Lessons from South Korea.
- Roland Flores
- Mar 25
- 21 min read
The beauty of Unity
Ave Maria! May Our Lady, the Immaculate Queen of Korea, together with St. Joseph, St. Andrew Kim, and all the saints, pray for us! In honor of St Joseph, to whom March is dedicated, I have written a series of articles of what I learned and experienced while in Korea. I lived in Korea from March 2023 until April 2024. This first segment is primarily based on my personal experiences in Korea, so if you do care for that the other two are more historical. When I received orders to Korea, I was not happy about them. However, despite this I still went. I stayed in a few days in Japan while in route and one of the first things that greeted me was the blossoming Japanese cherry blossom tree. To say that my spirits were high would be a lie, I had never been so far from my family, besides the natural difficulty of getting use to the time difference (14 hours) and culture shock. Asia was another word to put it lightly. I arrived and was rushed to Camp Humphreys. The next day, I looked for the Adoration chapel, and on foot I learned how large this base truly was. When I finally found the Chapel, I felt a great sense of relief. To be in the presence of our Lord was such a comforting thing, the Chapel was dedicated to our Lady of Peace, adorned with images of Korean saints and servant of God Father Emil Kapaun, an army chaplain who was killed in 1559 while in captivity by the Communist Chinese. From Humphreys I was transported to Osan Air Base, and there I had difficulty finding the adoration Chapel. The immense consolation I felt when I found the Chapel is very difficult to describe, yet this would be a common occurrence in Korea. I once heard a friend tell me that the Catholic faith was one of those things that remain the same no matter where you are, this proved true in Korea. The first few weeks of my stay in Korea were filled with me walking to the local Churches around where I stayed and they always followed this pattern of Thought: general excitement, anxiety because I was lost or did not know if I was on the way, consolation to be in the Presence of God. To my great pleasure, I discovered that there was a Saturday TLM at our Catholic Chapel in Osan Air Base, said by the Chaplain. A miracle inside itself to find a Military Chaplain who would say the TLM, let alone weekly.
There I received another lifeline from one of the faithful, who told me of a French priest who was saying The Tridentine Mass about a half an hour’s train and ten minuet walk from where I lived. There I met one of the Last priests of the Paris foreign Missionary Society, the one of the original Missionary orders that came to Korea in 1837. Father Philippe Blot, a tireless priest who ran an orphanage and aided refugees from North Korea, also had a deep love of the TLM, go figure. Father Blot said Mass on the third story of his orphanage and refugee center, in St. John Chapel and there I met a handful of Traditional Catholics, including other US service members stationed in Korea. Father Blot spoke English but not very well, speaking better Korean. From here I tried to walk a pilgrimage rout in Korea but became lost twice, once during the walk and the second time in the subway station returning home. I was also unable to locate the SSPX Chapel.
The Catholic Chaplain at Osan, also hosted a number of pilgrimages to several Sacred sites in Korea, including the grave of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest and a Martyr. A few times I was honored by being able to serve Holy Mass at both the Osan Chapel and St. John’s Chapel with Father Blot. During this time I also met a seminarian named Daniel, who is still in seminary, and remains a friend to this day. Daniel also helped me travel throughout Korea and showed me a few of the Catholic and secular sites in Korea. For the entire month of July, I returned home and did not return to Korea until August, perhaps one of the ugliest feelings I have ever felt was seeing how much my son grew up. Upon returning I discovered Father O’Neill was moved to another station in the US, which left me with only Father Blot’s Mass. This combined with heightened tensions at work, renewed homesickness, and this Tejano feeling actual cold weather, made fall a nightmare. By late November I was finally able to figure out how to reach the Chapel of the Immaculate Concepcion (SSPX) south of Seoul, there I met the famous Father Thomas Onoda, and Father Etienne Demornex among other great priests.
