Season of Creation

 

In the Catholic Times' View from the Ark column, an emeritus professor begins the article by reminding readers that the Season of Creation begins on September 1st. This is a time for all Christians to remember our ecological issues and respond appropriately in our daily lives.

Pope Francis appeals to us:  1: “Let us listen to the earth's cry. Given the rising temperatures worldwide, we could say that the earth is suffering from a fever. Like anyone sick, the earth now says, ‘It is sick.' But are we listening? 

Concerned about global warming, the Pope asks whether we are listening to the earth's suffering. His heart is filled with regret for our insufficient response. The Pope keenly identifies the reason why we are sensitive to the earth's boiling and warming but insensitive to its suffering, which is linked to the paradigm of technological domination. 

This “isolates us from the world around us and makes us forget that we are a ‘contact zone’ where the whole world meets.” “God has united us with all of his creation. However, technological dominance  can deceive us by isolating us from the world around us and making us forget that the whole world is a ‘contact zone’ where we meet each other.” (Praise God, 66)

The summer heat of 2024 was truly long and severe the professor lives on the first floor of an apartment that was built over 30 years ago, and the temperature in the slightly shaded bedroom rose to 32℃, and in the sunny living room rose to 33℃. When he lived with ventilation and natural breezes, he felt the temperature dropping from 33℃ to 32℃ or from 32℃ to 31℃. When he goes outside, it is hot, but his body notices this every time the wind blows. There is truly no summer without wind or a city without wind.

However, people who lower the temperature from 33℃ to 24℃ or 23℃ with air conditioning generally have less chance of encountering natural breezes. Even when going outside, it is easy to want to quickly go inside a room with air conditioning rather than feel the wind. The paradigm of technological domination is not an abstraction but is deeply embedded in our daily lives through products such as air conditioners. This is how technological domination separates us from nature. This makes us forget nature, which is our ‘contact zone’ when we meet God, all things in nature, and our neighbors, and thus deletes the ‘contact zone,’ ultimately themselves and their descendants.

On the morning of August 30, he took a train to Seoul Station and another train South. While riding public transportation, his body started to stiffen up from being exposed to air conditioning all day, and he was sick all night. His right shoulder was paralyzed, making it difficult to breathe deeply and difficult to raise his hand to make the sign of the cross.

Through the painful process, he realized that “the greater the pain, the less likely he was to move, and the greater his longing for balance,” and while recovering his balance, he realized to cooperate with God’s work, we need an integrated ecological wisdom that knows how to live with the diseases of the times. As the sages said, suffering is a process of learning. It is a time to be drenched in the rain of grace as we learn who we are and how to live together with our neighbors. Amidst all this, a question came up from deep inside. 

In this boiling earth era, the Jeonju Diocese has set the air conditioner temperature to 26~28℃. What temperature would be the most appropriate? How can we reach an agreement on the appropriate temperature? What about our church and society?

Youth Ministry Within the Church

The Catholic Times has a column by a video-producing member of the laity who wants readers to understand what Catholic youths think about what is happening in the Church in Korea and many other parts of the world.

Many parishes have lost youth groups, and finding young people at Mass isn't easy anymore. However, many young people have never left the church. Young people still wonder who God is and long to quench their spiritual thirst. I have seen many young people praying quietly in a church near their workplace or while traveling; I have also seen young people who, while on a package tour to Europe, detour the church to ensure they receive the Eucharist. Amidst all this, we must prepare for and hold the 2027 Seoul World Youth Day (WYD). We are now in a situation where we must invite countless young people to the center of the church.

We are walking together on the journey called Synodalitas. Although the Synod will end this year, Pope Francis constantly brings out the synodal spirit defined by the Second Vatican Council and applies it to various parts of the church. The 2027 Seoul WYD also shares this context. It contains a bold will to invite young people with the synodal spirit, train young leaders, and further change our country's youth ministry paradigm.

However, the vertical mindset is firmly entrenched in the Korean church. The image of coming down from the priests causes many problems. There is a division of classes among believers, and young people are always perceived as less-trained members and lower-class members of the church. As a result, young people are always placed in a position where they have to be taken care of as socially disadvantaged people on the outskirts of the church, even though they have not left the church. For the Korean church, especially youth ministry, to move forward, this thinking must be mercilessly broken and eliminated.

