Korea, Beacons, and the Apostolate
I write the bulletin article on September 20 which is the feast day of Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions. They are Korean martyrs who are responsible for planting Christianity in Korea and witnessing to the faith of Jesus by their death. There are 98 saints included in this feast day.
Their story is pertinent for our own day and age and unique in the history of the Church. The birth of Christianity in Korea is unique because it was primarily driven by the laity. In the late 1500s, invading Japanese soldiers began baptizing a few Koreans, and the Church remained rather small. In 1777, several Christian texts made their way to Korea and they found home churches. Twelve years later, a missionary priest snuck into Korea and found 4,000 Christians; none of them had ever seen a priest or been to Mass.
Think about this… 4,000 Christians formed in an environment hostile to Catholicism. Yet their faith was so deep that nearly 10,000 were martyred for their faith. The potential of the laity to pass on an extremely deep Christian faith is real, and the grace of God is unstoppable.
As the Beacons of Light process unfolds, I hope you are asking yourselves, God, and each other, “What is my role in this process?” Each and every one of us has a role to play. In Christianity, none of us are bit-players or insignificant. God gives us the grace to be entrepreneurs in the faith. He invites us to respond to our own day and age to share the Gospel and form future saints.
If the Beacons of Light is going to be successful, it must be a spiritual experience for priests and laity alike. If we don’t have a deeper encounter with Christ and a desire to be apostles spreading the faith, it will simply be an administrative and institutional process. It must be a time for us to deepen our faith in Christ and participate in the Church’s mission to save souls. Look at what the laity accomplished in Korea. The same Holy Spirit that animated the thousands of Korean saints is available to us.
Providentially we have numerous parishioners who are entrepreneurs for the Catholic faith. We have people who have caught fire and want to share Christ with those around them. I want to highlight a few new movements happening (I’m sorry that I will assuredly miss someone). A recent Catholic convert has begun a book study entitled “The Friendship Project.” Two ladies are beginning a women’s fellowship group called, “That Woman is You.” Three men had a transformative experience at Christ Renews His Parish at Sacred Heart in McCartyville and are exploring how to bring something similar to our parishes. Two different parishioners have organized Public Rosary Rallies. There are many other ways in which parishioners are seeking to spread and deepen the Catholic faith.
What ways may the Lord be calling you to go deeper in your Catholic faith and spread it with others? Certainly the Lord gave you the gift of confirmation to go out and be His apostle!
As we look forward to the Beacons of Light, I know there are a couple things which would be helpful to have parishioners assist. Practically it’d be wonderful to have some people help set up for Saturday evening and Sunday Masses at St. Joseph and Immaculate Conception. Currently the priests and deacons set up most of the Masses. Also, in the future it would be helpful to have parishioners set up for baptisms at Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph. In the coming weeks, there’ll be a more formal invitation to parishioners to help with these, but I wanted to put the early bug in your ear.
To sum it up, the Beacons of Light will give us an opportunity to look at the role of the laity in the parish. What role is God calling you to have? Is He calling you to be a spectator or actively participate in the work in His vineyard? If we want our parishes to be full of life, it is up to all of us to make this happen. If we want our parishes to be a beacon of light in a dark world, that responsibility falls on all of us.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Sean Wilson
