SPOTLIGHT 24/07/27 Korean bishop urges Catholic parents to be ‘prayerful'

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Korean bishop urges Catholic parents to be ‘prayerful'

Auxiliary Bishop John Moon Hee Jong of Suwon was speaking at 20th anniversary of diocesan prayer group for parents of teenagers

Bishop Moon Hee-jong (center) and participants take a commemorative photo after the dispatch Mass during the 'Lux Mea Day' event held at Suwon Catholic University on July 27. (Photo: Catholictimes.org)

By UCA News reporter

Published: August 08, 2024 11:17 AM GMT

Updated: August 08, 2024 11:24 AM GMT

A Catholic bishop in South Korea has urged parents gathered for the 20th anniversary of a diocesan prayer group to help their children grow up to become the “right children of the Lord,” says a report.

Auxiliary Bishop John Moon Hee Jong of Suwon made his remarks during a Holy Mass at the closing of the 20th-anniversary celebrations of the Lux Mea (My Light) prayer group at Suwon Catholic University.

Parents must "cultivate 'empathy' in dialogue with their children as they pursue a life of contemplation, sacrifice, and consecration," Moon said at the anniversary celebration organized by the group.

The basic purpose of the group is to help parents go beyond their role of providing for the material needs of their children and “establish the image of a 'prayerful parent' in the [Catholic] faith," Moon added.

Around 260 people including Sylvia Seo Jin-sook, president of the prayer group, and Father Kyu-sung Lee, its spiritual director, participated in the event.

The other participants included 200 parents and grandparents, and 58 children ranging from kindergarten to youth.

Founded on Dec. 15, 2005, the prayer group is aimed at serving the parents of teenagers. In March 2019, the group was approved as an organization under the Diocesan Youth Office.

The prayer group has 78 units with more than 700 members in 62 parishes of the Suwon diocese.

The anniversary event consisted of praying with the children, and a lecture by Father Hong Sung-nam, director of the Catholic Spirituality and Psychology Counselling Centre of Seoul archdiocese, among other events.

The two-hour-long lecture from Hong Sung-nam, themed “Wise Faith Life,” discussed the theories of psychologists Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and Carl Jung (1875-1961).

Hong discussed “consciousness and unconsciousness, ideal self and realistic self, and adult self and baby self.”

A performance by the praise group 'Seventeen,' a photo exhibition, and a question-and-answer session with Bishop John were also organized as part of the anniversary celebrations.

Seo pointed out that the anniversary celebrations were organized for “the unity and harmony of our team members."

“It was a precious time to reflect on the journey that has not been easy since the establishment of Luxméa, and to feel once again that we are a community working together for the glory of God in Christ," Seo added.

*This is an edited version of the report that was published on Aug. 5, 2024, by the Catholic Times of Korea. Republished with permission.