reform, most of which began "from below" and "from the fringes". It is said that the reformation of the church was successful when the change that began through concrete life changes on the part of believers, religious, and clergy met with “a movement from above,” that is, with the magisterium. Of course, if it started “from above,” it succeeded when it met “movement from below.”

Synodalitas goes beyond the direction set forth by the Second Vatican Council and is greatly influenced by Pope Francis. And it seems that the characteristics of “from above” are more strongly revealed in that the ‘Vatican Synod’ is moving as the main axis and the local church must continue to cooperate and participate with their opinions. Perhaps this is why the local church complains of a kind of weariness.
 
Nevertheless, there are too precious motives and fruits that cannot be overlooked. In the first place, each local church, parish, diocese, or country, wanted to hear the voice of the people of God through the holding of a synod. It was to be a meeting of the whole people of God by doing so. In addition, how much joy, comfort, and hope the people of God experienced through the Synod is well shown in the ‘Work Documents by Continent’. Although the 'stimulus' came 'from above', it brought to the surface the diverse and lively voices and hopes of the people of God.
 
Some voices, of course, must be discussed at the level of the universal Church. But in fact, the different voices that come out of the various ecclesial communities are their treasures. It is our responsibility to create and develop our community based on these voices in our place of life, Korean society, parish, diocese, and each community. We don't just react to external stimuli, we actively use them. That is if the truth we discover is correct because of that stimulus.
 
What is clear is that the church that realizes synodalitas is a church in which clergy, religious, and laity enjoy equal dignity as children of God, are connected by brotherly love, respect each other's roles, and bear witness to Christ together. And this is the original spirit of the Catholic Church. Whether it is coming from above or coming from below what is important, is it precious, and necessary then can't we make it ours? 

Christianity and Pseudo-Martyrdom

Stoic thought in ancient Greece and Rome had a cyclical worldview and was not so attached to human life. Scholars influenced by this regarded giving up life when difficulties arose as an act of freedom. So begins the column on the history of suicide in the Catholic Times by the Director of the Suicide Prevention Center.

In the era of persecution in early Christianity, Christians said: "Whoever wants to follow the Lord must be able to hate his own family, his brothers, and sisters, and even his own life" (Luke 14:26).  And, "There is no greater love than to lay down your life for your friends." (John 15:13).

Numerous Christians who wanted to be free from the oppression and persecution of this world and their desire to defend their love and faith in God died as martyrs. With the Edict of Milan in 313, the situation changed drastically. Christianity, which had been persecuted as a minority religion, was allowed to be freely practiced by anyone, and in 381 AD with the Edict of Thessalonica, it became the state religion.
 
Even after that, the desire for martyrdom continued, but even though it was not inevitable they voluntarily pursued persecution and death and made extreme choices to become martyrs. Some believed that the reward that the martyrs would receive was much greater and they would go directly to heaven. They also saw that the church respects the martyrs and took care of their families.
 
As the number of these increased, the church fathers of the early Christian era rejected this pseudo-martyrdom and the opposition brought about the opposition to suicide.

The Council of Carthage (348) condemned those who took their own lives for various reasons. And this atmosphere condemning suicide reached its climax with Augustine (354-430) the Bishop of Hippo. Suicide is a murder of oneself, and killing oneself is also an act of killing a human being, so it is taught that it is against the commandment 'Do not kill'. Augustine was the first person in the history of the Catholic Church to explicitly write out the prohibition of suicide in his writings, and this became established in the church.

In modern times, there has been a change in this trend, and in 1983, the new 「Code of Canon Law」 deleted the clause prohibiting the funeral of a person who committed suicide. This is also confirmed through other documents.
 
"We must not despair of the eternal salvation of those who have taken their own lives. God can give them an effective chance of repentance in a way only he knows. The Church also prays for those who have taken their own lives" (Catechism of the Catholic Church- 2283).
 