Finally able to travel, I was able to visit numerous Shrines and sacred sites around Seoul and the area I was stationed. Including the first Seminary and since I had gone there myself, I was able to stay, pray and admire the sacred sites for much longer. I was also able to visit secular attractions and some of the best Asian eateries have ever eaten at, as my weight gain can attest to. Once while in Seoul I randomly met a visiting priest with the FSSP from Atlanta who invited me to his Mass at a small chapel belonging to the Legion of Christ. It was during winter time, near Christmas time and a great blessing to be able to hear Mass. The Priory in Tokyo was unable to hold Mass in Korea every Sunday, which was okay since there was Mass at St. John's Chapel with Father Blot almost every Sunday.
Despite this, while in Korea I continued into a deep spiritual darkness, as the country remains dominated by Pagan cults. Korea was also liminal nightmare, with almost a dystopian feeling, and this added to the separation from my family and long hours at work crushed my spirits. While there I experienced several odd encounters, these I believe were of a spiritual nature, constant reminders to me of the rulers of Korea. Once while in prayer at the Catholic Chapel at Camp Humphreys I read of a story of St. Michael rescuing a US soldier from seven Communist Chinese troops. In the story the Solider reportedly heard the Devil say: Korea is under our dominion.” Something I can attest too. Despite hearing constantly that Korea was Christian and secular, I saw Idols and superstition everywhere. Once when reading the scriptures, I read: “Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept: when we remembered Sion… required of us the words of songs. And they that carried us away, said: Sing ye to us a hymn of the songs of Sion. How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten” (Psalms 136:1-6).
I related to this lamentation, which also became a great consolation to me, this and a renewed devotion to Our lady. Another thing I noticed was that the Church in Korea Is very much obsessed with being Korea, obsessed with Korean culture, Korean saints and the history of the Korean Church. Finding a statue or fresco of a Korea Saint was ten times more likely than finding a saint from anywhere else. Make no mistake, I wish the Church in the US would give one tenth of the attention to our founding saints that the Korean Church gives its saints. However, you can tell that there is a very nationalistic obsession with devotion to the Korean saints and Martyrs, something most trads can learn from. Trads, among them I include myself, are often to obsessed with being among the reactionary element and neglect our spiritual life. If we were given to time to talk about our faith, an hour for example, how much of that time would be talking about the errors of Vatican II or the Pope or this cardinal and how much of that time would be about Christ, his apostles and saints, ad their teachings? This is perhaps one of the greatest errors of most Churches in Korea, their art almost totally speaks of the Korean Church, its foundation, persecution and triumph. Again, I understand going to a specific shrine or sacred site, and that being totally dedicated to those particular martyrs, but this was the trend of most random parishes I entered. Very rarely did I see a saint who wasn’t Korean or Our Lady or St. joseph, and when I did, I greeted them as fellow foreigner. while I was in Korea, I was also able to visit a Chinese Catholic Church in Incheon Chinatown, a port occupied by Chinese merchants since the 1880s. During the Chinese take over of China many traditional Chinese refugees, and Chinese Catholics fled to Incheon Chinatown. These Catholics built a Church in 1958, and I was blessed to visit it and eat at one of the local Chinese restaurants. I was also able to meet with Italian Franciscan Friars at the “international parish” of Korea near the EU embassy. While in Korea I grew in devotion to three saints I already had quiet a devotion to St. Joseph, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. Felipe de Jesús, a Franciscan friar born in Mexico city who was Martyred in Japan with 26 other Franciscans and Jesuits in 1597. My time in Korea seemed to go on forever until it didn’t and then, the Cherry blossoms bloomed once again and suddenly I was on my way home.
