A REFLECTION
Lent 2007
Two days ago, Chris (our son) informed us by phone
that a debate arose during a catechists’ meeting at the Korean Catholic
church he attends. One group, mostly born and educated in the United
States, said that the Transubstantiation occurs during the consecration
when the priest says, “This is My Body. . . This is the cup of My
Blood . . . .”, while the other group, mostly immigrants from Korea
including a Sister, insisted that the change occurs when the priest places
his hands over the bread and wine and prays that the Holy Spirit change
them into Our Lord’s Flesh and Blood (before the actual consecration).
We were dismayed, because the latter position is
totally foreign to what we have always believed as a rock-solid teaching
of the Church and is clearly a distortion of the following doctrine:
The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and
grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the
priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the
Last Supper: “This is my body which will be given up for you. . . . This
is the cup of my blood. . . .” By the consecration the transubstantiation
of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about.
Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and
glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and
his Blood, with his soul and his divinity. (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, #1412 and 1413)
Then, we began wondering about the reasons why these
Koreans believe as they do. It does not seem that it was an innocent
mistake or a consequence of ignorance about the dogma. We later found out
that this new doctrine on the Eucharist is being taught at the seminaries
in Korea.
When one reads the articles and books written by the
leading modernist theologians (priests) in Korea and also examine the
prevailing situation in the Church in Korea, quite a clear picture emerges
as follows which highlights the modernist assertions and, as a result of
them, the eroding discipline in the Catholic life in Korea and elsewhere:
1. Jesus Christ is not divine. He was born and
grew up as a mortal being like us and only later (when He was baptized)
realized a special calling from God. The most we can say about Jesus is
that He is an adopted Son of God and is inferior to the Father or the
Holy Spirit.
2. The Church was established solely by the Holy Spirit (at
Pentecost), and not by Jesus. (The implications of this are that we do
not need to take seriously Jesus’ word that He built His Church on
Peter; that the Church hierarchy cannot claim divine foundation; the
seven Sacraments do not have a divine foundation, either; and that
anyone “inspired by the Holy Spirit” can start a new church, which is
basically the Protestant position.)
3. The Transfiguration and Resurrection of Jesus are not historical
facts but fictions fabricated by His disciples. This also goes against
the official Church teaching that Jesus is truly a divine Person, equal
to the Father and the Spirit, but, at the same time, has the full human
nature by His Incarnation through the Virgin Mary by the power of the
Holy Spirit.
4. As the true Incarnation of God the Son and the
full divinity of the Savior are not recognized, the miracles (which are
signs of God the Son’s Incarnation in this world) are also rejected.
Miracles are superstitions, especially in this age of advanced science
and dazzling technological progress. Even if they were real, miracles
are not important in our faith life (as if the humans finally succeeded
in becoming powerful like God and do not need God any longer).
5. Because of the inseparable connection of the
Blessed Mother with the Incarnation of God the Son, her role in the
Church and for our Christian life is deliberately minimized in order to
further downgrade the importance of God the Son’s Incarnation. The
doctrine of Mary’s intimate cooperation with her Son’s work of human
salvation is also rejected. Oddly, she is sometimes praised as a model
for the feminists, who pursued her agenda, without seeking consent or
help from Joseph (in severe distortion of her real character and
vocation).
6. The Pope is recognized only as the Bishop of
Rome, equal in authority to other bishops. The Pope’s Supremacy in the
Church and Infallibility regarding the doctrines are denied. Some of
the pilgrims to Naju actually heard the Korean priests saying this
loudly, when the pilgrims reminded them that the Vatican was not opposed
to Naju.
7. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus
only in a symbolic way. In 2003, Archbishop Andrew Choi of the Kwangju
Archdiocese (which includes the Naju Parish), who still maintains his
negative position on Naju, said during his interview with Julia and her
husband in March 2003: “It is not possible for the Eucharist to turn
into flesh and blood.” The modernists reject the Eucharistic miracles
as superstitions, as these miracles are clear signs of God’s the Son’s
Incarnation (taking human flesh and blood) and of the divinity as well
as the human nature of Jesus Christ.
