Japan Catholic News
January 2010
CATHOLIC PRIEST TO SPEAK OF UNITY OF MIND AND BODY AT ORIENTAL MEDICINE CONFERENCE
Catholic Weekly, December 20, 2009
An international organization for practitioners of Oriental medicine has invited a Jesuit priest to speak at their next gathering.
Doctor Hideyuki Nakata, chairman of the department of Kanpo (traditional Asian) medicine at a general hospital in Tokyo, invited Jesuit Father Juan Masia to read a paper at the 15th general meeting of the International Society of Oriental Medicine (ISOM) in February 2010. It is rare for a medical conference to invite a religious speaker.
Dr. Nakata explained the reasons, saying, "Evidence-based medicine is a method widely practiced among hospitals nowadays. Nobody denies the importance of techniques, but the patient's spirit plays an important role in terminal care. Many hospital doctors, asserting that spirit is outside the scope of medicine, pay little attention to the function spirit can perform. They step back and give up further treatments when they consider the best effort has been made, even if the patient has recovered 80 percent physically. It is a pity that those who are curable could not be cured in such circumstances."
He continued, "Kanpo is based on 'qi', an invisible power working in mind and body. Though there is no visible evidence of the existence of qi, Kanpo never ignores invisible entities. It looks at patients physically and philosophically. If you deny the invisibles, the Kanpo system is overturned."
Dr. Nakata said that the thought occurred to him during discussions with colleagues about organizing the ISOM February meeting. He thought that though Western medical science is regarded as a pure science, Christianity must also have links to it. There must be a medical science or a religious philosophy dealing with the unity of mind and body. Thus he developed the idea of having a Christian speaker. When the organizing committee agreed, he began to look for a speaker.
The name of Fr. Masia reached him through a chain of introductions. The doctor's father introduced Sister Keiko Hara of Soeurs Auxiliatrices. Sr. Hara, after exchanging emails, suggested that Dr. Nakata get in touch with Fr. Masia.
At their first meeting both Fr. Masia and Dr. Nakata understood that they had a common interest and soon agreed upon the subject for the ISOM presentation. Fr. Masia has prepared a paper titled: At the crossroads between Medicine and Philosophy: An approach to the Eastern and Western traditions about the unity of mind and body.
Dr. Nakata continued his comments, "An ambiguous common attitude prevails between medicine and religion. Both are cautiously indifferent to each other. They hate to mingle. But, there are many things that religion can do for medicine."
He added, "People run after visible evidences, leaving aside invisible ones. The invisibles permeate our world. ... It is a genuine truth that 'blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe'. If you can afford to believe without seeing, you can expand the scope of research by exploring new challenges."
POLITICIANS, OTHERS MARK MISSION ANNIVERSARIES BY REFLECTING ON LIFE ISSUES AT CHRISTMAS DINNER
Catholic Weekly, December 13, 2009
Christian Diet members as well as diplomats, local politicians, financiers and other influential people were among 620 attendees at this year's National Christmas Dinner hosted by the Ecumenical Society and International VIP Club.
The Dec. 1 gathering at a Tokyo hotel celebrated the 150th anniversary of Protestant mission and the 460th anniversary of Catholic mission in Japan. Among the Catholic participants was Archbishop Alberto Bottari de Castello, apostolic nuncio in Japan. The political figures present made use of the day to debate and discuss the importance of life.
Tsurunen Marutei, a member of the Diet's House of Councilors, gave the opening address, pointing out that the fact that many of the attendees were not Christian proves that Christianity is not an exclusive religion, contrary to what one cabinet member recently stated.
Shigeru Ishiba, a member of the House of Representatives also gave a talk before Shigeaki Hinohara, chairman of the board at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo, took the stage as the main speaker.
Reflecting on his national tour of elementary schools five years ago during which he taught about the importance of life, Hinohara said that everyone understands the importance of life by the time they are 10 years old. Denouncing war and bullying, he called on the Christian members of the Diet to release a manifesto on the importance of life issues.
Kazuo Ichimura, representing the founding members of the International VIP Club, said, "Those of you gathered here have influence in your fields. In this society facing many issues, problems of the heart, I think we can become a great force for change for Japan."
The VIP Club was founded with the goal of increasing Christian influence among professionals in the business world in Japan.
"Nippon Notes" by William Grimm
THOUGHTS ON PREACHING GUIDELINES
Recently, UCA News reported
The fathers of the Church preached for hours. Martin Luther told a discouraged preacher to not feel bad that he could not yet preach for an hour. Those days are past. People today expect about seven minutes and will on occasion endure 10.
Recently, UCA News reported
that Bombay archdiocese told its priests to keep their homilies short and to the point, finishing them within 10 minutes. I assume lay reaction was generally and perhaps even ecstatically favorable.