2. A brief history of Catholicism in Korea
The Catholic Church is a bit different, primarily because it was founded by Koreans. Unlike many other places where foreign missionaries plant the first seeds of the Gospel, the first to teach Catholics were Koreans. For centuries, Korea was an isolated place under the influences of Confucianism and Buddhism intertwined in Folk superstations. The first recorded priest, in Korea, Spanish Jesuit Father Gregorio Céspedes JS, arrived at Busan (Korea’s most southern port) in December 1593 during a Japanese Invasion. Father Céspedes was out of Korea by 1598, his few converts fled with him, the end of Catholic Church in Korea. However, in 1779, group of Confucianists scholars, unhappy with Confucianist doctrines and beliefs, were preparing to travel abroad in search of new doctrines and philosophies. During these preparations a Confucianist scholar Lee Byeok brought a Catholic Philosophical book, De Deo Verax Disputatio (A Discussion on the True God), printed in Chinese by Jesuit Missionary Father Matteo Ricci SJ. This book led to an intense debate within the scholars, leading a few to create their group, in order to study Father Ricci’s work. Byeok, was the most interested in this Catholic Philosophy, taking it to various Confucianist lectures for discussion. These Scholars later sent Confucianist Scholar Yi Seung-Hun to China, to find a priest and acquire more Catholic texts. In 1784, Yi Seung-Hun was instructed and baptized by Jesuit Fathers, who gave him a Crucifix, several sacred Images and books to return to Korea. From then on, He was called Peter Yi Seung-Hun, the Jesuits hoped he would establish the Church in Korea. Peter Yi Seung-Hun returned to Korea with instructions to catechize people, as there were not enough priests to be sent to Korea. Upon fully understanding the faith, Byeok formally accepted the Catholic faith and took the name John and began to teach it with Yi Seung-Hun. Byeok called this faith “The right way and the true way.” The Jesuits instructed Peter Yi Seung-Hun to “preach the Gospel to everyone” regardless of gender or class, as the Korea was under a strict class system based on Confucianist ideas. By 1785 the faith, at least in idea, had spread throughout several villages, many Catholics were at first arrested under the suspicion of being in gambling gatherings.
During this time Thomas Kim Beou-Wu would be tortured to death by officials, becoming the first known Catholic Martyr in Korea but certainly not the last. The royal courts of Korea, aware of the Church and her teachings, began an investigation into the new Converts, and John Byeok was shamed because of his association as a Gentry (part of the traditional ruling class) and put under house arrest with no food until he abandoned the faith. John Byeok would eventually starve to death rather than abandon the faith. Despite this, the faith continued to spread and wanting more than mere discussions and prayer, many began to mix intertwine Confucianist rites with Catholicism, which sparked a debate among them. In 1790, the Koreans sent to Bishop Alexandre de Gouvea TOR, who clarified that as Baptized Catholics they were forbidden in participating in Confucianist and Buddhist rites.
This led to a major apostasy, primarily from the Gentry class. Shortly after the clarification Blessed Paul Yun Ji-Chung, a member of the gentry class, came under speculations when his mother died. His mother, a Catholic, requested a Catholic burial, with word for a Mass to be said for her in China (as by this time there was still not priests in Korea). The refusal of Confucianist rites for his mother led to the arrest of Blessed Paul Yun Ji-Chung, and after refusing to worship his mother and ancestors, he was tortured and eventually beheaded. In 1794, Servant of God Father Jacob Zhou Wen-Mo, a Chinese priest, was sent to Korea, the first priest to serve over 4,000 people. Among the many notable historical things Father Zhou did, ordering the Baptized Koreans to release their slaves is one of his most infamous acts. In 1801 Queen Jeongsun began hostilities against the Church, more than 300 people were killed by being beaten to death for refusing to renounce their faith and over 400 more escaped into the mountain side. Dozens of faithfully were tortured to death for refusing to disclose the location of Father Zhou but after hearing how so many had suffered and died for him, Father Zhou turned himself over to the authorities. Father Zhou was beheaded. Among those who were tortured to death was Peter Yi Seung-Hun, the first Korean Catholic. From then on Catholics would live in secret, in villages in the mountain side. Though there were subsequent persecutions in 1839 and 1846, respectively, Catholicism survived. Since 1820, Korean Catholics had been sending requested to Beijing for priests. In the end, Pope Gregory XVI appointed His Excellency, St. Laurent-Joseph-Imbert of the Paris Foreign Missions Society was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Korea and Titular Bishop of Capsa. On 14 May 1837, he secretly crossed secretly from Manchuria to Korea with two other priests with Paris Foreign Missions Society, Paris Foreign Missions Society, Father St. Pierre-Philibert Maubant and Father St. Jacques-Honoré Chastan. These three secretly worked among the Catholics of Korea until the persecution pf 1839, when St. Imbert was betrayed and arrested. He was taken to Seoul where he was tortured to reveal the whereabouts of his priests. Eventually the other two saints turned themselves sin and were tortured to give the whereabouts of their faithful, but As torture failed to break them down, the three were beheaded on 21 September 1839 at a Confucianist site called Saenamteo.
