DAEGU PRIORY NEWSLETTER DPN 368 Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Daegu Priory, KOREA November 2013 When held together by love; It becomes a bitter and heavy burden When if falls apart in base self-seeking. Community is joyful growing When self-love calmly submits; It wilts when it hands the scepter To the lax, giving in to them. is a blessed adventure Community is like eagles wings, It bears you jubilantly to the light; Community can force you down Into devastating judgment. Do you know how much your victory, Your personal efforts, moves it nearer to God, But how your cleverly-concealed sins Destroy its vitality? Listen, it is up to you You and I we have the choice: Whether God s curse, or God s blessing Will be ours our altogether. -Poem written by Mother Gertrud Link in Oksadok Hard Labor Camp (1949-1954)- 1
Sisters in Harmony Monday Wednesday, November 25-27: "Discovering my real me, with you and with God, through my shadows" was the topic of the Seminar organized for the postulants by the Darak Team at Yeonhwari from Nov. 25 27. All postulants including those under apostolic activities attended the Seminar. A Korean movie called "The traveller" based on a true story of a baby adopted in the late 70s who tries to find her real self as she grew up, was introduced to give some insights. A movie forum was followed to talk about the shadows in our own lives. Great freedom and peace were experienced as they shared their own shadows. This made them not only know themselves better, but also to understand others and experience the Lord who leads us in our lives. Wednesday - Saturday, November 27-30: All Sisters and formandees from Daegu Priory House pitched in from Nov. 27 30 to make traditional Gimchang. On Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 27, they collected the cabbages in the farm to be cut and cleaned on the next day. Armed with aprons and rubber gloves, some Sisters cleaned the cabbage and steeped them in salt water (marinating them) while the other Sisters flavored them with a mix of powdered chili, salt, garlic, ginger and spring onion prepared by Sr. Fiat, our head cook. More than 800 cabbages were stored to be fermented and consumed in the coming winter. 2
Monday - Tuesday, November 18-19: Professed Sisters - up to the fifth year of the perpetual vows - attended the Emmaus meeting held at the B.S.C. from Nov. 18-19. The theme of the meeting was On earth as it is in Heaven based on the Social Theology of the Catholic Cathecism strongly emphasized by Pope Francis. Wednesday - Saturday, November 27-30: A 4-day intensive Priory Government Meeting was held at B.S.C. from Nov. 27 30. Mother Lumen Choi, Prioress and her councilors gathered in this meeting to evaluate the last activities of the Priory and its status with regard to personnel and spiritual life of 2013 followed by a session of drawing up guidelines implements for the coming 2014. Apostolate news November: The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy. (SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM, Chapter VI: Sacred Music, Paragraph 112) The New Musical Setting for the Christmas Mass composed by Sr. Emmanuela Suh was published during the Advent season of 2013. Based on traditional Gregorian chant, it contains the whole Order of the Mass from the Introductory Rite to the Concluding Rite, sung so that the whole sacred liturgy is presented in an especially noble form. It includes two Mass settings of the Day and Night on the Solemnity of the Lord s Birth, with two Nicene Creeds, along with settings of the Verduseen Ave Maria, the Franz Gruber Holy Night and Gregorian Birth of a Child. Thanks to Sr. Emmanuela Suh for her efforts in enriching the liturgical worship of God. Monday - Tuesday, November 4-5: The Semiannual Parish Mission Conference was held at the Benedict Spirituality Center from Nov. 4 5 in Sasudong. More than forty Sisters comitted in Pastoral Ministry attended the conference addressed by a competent Sr. Noela Kim of Daughters of St. Paul on Social Network Service. Monday - Tuesday, November 11-12: Local Superiors meeting was held at the B.S.C. from Nov. 11-12. Sr. Christina Moon, Sub-prioress delivered two lectures on Culture and Monastic Life and the changing Paradigm of Monastic Life. The attendance percentage was of 100%. 3
November 15-22: But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers hands? 37 And he said, The one who showed mercy toward him. Then Jesus said to him, Go and do the same. (Luke 10: 33-35) Doctors (Internist, Orthopedist, Ophthalmologist, Dentist and Pediatrician), Nurses, Pharmacist and Sisters of Daegu Fatima Hospital left for the Svary Rieng village in Cambodia to run a 4-day Free Medical Service. It was the Eighth Free service given by Daegu Fatima Hospital. More than 4,000 patients from children to elderly Cambodians received proper medical treatment with free medication. Most of them had never had a health check in their lives. So simple examinations such as measuring blood pressure or blood tests were extraordinarily new to them. They were people who came from remote places (after hours of traveling) just to see the doctor. Children were smaller than they should be, for lack of nutrition. Joy in serving the needy was strong in the hearts of the volunteers. Friday, November 15: On Friday, November 15, 2013 the Ministry of the Environment hosted its annual Green Council Awards ceremony at Daegu Exco Center where they honored Daegu Fatima Hospital as the health care institution of the year recipient. The Senator presented the prestigious award to Sr. Jean Marie Chang, CEO for her extraordinary contribution to the community of Daegu city. Daegu Fatima Hospital has been active in cutting down on wasted energy, gas emission, water supply, leftover food, paper, printer toner, and hand towels. 4
