« Father, I Surrender Myself to You »

 

 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the canonization of 103 martyrs in Korea on May 3, 1984 by Pope John Paul II. On that day, 93 Koreans were declared saints, and the rest were 10 French priests of the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris. All 103 saints shed their blood together to establish Catholic church in Korea.

 

This year, Pope Francis will conduct the beatification of 124 martyrs, including Paul Yun Jichung, when he visits Korea in August. Among them will be beatified a Chinese priest James Zhou Wen-mo. He settled in Korea on December 23, 1794. He was beheaded and died on May 31, 1801. People around the world will have the opportunity to remember and pay their respects to all the saints from the three nations: Korea, France, and China.

 

Faith cannot get firmly rooted with a radical movement of a generation. Rather, it is succeeded through generations. In fact, Korea was evangilized in an extraordinarily unique way. It was not missionaries who spread the gospel but Korean scholars who visited China and came across "True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven" by Blessed Matteo Ricci in the 18th century. These scholrs joined Yi Byok to form Korea’s first-ever Christian community to study teachings of Christian doctrine. The Holy Spirit worked the hearts of these scholars and led them to discover the Truth in the words of Jesus Christ. “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) Many believe that the Korean Church was established in 1784 when Yi Seung-hun was baptized by Father Grammont, a French Jesuit missionary, and was given the name Peter, which means rock. The seed of the Gospel, that had been planted by a few scholars, finally began to sprout from the Korean soil. The martyrs’ blood was shed on the soil so that the seed could grow and bear much fruit. Father James Zhou Wen-mo came from China, as the first missonary to Korea. Later, many missionaries including Fathers Maubant and Chastan, Bishop Imbert answered the call by the Pope to aid the Korean Church to grow and to work for the Korean people. “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24) Thus, it is not an exaggeration to say Korea is a land of many glorious martyrs.

 

The exhibition opening at the Society of Foreign Missions of Paris was planned in remembrance of the great martyrs of faith. Through the exhibited works, we will be able to discover what they had to endure in the name of their faith and loyalty to Jesus Christ. They laid everything down and gave everything to Him, including their own life, believing that life on Earth was nothing compared to the joy of living in Christ. They have also allowed people to unite as one beyond borders, languages, and cultures, and this spirit still lives on today. They shared faith, love, and truth with us and surrendered everything to God, receiving the Crown of Victory from Heaven.

Music is an amazing, effective, and the most sacred way of conveying their message because it is a truly universal language that everyone can feel and relate to, transcending countries, borders, and cultures. This is why Association Cécile is planning to hold a concert in honor of those who perished to spread the gospel. The song Guide us, We Surrender Ourselves to You, performed in ten languages, ​​invites us to leave everything to God, to surrender ourselves completely to Him just like the martyrs have done. The central message of the music is that God must always be our first priority and the center of our lives, as it was for them.

 

 

July 27, 2014

Fr. Michel Roncin

 

Society of Foreign Missions of Paris