First, the most important spirit of the Synod, 'equality,' must be established in our church. Equality is the concept that we are the people of God who have the same dignity and stand in the same position because we were baptized. It also emphasizes that we must respect and listen to each other because the Holy Spirit has given us appropriate gifts. Just because we have received the ministry of priesthood or are pursuing a consecrated life, we do not live a better life or are in a higher position. However, we should not treat each other carelessly by claiming equality. We should look at each person as the people of God themselves and respect them.

Pope Francis said at the 2019 Panama WYD, "Young people are not God's future, but God's present." At the 2023 Lisbon WYD, he emphasized, "There is a place for all of you in the Church." As we prepare for the 2027 Seoul WYD on our journey together, the church community must not invite young people to participate but rather make them the 'subjects'. The people of God must be present in all areas that lay the foundation, build the framework, and add flesh to the community.

In this process, members should be nurtured together without distinction between the positive and the negative so that the young can see God through the priest, and the priest can see God through the young. Above all, I hope it will be a journey where we can truly feel the breath of faith with the young people rather than just bringing in methodology from the synod spirit. The young people are waiting for change.

A Korean Look at World Politics

A Korean  University professor in the Catholic Peace Weekly gives the readers a look at the American presidential race from an Asian perspective.

The whole world is paying attention to the US presidential election due to the recent assassination attempt on Republican candidate Trump and the replacement of the Democratic candidate. Since candidate Trump has declared that he will meet North Korean Kim Jong-un again, it is only natural for Korea to pay attention to the results of the US presidential election.

At the same time, elections in major countries also show noteworthy results. In the French general election held for a week starting on June 30, the ruling party fell to the second largest party in the National Assembly, while the New Popular Front, a pan-left coalition, became the first party and the far-right National Rally became the third largest party with only a 25-seat gap between the ruling party.

The results of the French general election were first and foremost a judgment by the people on the French government’s ruling party. Still, more fundamentally, they showed the changing reality of France. The Macron government, fell below the world’s top 20 in GDP calculated by purchasing power. Furthermore, as protests continued, anxiety about social security increased.

No leader who can lead rational conservatism has emerged in this economically and socially unstable situation. No leadership can absorb the extreme right and moderate left, like former Presidents de Gaulle and Chirac. In addition, the problem of the long-standing right-wing government allowed the new left-wing coalition to become the majority party in the National Assembly.

A bigger change than France occurred in the UK. The Labour Party won a landslide victory in the general election held in early July, resulting in a change of government for the first time in 14 years. The Labour Party won 412 seats, or 63% of the total, while the Conservative Party’s seats fell below 20%.

The Conservative Party’s defeat was expected due to the economic downturn caused by Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union (Brexit), the overall deterioration of public goods including public health, and the increase in immigrants. However, no one could have predicted such a crushing defeat. The Labour Party is faced with the difficult task of simultaneously pursuing conflicting policies of expanding public goods and resolving the refugee issue while recovering the economy.

The changes in France and the UK seem distant to Korea. However, the changes in Britain and France, the two axes of NATO, the alliance with the strongest military power, have significant implications for Korea. In both countries, the defeat of the ruling party will strengthen economic security within their countries. This is in line with Japan’s recent efforts to enhance financial security. However, such economic security will likely clash if Trump is elected in the United States.

In addition, it is noteworthy that social division is deepening as support for extreme political forces grows. This may be a result that was expected due to the spread of neoliberalism since the 1980s. However, we cannot just sit back and do nothing. The polarization of domestic politics causes conflict in foreign politics. World War II was a representative example.

The election results in Britain and France show that the foundations on which rational politicians can stand are gradually disappearing, and Korean society is no different. In a society of unlimited competition, we need to think about social integration and the reconstruction of public goods. These domestic and international changes also have important implications for the future social role of the church.

Ecumenicism In Korea

In the Eyes of the Clergy column of the Catholic Times, we are introduced to the special relationship between Cardinal Steven Kim Soo-hwan and a Buddhist monk.