Saturday, November 16: The clinical utility of conventional and molecular cytogenetics was shown in the main Auditorium of Daegu Fatima Hospital on Saturday, Nov. 16, with more than 300 attendants from KyongBuk Province and neighborhood areas. The Symposium, organized by Daegu Fatima Hospital, examined other topics such as stable angina, mild cognitive impairment with dementia and sleep disorder as well. This was the ninth joint Symposium held by Daegu Fatima Hospital and Seoul Asan Hospital. Comings & Goings Monday, November 4: Arrival of Sr. Gertrud Kim from China. Wednesday, November 6: Arrival of Sr. Josepha Kim from St. Joseph Parish, Los Angeles, USA. Tuesday, November 26: After six months in attendance of the program of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (R.C.I.A.) during lunch time, 20 catechumens were baptized by Chaplain Rev. Gino Kim on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Congratulations to the new children of God!! Sunday, November 24: On the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, a Bible Quiz Event was held at the Auditorium of Changwon Fatima Hospital. More than 200 participants from Bible Study participated in this event. Friday, November 29: Changwon Fatima Hospital was recognized by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute as the 2013 Award GHG recipient of the year on Nov. 29. Changwon Fatima Hospital has been practising eco-friendly lifestyle on the daily life of the hospital through reduction of green house gas, replacing lamps with LED lighting and cold water circulation pump besides promoting the reduction of wasted food and energy. According to Sr. Vianney Park, CEO of the Hospital, the main concern of the Hospital is not on simply caring the sick and the patient, but also on the health of the whole Earth, which requires small sacrifices on a daily basis. Changwon Fatima Hospital is a model for daily life in each home. And the Hospital will keep going on promoting a better and more beautiful environment for all. 5
A little bit of knowledge from one of our pioneers Che SamYe was born the middle child of five in the happy, comfortably well-to-do family of the Buddhist scholar Che Tae Hong and his wife Kim Hue Bong. She grew up in the beautiful town of Tong Young at the very southern tip of South Korea. After finishing her elementary schooling, she attended middle and high school in the nearby port city of Busan, which was an exception for a girl in those days. Then she finished teacher training in two years at Seoul Normal School. Generally only Japanese students were admitted there, but Sam Ye s fluent Japanese and her good grades made attendance possible. While at Busan at the private boarding home of a Catholic family, Sam Ye had her first contact with Christians. In Seoul she stayed in the student dormitory of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, then in January 1938 moved to their aspirants quarters, where she began to attend daily Mass and study the catechism. After a final three-hour instruction by a priest, she was baptized at Myong Dong Cathedral of Seoul on March 19, 1938, receiving the name Juliana. Following graduation from Normal School and having earnestly prayed to be assigned to teach in a town with a Catholic Church, Juliana on March 31, 1938 started to teach at Busal-Jin Elementary School. City school positions were usually given to Japanese graudates, so this assignment was a great joy and convincing proof to her of God s direction. During the summer vacation, she visited the Hae Joo Mission with Fr. Leo Bang Ryu-Ryong, who taught at the same school. In 1939 she resigned from her teaching post and worked for Hae Joo Parish, caring for the sacristy, and also promoting the sale of Korean missals which had just been published by the Missionary Benedictine monks of Tokwon Abbey in northeast Korea. In 1940 Juliana was confirmed at Myong dong Cathedral of Seoul and got a teaching post nearby. At her parents advice, she then sought a teaching position at Wonsan. There being no vancacy, our sisters in April 1941 obtained a teaching post for her at Kowon. She taught school and cathechism for the poor farm children and farmers, walking about on Sundays, to gain more catechumens. When her parents asked her to return to her hometown, Fr. Ernst Siebertz, OSB did not want her to leave his parish at Kowon. Not aware of the Japanese regulation forbidding teachers to talk about religion in school, Juliana asked a student in class whether she had attended Sunday Mass. Some Protestant students told their parents, who reported Juliana to the town s school inspector. She was ordered to resign immediately. 6
But Juliana was happy! Now she could ask her father s permission to enter the convent, which she did with tears, her mother being sick and bedfast. Her father said, If what you have chosen is a life of true happiness, then go, and be successful. On August 19,1942 Juliana entered the convent of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters at Wonsan. Already as an aspirant, Juliana began mission work in the parishes, teaching catechism at both Holy Guardian Angels School and Hae Sung School. During her postulancy, she received word of the death of her mother, but she could not go home for the funeral. Transportation was impossible due to the Japanese war efforts, Juliana said later, if she could have gone home then, she would have felt obliged to take care of her younger brothers and would not have become a sister. Juliana was a true and trough educator, ready to help children after classes if they wanted to advance to higher level schools. She also taught catechism classes to Japanese girls and prepared them for first communion. Sr. Chrysostoma let Juliana teach catechism to the novitiate in her fluent Japanese. At her clothing, Juliana received the religious name of Sr. Humilitas. A Japanese army officer came to the Wonsan Priory, and she served as an interpreter. As World War II was nearing its end and in 1945, the aspirants and postulants were sent home, the sisters lived at the parish, and the novices lodged in the attic of the rectory. In July 1945 the novices were moved to Shin Kosan. Amid all this unrest, Sr. Humilitas made her first profession on June 18, 1946. She was assigned to mission at one parish, in 1948 to another. In January 1949, together with Sr. Lucia Pak, she began work at Yi-Cheon in Kangwon Province, where the sisters planned to move in case they were forced to leave the Wonsan priory house. This was no easy task. Visiting families and teaching the catechism had to be done in secret. The Communists asked her to meet with them once a week, intending to use her as an informer about her native South Korea. They dragged her to the local police station and to police headquarters to question her in detail, threatening to set the Wonsan parish church on fire or to take away the parish priest by force if she kept still. Though gentle she was, Sr. Humilitas did not bow to their threats.. Sr. Humilitas in Japan. (to be continued on next edition) -Sr. Mathilda Handl- Responsible for the Chronicles of Generalate that in all things God may be glorified (Pt 4,11) Newsletter: osb_news@hanmail.net Homepage: www.benedictine.or.kr 7