WHO IS 'PRIEST'-WORTHY: THIS UNKNOWN KOREAN NAMED JAEYOUN KIM OR OUR WELL-KNOWN PRIESTS?

WHO IS “PRIEST”-WORTHY:
THIS UNKNOWN KOREAN JAEYOUN KIM OR OUR WELL-KNOWN PRIESTS?

Read what Mr. Kim says [click here to go to his article] and what the priests are reported to have said [click here to go there]
Finally, click here to go to read my own opinions.



My Short Essay about the Philippines
By Jaeyoun Kim


Filipinos always complain about the corruption
in the Philippines.
Do you really think the corruption is the
problem of the Philippines? I do not think so. I strongly
believe that the problem is the lack of love for the Philippines.

Let me first talk about my country, Korea. It might help you
understand my point. After the Korean War, South Korea was one of
the poorest countries in the world. Koreans had to start from scratch because entire country was destroyed completely after
the Korean War, and we had no natural resources.

Koreans used to talk about the Philippines, for Filipinos were very rich in Asia. We envy Filipinos. Koreans really wanted to be well off like Filipinos. Many Koreans died of famine. My father's brother also died because of famine.

Korean government was awfully corrupt and is still very corrupt
beyond your imagination, but Korea was able to develop dramatically because Koreans really did their best for the
common good with their heart burning with patriotism. Koreans did not work just for themselves but also for their neighborhood and country. Education inspired young men with the spirit of patriotism.

40 years ago, President Park took over the government to reform
Korea. He tried to borrow money from other countries, but it was not possible to get a loan and attract a foreign investment because the economy situation of South Korea was so bad.
Korea had only three factories. So, President Park sent many mine
workers and nurses to Germany so that they could send money to Korea to build a factory. They had to go through a horrible experience.

In 1964, President Park visited Germany to borrow money. Hundred of Koreans in Germany came to the airport to welcome him and cried there as they saw the President Park. They asked to him, "President, when can we be well off?" That was the only question everyone asked to him. President Park cried with them and promised them that Korea would be well off if everyone works hard for Korea, and the President of Germany had the strong impression on them and lent money to Korea. So, President Park was able to build many factories in Korea.

He always asked Koreans to love their country from their heart. Many Korean scientists and engineers in the USA came back
to Korea to help developing country because they wanted
their country to be well off.

Though they received very small salary, they did their best for
Korea. They always hoped that their children would live in well off country.

My parents always brought me to the places where poor and physically handicapped people live. They wanted me to understand their life and help them. I also worked for Catholic Church
when I was in the army. The only thing I learned from Catholic Church was that we have to love our neighborhood. And I have loved my neighborhood.

Have you cried for the Philippines? I have cried for my country several times. I also cried for the Philippines because of so many
poor people.

I have been to the New Bilibid prison. What made me sad in the
prison were the prisoners who do not have any love for their
country. They go to mass and work for Church. They pray everyday.
However, they do not love the Philippines. I talked to two prisoners at the maximum security compound, and both of them
said that they would leave the Philippines right after they are
released from the prison. They said that they would start a new
life in other countries and never come back to the
Philippines.

Many Koreans have a great love for Korea so that we were able to
share our wealth with our neighborhood. The owners of factory and
company were distributed their profit to their employees fairly so
that employees could buy what they needed and saved money for the
future and their children.

When I was in Korea, I had a very strong faith and wanted to be a
priest. However, when I came to the Philippines, I completely lost my faith. I was very confused when I saw many
unbelievable situations in the Philippines. Street kids always make me sad, and I see them everyday.

The Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia, but there are too many poor people here. People go to church every
Sunday to pray, but nothing has been changed.

My parents came to the Philippines last week and saw this situation. They told me that Korea was much poorer than the present Philippines when they were young. They are so sorry that there so many beggars and street kids. When we went to Pasangjan, I forced my parents to take a boat because it would fun.
However, they were not happy after taking a boat. They said that
they would not take the boat again because they were sympathized the boat men, for the boat men were very poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took a boat and enjoyed it. But my parents did not enjoy it because of love for them.

My mother who has been working for Catholic Church
since I was very young told me that if we just go to mass without
changing ourselves, we are not Catholic indeed.

Faith should come with action. She added that I have to love Filipinos and do good things for them because all of us are same and have received a great love from God.

I want Filipinos to love their neighborhood and country as much as
they love God so that the Philippines will be well off. I am sure
that love is the keyword which Filipinos should remember. We cannot change the sinful structure at once. It should start from person.