"Suicide is always as morally objectionable as murder. The Church's tradition has always rejected it as a gravely evil choice.  Even though a certain psychological, cultural, and social conditioning may induce a person to carry out an action that so radically contradicts the innate inclination to life, thus lessening or removing subjective responsibility..."(The Gospel of Life) Article 66)
 

Medical Concern for the Poor

 

In   the recent issue of the Catholic Times a featured article for the International Day of the Sick was on the  journey of free medical care in Korean churches. A church that cares for the sick is serving the Lord.

The Korean church is running free clinics to take care of those in the blind spot of medical benefits.

 

"I couldn’t go to the hospital even though the bleeding didn’t stop all night, so I went to see a priest who works as a pastor for migrants." The operation of the free clinic could not be stopped because there are still desperate people who live among us who in serious poverty need medical care.

 

Sister director of Ansan Vincent Clinic, talked about the story of a Thai migrant worker who barely saved her life after being introduced to  the Clinic through her priest. She explained why free clinics should exist in our society. Even though there are many hospitals around, the reason why they cannot go to the hospital is because of 'poverty'. The cruel situation in which money and life are dependent on each other in the Republic of Korea in 2023, not in a developing country. Ahead of the 31st World Day of the Sick (February 11), we introduce the journey of the Church walking with the marginalized and poor.

 

"The poor are our Lords" In the 1950s after the war, Korea was overflowing with people suffering from poverty and disease. It was the church that held the hand of the poor in a situation where even rebuilding the ruined city was not enough. At that time, many missionaries came to Korea to do relief work. Free medical treatment was also one of the important missionary activities.

 

The missionary Franciscan Sisters of Mary, who entered Korea in 1958, opened the St. Mary's Hospital and stayed among the poor and marginalized. The Maryknoll Foreign Missionary Sisters established the Maryknoll  Clinic in Jeungpyeong, North Chungcheong Province, and took care of the sick. Hope Clinic, built in Daejeon in 1956, also provided free medical treatment to people suffering from poverty and disease after the war.

  

The medical support of religious orders, which began in the late 1950s, continued even after the scars of war were healed. Because there were still people who suffered from poverty. Monsignor So Aloisio, the founder of the Sisters of Mary, witnessed the situation in which orphans, beggars, and homeless people who lost their parents in the war were mistreated in hospitals and were not properly treated. He Established in 1982, Doty Memorial Hospital as a free charity hospital for marginalized neighbors in our society, such as the severely disabled, homeless, and foreign workers, in accordance with the wishes of George E, Doty.

  

Afterwards, Joseph Clinic in  Seoul (1987), Seongga Welfare Hospital in Hawolgok-dong, Seoul (1990), and Seongsim Welfare Clinic in Namsan-dong, Daegu (1992) opened one after another. These hospitals are operated based on the common gospel values of 'serving those suffering from poverty and disease' and 'caring for them with warm love'.

 

The church's journey to practice 'the love of Christ' also collided with some outside the church. Doty Memorial Hospital received administrative guidance not to waive or discount the patient's co-payment for the reason that it causes damage to nearby hospitals. Eventually, Dotty Memorial Hospital closed in 2017. The reason why church hospitals do not stop providing free medical treatment for the poor, despite the ups and downs, has not changed for a long time. Because ‘the poor are our lords’

 

The columnist  was curious about the identity of the foreigners who came to the neighborhood where all the shops were closed, so he followed one of them and stopped at Ansan Vincent Clinic. Unlike the empty outside, the inside of the clinic was crowded with foreign patients. People from various countries gathered here, including a Gabonese who came for a prenatal check-up, a Russian who came to get high blood pressure medicine, and a Cameroonian who injured his back while working.

