Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Companions
Scripture:
Reflection:
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn and Companions. For many of us St. Andrew is a “new” saint, canonized by Pope Paul II. Though new to the liturgical calendar, St. Andrew and his companions are fellow Christians that we need to know because they are powerful witnesses to living the Gospel in real life.
St. Andrew is tied closely to the foundation of Christianity in Korea. He wasn’t the first Korean Christian by a long shot. By the time he was born in 1821, Christianity had been growing in Korea for about fifty years. It is believed that Christianity had been brought into Korea by some Christian Japanese soldiers in the latter part of the 18th century. The Christian Japanese soldiers baptized the first Korean Christians and the Christian community began to grow quickly. By the time the first foreign priest arrived in Korea in 1836 there was already a substantial Christian community flourishing there. It’s the only known Catholic Christian community that first developed completely from the witness and work of lay Christians.
The rulers in Korea were not at all pleased to have this foreign religion thriving in their country. At first they just discouraged it but soon enough outlawed this practice and began to actively persecute anyone who took it up. As Christians were arrested, tortured and put to death the Church quickly moved underground.
St. Andrew’s parents, members of the Korean nobility, were an important part of that early community and secretly remained faithful to their life with Christ. Andrew was baptized at fifteen and soon expressed his desire to become a priest. He traveled to Macau to attend the seminary and was ordained in 1845. He was the first Korean to become a priest and returned home shortly after his ordination to help organize the Church and bring the sacraments to the faithful. He ministered in Korea only a year before he was arrested and put to death.
There were intense persecutions of Christians in Korea in 1839, 1846, 1866 and 1867 and 103 Christians were martyred for their faith. We celebrate these heroic martyrs on this day.
May their faith and courage inspire us to live our lives faithful to the Gospel and have the strength to be fearless witness for Christ in our everyday lives.
Fr. Michael Higgins, C.P. is the director of retreats at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California.