Their bodies remained exposed for several days but were finally buried on Noku Mountain. During this persecution 110 Krean Catholics were killed but despite this St. Imbert had sent three Korean young men to Beijing to discern the priesthood, one died of fever and another returned to Korea, but St. Andrew Kim Dagun Teagen was ordained a priest in Shanghai in 1844 by the bishop Jean Ferréol and returned the same year to Korea. He was the first Korean to be ordained a priest. In 1846 hostilities broke out once again between the Church and the Confucianist officials, leading to the arrest and martyrdom of St. Andrew Kim, who was tortured and finally beheaded near Seoul on the Han River. His last words were: It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him. Despite this the Church continued in Korea, with French priests living in secret, and in 1856, St. Imbert’s successor was appointed, His excellency, St. Siméon-François Berneux. In 1865, Hostilities broke out between the Korean royalty and the republic of France, leading to King Gojong the Daewongun's decree to suppress Catholicism in January 1866. This was the bloodiest persecution, 9 out of 12 French missionaries were executed including St. Siméon-François Berneux, who was martyred at Saenamteo. Over 8,000 Lay faithful, out of 20,000 Catholics living in Korea, were also martyred for refusing to renounce the faith. However, many Catholics renounced their faith, Catholic books were confiscated and burned; and crosses and statues were trampled. This decree was lifted in 1873, being last major Persecution of Catholicism until the 1940s. In 1876 Korea opened to the West and allowed more priests and religious to enter Korea.
In 1882 The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception of Myeongdong in Seoul was established, which is the principle Cathedral for all of Korea. In 1888, the sisters of St. Paul of Charters opened the first convent for women in Korean and in 1893 the first seminary was opened in Seongshim. These sisters opened the first orphanages, nursing homes, public schools and hospitals. During this time the first public Churches were opened as well. However, Protestantism was introduced to Korea during this period. In 1909 Benedictines founded the first male monastery in Korea. In 1910, the Japanese invaded Korea, giving Christianity a boost of converts who viewed the religion as being against the Japanese who ordered the veneration of their emperor and Shinto idols. Many Korean Catholics were imprisoned and enslaved for their actions during this time. The Japanese also put recitations on building Churches and monitored the Clergy constantly. On 25 July 1925, Pope Pius XI canonized St. Imbert and 78 more Korean Martyr on the 100th anniversary of the first Korean Dioceses. With the start of the WWII, Japan expelled most of the clergy for their enemy countries, though a few French priests remained in secret. This led to the first Korean born bishop, His Excellency Paul Noh-Gi Nam of Seoul, the second being His Excellency, Francis Hong Yong-Ho of Pyeongyang. There were many Korean Catholic revolts against the Japanese, and in 1948 the Japanese were expelled from Korea and Korea was split giving to the Soviets. The Communist government under Kim Il-sung persecuted the Church, most of the Catholics were either killed or imprisoned, or more fled south. Dozens of priests, nuns, and religious were arrested and marched for miles to camps, among them was Mother Mel Beatrix, the Mother Superior of the sisters of St. Paul of Charters was the first to be executed during this walk of death. Over 43 Priests and religious with 7 religious sisters were killed, among them was His Excellency Patrick James Byrne, the papal nuncio to Korea and His Excellency, Francis Hong Yong-Ho, Bishop of Pyeongyang. The Benedictine Abbey of Tokwon came under heavy fire during fighting and 14monks and 2 sisters were harshly imprisoned, tortured and executed by a direct order of Kim Il Sung. Later, 17 monks and 2 sisters also died of starvation while imprisoned. However, the first to die was Abbot-Bishop Boniface Sauer who was killed while in prison in Pyongyang. The eventually, the remaining the surviving 42 German monks and sisters were ransomed and returned to Germany. The abbey was later converted into a “shrine of the people” in praise to the leader of Communist Korea and today the well-built abbey it is part of the Ministry of State Security building. After the war many religious orders returned to Korea and many new ones came as a relief effort to aid the staring people of South Korea. From here there came an explosion of converts and Catholicism in Korea. Today Catholics make up approximately 11.3% of South Korea's population.