The monk invited Cardinal Kim to the opening ceremony of Gilsangsa Temple, and Cardinal Kim invited the monk to Myeongdong Cathedral to listen to his lecture. Gilsangsa Temple also held a concert to benefit the Seoul Archdiocese's Adoption Center. Cardinal Kim, who participated in the concert with the nuns, said: "I hope that the Buddha's great compassion and grace will be abundant." Cardinal Kim said he wanted to at least "own" the book "No Possession" written by the Buddhist Monk Beopjeong.

Cardinal Kim called the Presbyterian Pastor Kang Won-yong of Gyeongdong Church of Seoul "a voice crying out in the empty fields of Korea" a great man'.

Pastor Kang established the Christian Academy in 1965 and created the 'Dialogue Group' with leaders of six major religions: Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Won Buddhism, Cheondogyo, and Confucianism. At that time, people of other faiths were viewed unfavorably. However, the 'Dialogue Group' that continued was evaluated as having laid the foundation for our country to become a world-class, multi-religious, peaceful society.

When it was time for Pastor Kang to return to God's embrace, the person he met was Cardinal Kim. After a short silent prayer, Cardinal Kim whispered in Pastor Kang's ear, "Believe in God's mercy. Leave everything to God and go in peace. I am sorry I am sending you off without even a single word of conversation." Cardinal Kim read the eulogy at Pastor Kang's funeral. After the deaths of Cardinal Kim, Monk Beopjeong, and Pastor Kang, people called them 'the teachers of our time.'

Even after that, the religious harmony and dialogue in this land continued. In May 2012, a Buddhist monk sang at Myeongdong Cathedral. May is the month of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism and Buddha's birthday in Buddhism. The songs were "Ave Maria" and the Buddhist hymn "Hyangsim." She sang them as a special song during the Mass. It was the first time a Buddhist monk sang at Myeongdong Cathedral. The congregation responded with enthusiastic applause. The next day, the traditional Korean music troupe from Myeongdong Cathedral visited a temple. That day was Buddha's birthday, and the troupe performed Samulnori (a traditional Korean percussion quartet). The Buddhists who heard the performance also gave warm applause.

Not long ago, a Catholic priest, Buddhist monk, Protestant pastor, and a Won Buddhism minister who met on TV formed a choir. People said the choir, composed of 'clerics' from each religion, was the first in the world. When the choir started, they dreamed of singing a song of peace in front of the UN headquarters in New York. Last August, a conference and talk concert on peace and harmony was held in New York, and the choir participated. The choir went to a Won Buddhist and Buddhist Temple in the United States. They also went to the Korean Catholic Church youth Mass. Although they belonged to different religions, they sang together and talked to each other. People must have felt peaceful seeing them.

Korea is a representative multi-religious society.  Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Won Buddhism, and even ethnic religions living in peace. It is a large 'religious museum.' Despite this diversity, Korea's religious harmony is world-class. While in some corners of the globe, people curse and even wage war against other religions, in Korea, there is respect for each other, and live in harmony.

This was possible because they recognized each other's personal religious values. Above all, they shared and cooperated on discourses that should be practiced in this land while maintaining the identity of their religions. Topics that included social justice, realizing peace between the South and the North, and promoting ethics and morality. The 2027 World Youth Day will be held in Korea, a world-class multi-religious society. He prays that all who visit Korea at that time will discover true peace by seeing the religious harmony in this land.

Is it God or Wealth?

On the Now/Here website, we have a meditation by a writer who has worked on matters of Faith and gives us some thoughts on the subject.

It is difficult to say what 'real' money is or distinguish between money and God. In a world where earning a lot of money and becoming rich are considered blessings from God, the question of how to earn more money and the question of how to live a gospel life become ambiguous 'in practice'. In such a world, wealth is often perceived as God's blessing and poverty as God's curse.

Let's be honest. Regardless of the reason and situation, aren't we more tempted by money and drawn to money than to God or the gospel? Doesn't money show us more specific and direct rewards than the seemingly nonexistent God or the inconvenient gospel of Jesus? The life of cash seems to promise a more abundant life than the life of God.

If I earn more money, I can live a more gospel-like life. If I earn more than I do now, I can support various organizations and treat my friends to a big meal. Money doesn't betray me. As I get older, I need to prepare for old age. I need to take care of my health.  To avoid dying alone, I need to make friends, I need to spend a lot of money.

