One of many reasons my parents and relatives who objected to my priestly vocation is deeply rooted in the Asian culture. Especially Koreans believe that man cannot become adults—the word adult in Korean means to have relationship with the spouse—unless they get married and have children. When I said to my grandmother about being a priest, the first question she asked was “Aren’t you going to get married and have many children?” I couldn’t help smiling to her.
Now I see my most friends married and have children. They have finally become adults and fathers to the kids. I know them well because we were always hanging out together before getting into marriage. We were usual bachelors who pursued excitement and pleasure in the self-indulgent fashion. We thought that we were free to do whatever we liked to do unless it was immoral or harmful to others. Many stupid things we had done together were excused because of our mentality that said we were not adults yet. It would be our slogan: “Eat and drink and be merry until we lose our freedom to marriage!