3. Maybe the solution to modern society is in the far east.
Ave María! Something I was told by many of my coworkers to find spiritual enlightenment and wisdom in the far east’s various forms of idolatry: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, or Shintoism. This was also echoed in many pamphlets, which said to make this assignment a spiritual journey and to find a solution to the Mental Health Crisis in modern times through Eastern style meditation. And I must admit one thing, these various statements weren’t totally wrong. On Mount Hikosan in Japan, there are many shrines, gardens, and temples belonging to both various Buddhists and Shintoists groups but one is not like all the others. The Mugenzai no Sono or the Garden of the Immaculata was founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Franciscan missionary, on 6 May 1931. What makes this shrine to our Lady different to all the other pagan shines is that it was built at odds with the rest of them. St. Kolbe insisted upon this place when he was first looking for a place upon the mountain, noting that it was the will of the Immaculate Lady for her garden to be there. According to Shinto beliefs, this was not the site best suited for the Marian Shrine to be in harmony with their beliefs but against it. Every single temple, shrine, and site in Japan followed this pagan norm, even the Urakami Cathedral built in 1925, which was the largest Christian structure in the region. Despite local pressure, even from the clergy, St. Kolbe built the shrine in the site he claimed our Lady wanted and in 1932 he left Japan to continue his missionary work in India. On 9 August 1941, the United States dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, which was dropped in Urakami only 1640 ft from the Urakami Cathedral, destroying it. The Cathedral was well attended for Mass and the resultant collapse and heatwave cindered and buried all those present in the cathedral. The Bomb destroyed all that was in Harmony with the Shinto customs, secular buildings, and Catholic, protestant, Shinto and Buddhist alike. The Garden of the Immaculata’s Chapel suffered a few broken windows, windows which had been donated by local Protestant missionaries. This Garden became a place of refuge in the aftermath of the bomb, many Buddhists and Shintoist escaped to this place and died, many converting in their last hours of life. The lesson is clear, listen to Mary, not to the pagan world or to human respect, because only she can help you. Another thing to notice, something that may spur debate among my fellow trads, is there is reason to believe that St. Kolbe, in all his work for the Militia Immaculata, knew nothing of the aspirations of Fatima. This is supported by this talk from Dominican Father Albert Kallio OP, which the Fatima Center published. On 16 October 1917, the Militia Immaculata (MI) was founded before a small statue of Our Immaculate Lady by 7 Franciscan friars in a cell in Rome, chief among them was St. Maximilian Kolbe.