Love must start in everybody in a small scale and have to grow. A lot of things happen if we open up to love. Let's put away our
prejudices and look at our worries with our new eyes. I discover
that every person is worthy to be loved. Trust in love, because it makes changes possible.

Love changes you and me. It changes people, contexts and relationships. It changes the world.

Please love your neighborhood and country. Jesus Christ said that
whatever we do to others we do to Him. In the Philippines, there is God for people who are abused and abandoned.


There is God who is crying for love. If you have a child, teach them how to love the Philippines. Teach them why they have to love their neighborhood and country.

You already know that God also will be very happy if you love
others. That's all I really want to ask you Filipinos.

Now i will second her/his curiousity. Is the Philippines worth
crying for.......

Who will shed tears for the Motherland?
Who will lend a hand to lift her spirit,
to hold the lonely Flag that symbolize her name?

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Sunday, July 03, 2005
Church asks: Pray, fast for RP's future

CEBU CITY -- With the "gravity of our national situation," Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal declared the entire archdiocese under a "state of prayer" starting today and set July 8 as a day of fasting.

The call to prayer was made since "we cannot see any concrete, acceptable solution at this time," a statement from the Archbishop's Palace said.
It comes at a time when the opposition and militant groups are restive over allegations that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cheated in last year's polls.

A similar call was earlier made by former president Corazon Aquino and Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, who also both warned against unconstitutional or violent means to change leadership.

Rosales called on all "true lovers of the Filipino people" to be united in prayer and discernment, in the search for solutions.

He cautioned the people against falling prey "to those self-seeking politicians from all the different political parties, who have held the country's future hostage to their own ambitions, and have brought us to where we sadly find ourselves today."

His pastoral letter will be read in all churches in Manila Sunday.

All bishops, priests and men and women religious of the Cebu Archdiocese also joined Cardinal Vidal's call to prayer.

Today, the cardinal leaves for the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) plenary meeting from July 4 to 10.

The CBCP is expected to make an official statement regarding President Arroyo's admission that she called up a Commission on Elections official during the canvassing of votes in the last elections.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias and Bishop Emeritus Julio Labayen have earlier called for Arroyo's resignation because she has lost the moral and legal authority to govern the country after admitting that she talked to an election official regarding her votes during last year's elections.

Barug Pilipino, headed by Fr. Carmelo Diola, said they will just support CBCP's statement instead of coming up with their own stand.

The day after President Arroyo admitted last June 27 that she made the "improper calls" that were wiretapped, CBCP president Fernando Capalla said the "constitutional process (must) prevail."

The House of Representatives is looking into the wiretapping scandal that has set off demands for Arroyo to step down, a year after she formally took office.

Dr. Rene Josef Bullecer of the Human Life International-Pilipinas said that before Cardinal Vidal leaves, he will meet with Bullecer about a planned nightly prayer vigil at the Archbishop's Palace.

Bullecer is the designated emissary of a group of Cebuano leaders who believe in prayer as the solution to the country's problems.

"Heavily afflicted by the gravity of our national situation today and honestly feeling the plight of the poor and humbly realizing that we cannot see any concrete, acceptable solution at this time...we, the archbishop, bishops, priests, men and women religious of the Archdiocese of Cebu declare a State of Prayer for the whole archdiocese starting today," the statement read.

Souie Mercado, of the Association of Concerned Consumers and Commuters (AC3), said the group will join the prayer vigils instead of rallying for or against the administration.

The CBCP statement is widely anticipated considering that bishops from all over the country will be participating in the decision. (Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)

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MY COMMENTS ON MR. KIM’S ESSAY:

I VOUCHE ALL THAT MR. KIM HAS SAID IN HIS ESSAY ABOVE.

IN OTHER WORDS, ALL OF WHAT JAEYOUN KIM SAID AND WROTE ARE TRUE!

He has thus acted as an angel without fee to us Filipinos who have been guided by blind guides who are highly paid! Mr. Kim is not like those hired to become our country's consultant paid by the millions only to push the neck of our already drown country deeper into the quagmire!

But there is still hope... that is, if we listen to Jaeyoun Kim who acted as 'consultant' without fee because he is motivated with love for his fellowmen, we the ingrate Filipinos!