Surveys among Catholics in various places show a consistent and considerable dissatisfaction with the quality of preaching they endure each week. Judging from what I have endured myself, it appears the problem has a single source, unprofessionalism. Too many priests do not do their job.
What would anyone think of a doctor whose failure to use antibiotics was due to the fact that he was unaware of their existence? Yet, there are preachers who remain ignorant of developments in Scripture study and theology, feeling that what they were taught (or think they were taught) in the seminary years ago should still suffice. Anyone who dares to speak to a community about faith must be willing to continually study and question in order to broaden and deepen the message.
The problem of King Charles' head is not limited to poor Mr. Dick in Dickens's David Copperfield. Mr. Dick was always trying to write a "Memorial" but could not do so without bringing in his obsession with the beheading of King Charles I of England. Abortion, Mary, birth control, the environment, the Pope, Vatican II, feminism, various saints, particular devotional practices, justice, peace, money — each of them and others have become King Charles' head for some preachers. Some of those concerns are valid, but none deserves to be the theme of every homily or sermon.
How does a preacher come to know the needs of a congregation? This is one of the most mystifying things about preachers. The number who seem to have no idea of the people before whom they stand is staggering. A congregation is not an abstraction, but real people with experiences, concerns and hopes. Poor preachers talk about their own needs, their own hang-ups, their own idea of what the congregation's concerns should be or abstract gobbledygook.
Meeting people is essential. No preacher should avoid the opportunity to shop in local stores, take part in local activities and visit members of the congregation. A preacher who does some of the voluntary community service he so cheerfully recommends to others can learn a lot. The people among whom one preaches are not an audience; they are partners in a dialogue. A good preacher makes and takes every opportunity to advance that dialogue.
There is a quip that the preacher's role is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, but a preacher must never afflict without feeling discomfort at the message himself — smug complacency is more common in the pulpit than in the pew, especially among those who set out to attack smug complacency.
Humility is essential to good preaching. A preacher stands before the Sons and Daughters of God. He should be at least as humble as he would be before a child of earthly royalty or celebrity. He has (or should have) an expertise they need, but he is not omniscient. In many realms, the congregation knows more than the preacher. At the very least, each member of it knows the mystery of his or her own life and relationship with God.
Being humble does not mean lacking confidence. The Spirit really does work through our willingness to stand up and be fools for Christ's sake. Presumably, someone standing before a congregation has the training and commission to be a preacher. God will work through him if he is willing to be a tool — a good tool.
A preacher should not be afraid to show doubts and fears — the congregation has them, too, and needs to know that one can have them yet continue to be a Christian. But a preacher must not make the homily his therapy session. The emphasis must be on the reasons of mind and heart for continuing faith in the face of doubt.
When all is said and done, the most important thing in preaching is love. A preacher must love God above all and the People of God, especially the People of God who are in front of him. He must love them enough to want to share with them the wonderful, joy-giving gift of faith. If he can do that, he will not need guidelines regarding time and technique.
Maryknoll Father William Grimm is the
publisher of UCA News and former editor-in-chief of Katorikku Shimbun,
Japan's Catholic weekly.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do
not represent the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan.
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JAPANESE-FOUNDED AID GROUP MARKS 10 YEARS IN EAST TIMOR
Catholic Weekly, December 13, 2009
A group organized by Japanese to provide medical assistance to people in East Timor marked its 10th anniversary with a celebration in that country.
On Nov. 8, the Alliance of Friends for Medical care in East Timor (AFMET) celebrated the anniversary of its founding at AFMET's Renewal Center, the organization's base of operations in the Pacific nation's capital city of Dili.
AFMET is a non-profit organization formed by the Sisters of the Visitation and the Japan Lay Missionary Movement (JLMM). Its members — health care professionals and locals — work to provide medical assistance to the residents of East Timor.
Fr. Michitaka Yamaguchi of Yokohama, currently acting as assistant director, came with others from Japan for the celebration. In all, about 350 people were present, including 95 local health care workers who have been trained by AFMET over the past 10 years.
The homily at a Mass offered as part of the event highlighted the challenges and hard work faced by Sr. Yoshie Kamezaki of the Sisters of the Visitation and other local staff members at the time of the group's founding.
Also in attendance was Mr. Iwao Kitahara, ambassador of Japan to East Timor, who said that AFMET "has contributed to the mutual understanding and friendship between our nation and East Timor, and their achievements are remarkable." He also presented the group with a certificate of commendation.
JLMM head Hiroshi Urushibara said during his visit, "I hold in my heart thanks for all the many people who have been involved in various ways with AFMET over the past 10 years, and pray that its path may lead to a still greater involvement by the people of the region, everyone working together toward the goal of healthier lives."
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