Fr. H. Paul Kim 김성래 하상바오로 신부

"나는 마음이 온유하고 겸손하니..." (마태 11,29)
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Let love in (Eucharistic Adoration)

2009/11/10 by frhpaul Filed Under: English, 강론

I am in the presence of God. I am in the presence of the mystery of the love of God.

I live this mystery of the love of God in every moment of my existence.

 

The love of God is like the ocean and I am a drop within this immensity. But I am a drop of water that never loses its own identity. God knows and loves me as an individual person. In a Chinese tale the little fishes of the sea, swimming in the depth of the ocean, speak up and ask of their elders: where is the water? The drops of water in the ocean do not live separated, isolated, independently from the water of the sea; rather, every drop is completely integrated totally as part of the water.

 

I, for all my individuality, do not live separated, isolated, independently from the love of God. Everything that I am, that I have, my dreams, my aspirations, are integrated into the mystery of the love of God.

 

How can I ask: Where does one discover the love of God? It is as if the small fishes in the depths of the ocean would ask: Where is the water? I am submerged in the love of God. The love of God is closer to me than the air that I breathe, the sound that I hear, and the fragrance that I smell.

 

Kneeling Down (Holy Thursday)

2009/04/08 by frhpaul Filed Under: English, 강론

When was the last time you knelt down before someone? Kneeling down is not usual action we take. Apparently, kneeling down before someone means to submit yourself or surrender yourself or admit that you are inferior to someone, so kneeling down has a negative image in general. In Asia, if a king lost a war, the king was forced to kneel down before the enemy as a sign of surrender which was disgrace and shame. A grown man doesn’t do that. Some kneeling down, however, could change life.

 

After entering the seminary, I became a leader of the Sunday school at my home parish during summer and winter vacation. I myself was a Sunday school teacher for a couple of years before the seminary, so I was confident in working with the teachers, guiding them and conducting events. During summer, we prepared for a summer camp, taking two hundred kids out to the mountain for three nights and four days which was a daunting task. We all worked hard. But somehow I started seeing that the teachers were not like used to be: they missed the meetings, making excuses; they were not responsible for the jobs they were in charge; they were not really enthusiastic overall. Although I didn’t like it, I didn’t know how to deal with it, pushing them harder. We conducted a Christmas festival and climbing up the winter mountain as well during which I was more disappointed with the teachers. And finally in February the new Sunday school teacher’s conference came which indicated if you attended the conference you desired to continue to serve as a Sunday school teacher. But many expressed that they didn’t want to go to the conference. I became outrageous but I didn’t know how to express it, so I held it in my heart. And then I invited all the teachers to go to the remote area to rest in a prayerful atmosphere, so to speak, alluring them into a trap. Since I held disappointment, hatred, and grudge, the prayerful time became a way for me to revenge them in the name of spiritual renewal. Here in the remote countryside, I set very strict rules to follow—no talk, no snacks with a tight schedule. The culmination of my revenge was to wake them up in the middle of night and made them do the Stations of the Cross in the mountain. It was very cold and the heavy cross was not easy to carry. Some female teachers started weeping; the male teachers were deadly silent, sweating and panting. I felt sorry for them a little. After coming back to the retreat house, I fed them. They all looked like poor children to me. And I conducted a ritual of reconciliation. The essential part of it was for me to kneel down and to wash their feet. Kneeling down before my enemy, I encountered something that I never imagined.

Let It Be (Immaculate Conception)

2008/12/07 by frhpaul Filed Under: 강론

Since I was a kid, I love this song, one of the Beatles’ best songs: “Let It Be.”
When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me, speaking words of wisdom, let it be. Let it be, let it be, let it be, whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

I believe “Let it be” may well express who Mary is especially as we think of her YES to the angel Gabriel’s annunciation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” This yes made the savior of the world conceived and brought about the unfailing hope to us which we eagerly wait for in the season of Advent.

From the beginning of my faith, I have been accustomed with the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. First of all, this feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary holds the same patroness of the Korean Catholic Church like the United States. Secondly, the first bishop of archdiocese of Deagu, South Korea where I come from took a vow before the Immaculate Conception when he first came to Korea. The bishop was a French and there was nothing when the diocese was established in 1911. Since he loved the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he promised her to dedicate the best place in the diocese in the name of the Immaculate Conception if she helped him build a diocesan structure and a seminary. This was fulfilled in a couple of years. Now we have a beautiful grotto next to the bishop’s house like the Lourdes’ in France. Every day the place is adored by the faithful and the Immaculate Conception is the first patroness of the archdiocese of Deagu.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is also the Mother of all priests. She took a position to take care of her son priests like Jesus Christ. Pope John Paul 2 was the one who prayed everyday to the mother. His favorite prayer he cited every day is this: “I belong to you entirely. And all that I possess is yours. I take you into everything that is mine. Give me your heart. Mary.” And when he was elected pope, he made his coat of arm, putting a Capital M in it which stands for Mary.
The United States is blessed as well by the Blessed Virgin Mary because Mary is the patroness of America under two titles: the Immaculate Conception we celebrate today and Our Lady of Guadalupe that we will celebrate in December 12.

Interdependence Day

2008/07/03 by frhpaul Filed Under: 강론

First of all, it is honor to preside the Eucharistic celebration for this special occasion called Independence Day. At the same time, I feel little burdened to be in the position to preach the gospel in light of American national holiday because there would be a certain gap between my knowledge of American history and […]

Two questions you need to answer when you die

2008/06/30 by frhpaul Filed Under: 강론

Today I buried the man named Casmer Swiencki who died on May 31 at the age of 93. For his funeral I wrote this homily because his life has revealed the truth that we need to hear and answer someday for ourselves. So I want to share the story with you.   Many say that […]

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About Fr. H. Paul

김성래 하상바오로 신부는 2007년 5월 12일 미국 클리브랜드에서 대구대교구 사제로 서품되었다. 후에 클리브랜드 성 안토니오(St. Anthony) 성당에서 보좌신부로 2년 동안 일했으며, 이어서 John Carroll 예수회 대학에서 공부하고 2011년 8월에 귀국했다. 주교좌 계산 성당에서 보좌신부로 1년을 일한 뒤, 2012년 8월부터 대구대교구 조환길 타대오 대주교님의 비서신부로 일했다. 2018년 1월 26일에 군위본당 주임신부로 부임해 신자들과 행복한 3년을 보냈다. 2021년 1월 15일 대구가톨릭대학교 인성교육원 교수로 임명받아 대학생들과 대학교 공동체에 헌신하고 있다.

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