Still, since I'm a believer,  I need a 'spirituality' for my mental dignity. Spirituality is a word that seems to have something but it's not easy to grasp. Is this not why we often hear the phrase mysticism here and there? When I say mysticism, doesn't it stimulate curiosity and make it seem like there's something important involved?

Defining spirituality is difficult but can fill something that money can't. However, if you have enough money, you don't necessarily need to seek spirituality with too much difficulty. If you have enough money, you seem to be able to get God. Money is already the gospel and God. It is no exaggeration to say that our world is occupied by money. In fact, hasn't it become a world that needs money more than God? Our attitude toward money and our view of money also tell us what kind of God we believe in.

In practice, the gospel of Jesus may be nothing more than ornaments often discarded by believers. The gospel demands life, and money tempts life. Put simply, the gospel of today's society—we should earn more money, save it, prepare for the present and future, build a healthy body, cultivate healthy hobbies, and broaden and deepen our relationships with others. It may have originated from our unstable socioeconomic structure and existential anxiety, but it doesn't seem that believers understand or especially present the gospel as received.

Whether believers or non-believers, we live lives mortgaged to money. I think that money, health, and a non-lonely existence—these three things—are the essence of the 'gospel' that many people living in South Korea today can affirm. It is the idolization of money, the flesh, and of relationships. It is the victory of Mammon. It seems that believers are serving two masters: God and money. We say that we believe in Jesus Christ and God, but in reality, we may be living a life that is completely unrelated to or contrary to the teachings of Jesus. 

"He commanded them to take nothing with them for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but only sandals, and no two tunics." (Mark 6:8-9) These are the words Jesus spoke when he sent out the twelve disciples. These words taught the disciples how to live in the world. Perhaps the disciples at the time had to take these words literally. Of course, we should not judge the times of Jesus and our times as equivalent, but the attitudes, orientations, and eschatological outlook contained in these words are worth pondering today as believers. We live in the world, but we inevitably have to leave the world. That is why the spirituality of poverty can be beautiful, but at the same time, it can be painful.

There is a similar saying in the early church document "Didache - Teaching of the Twelve Apostles" that would be acceptable even if it were included in the Christian scriptures. "If he asks for money, he is a false prophet." (Didache 11) It is a concise saying. It means that an apostle who asks for money is a fake.

When I was young, I believed these words and messages and lived without worrying about tomorrow, but today has come. I am old. But what is this anxiety that suddenly comes to me from time to time? If I had enough money, would I have lived a life that followed the gospel of Jesus more? Had I lived in more poverty, would my life have been more gospel-like? Can this tension between money and the gospel be resolved? 

Seeing Agriculture Beyond Economics—

The Catholic Peace Weekly column by a priest working in the farm ministry of his diocese reminds us of what is happening in many farm areas of the world. 

We see few newly baptized or new believers in rural parishes. The possibility of performing the sacrament of marriage or infant baptism is slim. On the other hand, the sacrament of the sick and funeral Masses continue steadily. The increasing number of empty seats in small rural churches is the biggest concern of priests. 

The columnist has left the parish ministry and is now responsible for pastoral care for farmers. Activities and projects such as producer and consumer education, meetings, urban-rural exchanges and rural experiences, school meals, and local food issues continue. However, similar anxiety exists here as well. 

The farmers are active, in their 70s, and are the last generation. There are younger members, but the numbers and production are decreasing. Without agricultural output, it is natural that everything in agriculture and rural areas will collapse.

This is not a problem limited to rural communities. All local cities except the metropolitan area are concerned about population decline, aging, and extinction. So, is the metro area stable? Due to population concentration, the burden of employment and housing is increasing, and the low birth rate is expanding. Although the population is relatively large, life in the metropolitan area could be more comfortable, too.

This is the current situation in our country. Rural areas are collapsing, and problems are spreading to local and even metropolitan areas. We must break away from the obsession with income and growth. Even if the profits are small, some values must be protected. Agriculture, which has a public function regarding food, security, and environmental conservation, cannot be evaluated solely by economics.  

Some, fortunately, still seek to find a way through discussion, and agriculture continues to play a role in preserving communal traditional culture. Life-giving agriculture, which respects the organic order, can only be achieved by living in village communities and the local ecosystems.