The MI was created as a reaction to Freemasonic demonstrations in Rome with this mission: “To win the entire world for the Immaculata and, through her, for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.” Seemingly, unknown to the friars was just 3 days before, the miracle of the sun at Fatima had just occurred. In 1918 St. Kolbe was ordained a priest and a year later he returned from Rome to his native Poland, where he began preaching heavily against communists and Freemasons. He worked as a parish priest, spreading the MI and his method of total consecration, which differed from St. Louis de Montfort’s as it was shorter and focused more on the Immaculate nature of Mary. In 1922 he began his publications across Europe called and in 1927 he founded a monastery called City of the Immaculate Mother of God in Niepokalanów, Poland. St. Kolbe visited France, walking from Lourdes to Paris to the chapel of the miraculous medal, and finally to Lisieux, where the saintly little Therese, patron of Foreign missions, inspired St. Kolbe to undertake a Mission. Then from 1930 and 1936, St. Kolbe undertook a missionary expedition to Asia that had him travel from Shanghai, China to Japan to Malabar India. In Japan, aside from the garden, he also began publishing Mugenzai no Seibo no Kishi or Knight of the Immaculata, which saw many conversions. One occasion includes Buddhist monks in Kyoto knocking on the door of the friary and inviting St. Kolbe to visit his temple and preach brought the light of faith to that place where the Mother of God won the souls of several. St. Kolbe eventually returned to Poland in 1936 to attend the Provincial Chapter. In 1938 he started a radio station at Niepokalanów, Radio Niepokalanów. On 1 September 1939, Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany and on the 19 the Niepokalanów was captured, St. Kolbe was arrested for refusing to sign the Deutsche Volksliste, a Nazi institution aimed to clarify inhabitants into categories of desirability. St. Kolbe was released on 8 December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Concepcion. The Monastery continued to act as a publishing house, issuing several anti-Nazi German publications which defended the Church and the social reign of Christ which was opposed to the Nazi Ideology. His monastery, much like the Garden in Japan after the bombing, became a refuge for refugees of the war, including over 2,000 individuals the Nazi considered undesirable. On 17 February 1941, the monastery was sacked by Nazi forces and shut down, St. Kolbe and four other friars were arrested and transferred to a prison in Pawiak and then on 28 May, St. Kolbe was transferred to Auschwitz as prisoner 16670. St. Kolbe was subject to various forms of harassment, refused rations and was often beaten by the extremely anti-clerical Nazi guards. At the end of July 1941, a prisoner escaped from the camp, prompting the deputy camp commander, SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Fritzsch, to pick ten men to be starved to death in an underground bunker to deter further escape attempts. When one of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, "My wife! My children!" St. Kolbe volunteered to take his place. According to an eyewitness, in his prison cell Kolbe led the prisoners in prayer. Each time the guards checked on him, he was standing or kneeling in the middle of the cell and looking calmly at those who entered. After they had been starved for two weeks, only St. Kolbe and three others remained alive. The guards wanted the bunker emptied, so they gave the four remaining prisoners lethal injections of carbolic acid. He died on 14 August 1941. His remains were cremated on 15 August, the feast day of the Assumption of Mary. On 12 May 1955 St, Kolbe was recognized by the Holy See as a Servant of God and was beatified by Pope Paul VI in 1971 and was finally canonized as a saint by Pope John Paul II on 10 October 1982, under the title of confessor and martyr. After this brief introduction into St. Kolbe life, his connection to Fatima is quiet clear. As Fray Jerzy M. Domanski OFM, successor of St. Kolbe as director of the MI said at his canonization: the work of the Militia of the Immaculate was opportunely inspired in order to cooperate with the triumph of the immaculate heart of Mary. I have no doubt that the work of the Militia Immaculate fits in perfectly with this social triumph. At any rate one can only admire the hand of providence that led Father Kolbe to carry out the divine plan.