I have read one blogger who said something above to ungratefully and blindly reply Kim's essay. No condemnation for that blogger. He is certainly showing all of us -- he represents us! -- He is just saying in our behalf that WE CANNOT SEE THE VALUE OF IDEAS BASED ON LOVE.

Again, we have run -- we have fulfilled - the Visayan song, BUTA (Blind)... Pagkadaghan sa nahigmata (Oh, so many have been awake already) nga nangandoy pang matulog (Yet who still desire to go back to sleep or to remain asleep) Kay nindot kunong magdamgo (For to them it is sweeter to dream) Sa butang dili tinuod (Of things which are not true) And saksi sa kamatuuran mopiyong lang kasagaran (The witness of the truth usually close their eyes) Ug motugot lang nga pasipad-an ang gugma ug ang kaangayan (And they allow love and justice to be suppressed). CHORUS: BUTA, BUTA KITA SA PAGPAKABANA (BLIND, BLIND, OH BLIND WE ARE TO CARE) BUTA KITA SA LUHA (WE ARE BLIND TO THEIR TEARS) UNSAY BILI NING ATONG DURUHA KA MGA MATA KUNG SA KASINGKASING MAGPABILIN TANG BUTA (WHAT VALUE ARE OUR TWO EYES, IF IN THE HEART WE REMAIN SO BLIND)....

ONE LAST THING I WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO KIM'S ESSAY: Love is indeed like a seed. And as a seed, it is called LOVE OF SELF. But as a seed, it should germinate, grow and expand. That is the purpose of the seed: to grow and expand -- here, it means that love has to become all-encompassing, all-embracing. That is why Jesus said, "You should love God and your neighbor as you love your self."

He does not say “STOP LOVING YOURSELF" . HE just said, "AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF, PROCEED TO LOVE YOUR GOD AND YOUR NEIGHBOR."

Why? Partly because you cannot continue to love YOURSELF if you do not proceed or learn to love God who alone holds the decision whether your life would be extended or not after you left this earth. If you displease God, then, he will not give you salvation and eternal life. Question: Is that proper love for the self to allow one's self to get burned in hell?
Secondly, if we do not follow Christ who told us to love our neighbor, how can our neighbor (men, animals, nature) love us in return? Do you think Nature can love us if we denude its soil, or if we pollute its seas, or if we cut its trees? Are we loving ourselves then if NATURE returns with fury like the intensity and severity of the floods in Quezon Aurora and in Ormoc?

The conclusion is invevitable: SINCE WE ARE SHOWING THE MOST EVIDENCE THAN OTHER NATIONS DO WITH REGARDS TO SELFLOVE, THEN, WE MUST ALSO lead or excel in the command "LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL AND OUR NEIGHBOR". FOR THAT IS HOW WE CAN AND SHOULD LOVE OURSELVES -- WE SHOULD LOVE THOSE WHO CAN HELP US! And that is how we can love our selves -- now and in the long term -- even eternity.

For those who have nobler heart, OUR PURPOSE FOR LOVING GOD AND NEIGHBOR goes beyond selfish or personal reasons. We love God because He is the One who gave us life or existence; He is the One who sustained and sustains us; He is the One who came down, wore a flesh-body and called Himself Jesus to be able to die, shed blood and pay for our sins; He is our Savior and finally, He was, is and will always be our Father. That is why His name is YWHH or pronounced as Yahweh by others and Jehovah by others, but the meaning is the same: Eternal Father. To Moses, YHWH said, This name YHWH [Eternal Father]shall be my name forever.
Time is near when we will come to comprehend the meaning of the name ETERNAL FATHER. It is so much different to the name GOD or DEITY!

Why then is the name Jesus? Jesus came from the Hebrew equivalent Yehosuah (spelling not sure) which means "YHWH is Savior". Meaning, Jesus is the "Eternal Father who came to save us" because YHWH means Eternal Father! So Jesus is a name that means “YHWH or the Eternal Father saves us”!

We just did not notice it: He who came as Jesus was the very One who gave us life and who begot us to become His image -- His children - God the Father!

Now, having a Father like Him, shall we continue to bite one another, devour one another, to finally destroy one another, because we do not decide to love one another? Paul had warned us about this dog-eat-dog, crab-pulling attitude of immature selfish children.

Plague No. 5 in Revelation 16 is called: GOVERNMENT CHAOS AND PANIC.

Now, see whether or not this plague has not befallen our country today!

If you say it hasn't, then, woe unto us for the proverb has come true: For lack of vision (eyes who see) My people perish!

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