Public goods in society,  climate, environment, food, and housing, are essential for stability and happiness. Why are they refusing government intervention to guarantee the price of rice production as if the country is going to collapse? Endless competition and rapid growth will lead to mutual destruction in this era.

Looking at agriculture with the heart and farmers in rural areas, there is a sense of urgency.  Regrettably, the world cannot escape greed despite going through Covid 19 and the climate crisis. Rather than trust technology to become prosperous alone, we must find wisdom and a way of life to live together. This is a task given not only to rural areas but to everyone. 

In the subcommittee, they plan and adjust production plans, crops to be cultivated, and harvest quantities. During farming, they exchange technology and information. Some subcommittees engage in cooperative work through mutual aid, jointly purchasing and managing agricultural materials and machinery. They may also set common goals and proceed with joint cultivation. Some subcommittees have attended every monthly meeting for over 45 years. Although they have their own characteristics, limitations, and challenges, it is clear that they aim for a life community through committee activities.

We live in an era of rampant individualism, and people are unwilling to endure inconvenience. Interest in the community and region is disappearing in a society that only pursues personal salvation and inner stability. As agricultural machinery has become widespread and agriculture has become more large-scale, the communal aspect of rural areas has also changed.

Isn't one of the essential reasons life has become harsh and less enjoyable: the loss of community? Could it be because I have forgotten that I, too, grew up and was formed through family, neighbors, and village communities? In this era where we enjoy many things but have lost something important, the need for communal life feels more urgent. We must remember that our faith was also inherited and matured through the church community.

—This is a powerful and thought-provoking message. It highlights the importance of community, sustainability, and collective well-being over individual gain. How can we start making these changes in our daily lives?

Removal of Shoes and Holiness

The columnist in the Catholic Peace Weekly on matters of Faith gives the readers some thoughts on the removal of shoes and holiness.

We live in an age where religion has little influence on our daily lives. As a result, we are insensitive to the sacred and the holy. Nevertheless, they are present everywhere in human life. Where can we find them today?

He finds an interesting clue in ‘taking off shoes’— In Korean culture, it's something everybody does when entering a house. It means more than simply taking off shoes to enter a house doesn't it?

The ‘Final Document of the Asian Continental Assembly’ was published in March last year during the ongoing 16th World Synod of Bishops, and the document used the expression ‘taking off shoes’ to describe synodalitas. The document noted that Asians have a common practice of taking off shoes when entering a house or a temple, and stated that it is a beautiful sign of respect, an expression of awareness of the lives of those entering, and an expression of a deep awareness of the sacred. 

It also means taking off your protective self and revealing your naked self. This applies not only to temples but also to most places where you enter without shoes. For example, entering someone else’s home is an expression of respect for that home and an awareness of its holiness. It is also a friendly response to the invitation and hospitality of the person living in that home.

He remembered the annual meeting of the Theological Commission (OTC) of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) in Malaysia last May. In the middle of the meeting, our group was invited to a Thanksgiving festival in a community called Bunan. We arrived at the village and were led across the street with a band to the ‘long house’ where they lived. We took off our shoes to enter the longhouse, put on the necklaces they gave us and greeted each person one by one.

After the ceremony and greeting, we were accepted into the community. We participated in the festival with them and shared the food that was prepared. Their festival and food were imbued with holiness, and the liveliness of life was mixed everywhere in the house. For us, taking off our shoes meant being accepted into the community where they live, and sharing our lives as members of the community. 

At the Diocesan Catholic University Seminary, we conduct home visits during the winter break.  What we feel every time we visit a home is that all homes are sacred. This is because they are places of life that cannot be treated lightly and must be respected. The reason why homes are sacred is because they are places where life is conceived, born, and raised. 

We must take off our shoes to enter. We must also take off our shoes when accompanying students who were born and raised there as a sign of the student’s sacredness. Taking off our shoes means treating each other as individuals, and living with the heart to respect, learn from, and be together with each other. It also means taking off our 'ornaments' and facing the other person with our naked appearance.

If people today have lost their sense of holiness and lost the way to treat people as holy, how about learning how to take off our shoes? If we learn how to respect holy places, how to approach holy places, and especially how to elevate, serve, and protect the mysterious and holy beings called humans as truly holy beings, wouldn’t our faith grow in holiness day by day?