While in Korea, I made my consecration to Our Lady under the formula of St. Maximilian Kolbe after a Mission preached by Father Timothy Pfeiffer at the Immaculate Concepcion Chapel (SSPX) in Seoul. You can watch the same mission Father Pfeiffer gave at the Stella Matutina Priory in Tokyo here. Shortly after my consecration and enrollment into the Militia Immaculata, I visited the Myeongdong Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Myeongdong Cathedral which was established in 1887 and consecrated in 1892. This Cathedral, built by Father Eugène Jean Coste, and is considered as the principal Church in Korea and a symbol of the Catholic faiths’ triumph in Korea. When the Cathedral was first being built Confucianist Emperor Gojong opposed the construction of the cathedral and threatened to confiscate the land, partly due to his disdain that a building was built higher than his palace and chief temple. Nevertheless, he eventually conceded, though the war with Japan postponed building for several years. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, there were several attempts by Japanese officials to remove the bell from the tower, which they argued disrupted the Shinto harmony. There were also several attempts made to force Shinto idolatry into the Cathedral but all failed. The Cathedral was held and desecrated by Chinese and Korean communist forces during the Korean War. The Cathedral was ransacked and desecrated, but the Communists were never able to destroy it, later the US military proposed bombing the cathedral to remove communist forces, but their plans never came to fruition. Today this Cathedral stands as staunch reminder, While the Church was built in 1892, the Cathedral traces its roots to a Papal Bull “In Frater Salutem" by Pope Gregory XVI establishing the first Apostolic Vicariate in Seoul, as a separate territory from Diocese of Beijing.
In 1837 Bishop St. Laurent Imbert, the first bishop of Korea, consecrated Korea to the Immaculate Conception, promising Our Lady that one day a large Cathedral would be built in her honor under her Immaculate title. On 22 August 1841, Pope Gregory XVI Also solemnly dedicated the Catholic Church in Korea, to Our Lady under the title "The Immaculate Virgin". In 1847, Bishop Jean Joseph Ferréol of Korea renewed the consecration to the Immaculate Lady and along with Saint Joseph as its co-patron. Then again on 29 May 1898was Korea consecrated to the Immaculate Lady by Bishop Gustave Charles Mutel in the Myeoendong Cathedral. Hopefully by now you see the trend, the solution, to our modern problem, that is true devotion to Our Lady, consecration to the immaculate Lady and devotion to her immaculate Heart. Father Kolbe, wrote and taught about our Lady’s apparitions in Mexico, Lourdes and in Paris but never at Fatima. Father Domanski OFM wrote shortly after St. Kolbe’s canonization: “In the writings and conferences of Father Kolbe, there is no mentions of Our Lady of Fatima, which is easily understandable given the late date of their divulgation.” Father Albert, in the Fatima center talk, rightly points out that both the holy children at Fatima and St. Kolbe are two independent witnesses to the devotion of Our Lady’s Immaculate nature, which God wills for our time. Thus, the solution for our time can be found in the far east, in the Garden of the Immaculata on Mount Hikosan in Japan and in Our Immaculate Lady’s Myeongdong Cathedral in Korea. Which survived not only the Persecutions from the Confucianists, Buddhists, Shintoists, Communists but the atomic bomb, the great fear of our time. "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."
Act of entrustment
Mother of all individuals and all peoples, you know all the pains and hopes of everyone. As Mother you know the struggle between light and darkness, good and evil, which is taking place in the world and within our own hearts. You bore Jesus, the Son of Man and the Son of God, in whom the people of Korea, in wondrous joy, but also through much suffering, have found "the way, the truth, and the life".
O Mother of mercy, we now entrust to your loving heart the entire people and the Church of this land. Keep us from all injustice, division, violence, and war. Keep us from temptation and from the bondage of sin and evil. Be with us! Help us to overcome doubt with belief, selfishness with service, pride with meekness, hatred with love. Help us to live the Gospel with the "foolishness" of the Cross, bearing witness to Jesus who died on it, so that we may rise with your Son unto true life with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. O Mother of Christ, comfort and give strength to all those who suffer: the poor, the lonely, the sick, the unloved, the downtrodden, the forgotten. Bless us! Pray for us, together with Saint Joseph, and unite us all in love. Give peace to our divided land, and the light of hope to all. Show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus! Amen.
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