Today’s Readings – Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs

Korea must be unique in that the first seeds of Christianity were planted there by lay people.  The Catholic faith came to Korea in the early 17th century, inspired by the reading of some Catholic books which had come from China. China had a strong cultural influence on Korea and Japan and was one of the reasons why Francis Xavier wanted to go there from Japan. So when the first missionaries arrived in Korea in 1836, they found strong and dynamic Catholic communities led almost entirely by lay people.

However, soon after the arrival of the missionaries, especially in the years 1839, 1846 and 1866, the Christians underwent severe persecutions, resulting in at least 8,000 martyrs.  Most noteworthy among these were a Korean priest, Andrew Kim Taegon, and a lay catechist, Paul Chong Hasan … Continue

Yesterday’s Readings – Thursday of Week 24 of Ordinary Time - First Reading

Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

In these three final readings from the first letter to the Corinthians, we begin today the 15th chapter, which discusses resurrection from the dead and its relationship to the resurrection of Christ as a core belief of our Christian f … Continue