Ansan Vincent Clinic, which opened as a free clinic, treats patients in extreme poverty who cannot use medical institutions because they do not have a health insurance card or protection card. Most of the patients are undocumented foreign workers. The target that the Korean church should be interested in has expanded to foreigners who do not receive medical benefits. Since the 2000s, foreign workers who came to Korea to earn money did not receive health insurance benefits and could not go to the hospital even if they were sick. Because they couldn't afford the expensive hospital bills.

To take care of those in the blind spot of medical benefits, the church opened Seoul Raphael Clinic (1997), Chuncheon Jericho Clinic (2003), Incheon Catholic Free Clinic, and Ansan Vincent Clinic (2004) one after another.

 

Sister Yang Su-ja, director of Ansan Vincent Clinic, said: "If there were many foreign workers in the 2000s looking for free clinics, climate refugees and war refugees have been looking for clinics since 2015." . As health insurance benefits for migrant workers have been expanded, the number of visits to clinics by Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipinos has decreased, but the number of patients from Africa and the Middle East has increased. Sister Yang explained that most of those who couldn't even think of going to the hospital because they had to work and live every day went to a free clinic only when they became ill and in a desperate situation. 

 

"Foreign mothers are more likely to give birth prematurely or give birth to high-risk newborn babies due to unstable circumstances," said Father Kim  chairperson of the Inchon Diocese Committee for Migrant Pastoral Care. We are looking for ways we can help.

 

Sister Yang also said: "Unregistered foreigners cannot get out of the bondage of poverty and when they cannot find a job and get sick the free clinics are their only resort." She added, "As the operation of free clinics has slowed down due to Corona 19, it is difficult to supply medical volunteers." She hopes that we will continue to be concerned with the poor sick in our society.

A Ladder to Heaven (The Seven Victories)

In the latest issue of the Kyeongyang Magazine, there is an article on the well-known book The Seven Victories, which was written in Chinese by the Jesuit priest Diego de Panatoja (1571-1618). 

The book contains an explanation of what we know as the 7 deadly sins and the prescription for their conquest with the contrary virtues. The following will be a brief summary of the contents of the article written by a university professor.

What is the reason for life? How do we live this life? Why do we continue to commit the same sins? How to live a life of virtue? Once we arrive at such a stage is it possible to remain there?

In Confucianism, we have various feelings: joy, anger, sadness, delight, fear, love, dislike, and desire and what comes from the deep self are the four moral feelings of compassion; a heart ashamed of being unrighteous and hates not being good; the heart that knows how to be humble and says no when necessary; a mind that knows how to judge right and wrong. In Buddhism, we have the 3 poisons: greed, hate/anger, and ignorance/stupidity.

In China when they heard the Catholic missioners' teaching they considered it a lower form of Buddhism and paid no attention. The missioners began a deep study of the spoken and written language to encounter the educated class in China. Matthew Ricci wrote the True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, and Diego de Panatoja the Seven Victories (mortification). Reading these books one did not have a feeling they were reading a book on religion but were filled with words of wisdom and were well received by the educated class.

The Seven Victories was translated also into Japanese and Korean and read by the educated classes. In Korea, it spread even among ordinary Christians as a spiritual text. 

This book is divided into chapters and sections, focusing on major concepts, and explanations. Not only the core concepts discussed but also vivid and interesting illustrations were given which remained with the reader. It makes for an amazing experience. In other words, the Western, deductive method of knowledge was creatively accepted by Chinese intellectuals who were accustomed to inductive oriental thinking.

In the Seven Victories, we have a list of the seven capital sins that we can easily commit: Pride, Jealousy, Greed, Anger, Gluttony, Lust, and Laziness. The seven virtues that we need to overcome these faults: humility is needed to overcome pride; jealousy is overcome by forgiveness; greed is overcome by grace; anger by patience; gluttony by temperance; lust with chastity, and laziness with diligence.

The fruit of sin eaten unknowingly brings forth disease, all kinds of sorrow, and tribulation in the world. To become citizens of the kingdom of heaven, we must uproot this tree of sin from within our hearts.