8. The role of Jesus Christ for human salvation is
trivialized, as the actual work of human salvation, that is, the
evolutionary process of transforming the whole human race into “the
cosmic Christ”, is being accomplished by the Holy Spirit (following the
theory of Fr. Teilhard de Chardin).
9. The concepts like “sin” and “expiation” are no
longer meaningful, as “salvation” is defined no longer as delivery from
sin but from the imperfections of human life like ignorance, poverty,
illness, economic inequality, environmental pollution, wars, and so on.
The Passion of Jesus was not necessary for human salvation, and,
likewise, our work of penance is not recommended. God is merciful and
will not punish us regardless of our moral standing. In other words,
our sins are no longer obstacles in our salvation. But, then, what
about all the teachings in the Gospels and Epistles that repeatedly urge
our repentance and sanctification? Implications of this are that the
Sacrament of Confession is not necessary and all the messages and signs
in Naju concerning Our Lord’s suffering and bleeding as well as Julia’s
sufferings are useless and extreme.
10. In Korea, all the kneelers in Catholic churches
were removed soon after the Second Vatican Council. Also, priests do
not kneel after the Eucharistic consecration (they only bow). Communion
in the hand is virtually a rule. These are signs of the deteriorating
Eucharistic faith and devotion.
11. Many of the beautiful statues of Our Lord, Our
Lady, and Saints have been removed or replaced with new ones with
modernistic appearances. Some even resemble Buddha.
12. A leading modernist theologian in Korea with a
doctoral degree from Europe, was a member of the Naju Investigating
Committee in the Kwangju Archdiocese. He was the key person in the
Committee for persuading the Kwangju Archdiocese to make a negative
declaration on Naju on January 1, 1998. He and two other priests in
Korea received a formal warning from the Holy See in 1998 about their
heretical publications, but all three priests are still actively
promoting their heretical views. In defiance of the warning from the
Vatican, this priest wrote in a Catholic magazine in Korea that the
Korean Bishops had failed to shield him from the attacks from the
Vatican. He still speaks at the annual retreats for all the Sisters who
are also catechists in Korea. The textbook they use was written by
him. One can imagine his pervasive influence on the numerous innocent
people in Korea by infusing his views into the minds of their teachers.
Now, by saying that the Transubstantiation is done
not with the words of consecration given by Jesus but by the power of the
priest’s prayer to the Holy Spirit alone, the modernist leaders in Korea
are inventing a new doctrine on the Eucharist. They are effectively
removing the role of the consecration from the Holy Eucharist. Then, how
can they teach the doctrine of the Real Presence of Our Lord in the
Sacrament? This debate about when the Transubstantiation occurs is not a
trivial matter but is a clear indication of the serious confusion and
spiritual illness in the Catholic Church in Korea. The situation there is
far more serious than one may think. No wonder that the Blessed Mother is
revealing her extreme sorrows by shedding tears and tears of blood in
Korea. Korea also has the highest abortion rate in the world.
On the other hand, the messages and signs in Naju,
are powerful reminders that God’s work of human redemption has been
accomplished by Our Lord’s Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection, and
this work continues bearing fruit through the Church by the constant
workings of the Holy Spirit; that this work is also being constantly and
vitally assisted by the Blessed Mother, who is the Mother of the Savior
and the Mother of the Church; and that we are also called to participate
in that work wholeheartedly despite our unworthiness. The Naju messages
and signs reconfirm that our sins are the greatest obstacles for our
sanctification and salvation and also for achieving peace and order on
earth and that our repentance and reparation for our sins, with the help
of God’s graces, are not only good but absolutely necessary for our
salvation. The messages and signs in Naju are effective antidotes against
the terrible heresies that belittle Our Savior and His work and endanger
our eternal salvation.
Let us pray that the light of truth and love from God
will shine brightly upon the Church and the world, without being impeded
or distorted by the dark smoke of heresies, through the constant
intercession and care of the Blessed Mother and that she may guide us, her
poor children, to know what we need to do to help her and her Divine Son
save more souls.
“Beloved,
do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they
belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that
acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God and every
spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is
the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact
is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)
Benedict Sang M. Lee
March 7, 2007
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