RSCJ International - profile: Kim Young Ae rscj, Province of Korea

profile: Kim Young Ae rscj, Province of Korea

01 Feb 06

Kim Young Ae rscj, Maria Isabel (“Chabe”) Garcia Huidobro rscj

For the last ten years I have worked in initial formation, three years as vocation director and seven years as mistress of novices. Now I have a new call to be one of the directors for the “Probation” (the period of preparation for final profession in the Society of the Sacred Heart). I just came back from Latin America where I visited five countries (Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Bolivia) for nine months in order to get an idea of the continent and at the same time to meet Young Professed rscj ( rscj who have not yet made the final commitment) in each province.

But first of all I needed to learn Spanish for my new ministry. I feel very grateful for this opportunity because experiencing the reality of Latin America through personal experience is quite different from just reading or hearing. The last nine months of living in Latin America have influenced me a great deal. While I was studying Spanish in “Instituto de Idiomas Maryknoll”, Bolivia, I not only learned language but also about the cultures and histories in the continent. I spent much time in Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in Latin America due to economic policy, and now struggling to rebuild. The day before I left the country, the people elected Evo Morales as president. He will be the first indigenous president. I too witnessed their hopes and fears. Highland and Amazon peoples compose almost two-thirds of the population of Bolivia, the highest proportion of Indians in the hemisphere. Half the population lives on less than $2 a day. While I was there, I came upon many roadblocks set up by indigenous people. This seemed the only way they had of raising their voice. As one Quechua said as he crossed his arms in front of trucks, vaguely evoking Tiananmen Square: “Our cultures have been blocked for 500 years. This is our only voice.”

Since our Society does not have a community in Bolivia, I lived in a community of the Daughters of Charity. In my 25 years of religious life, it was my first experience of living with other sisters. This has given me a different perspective towards my own congregation. I lived in the provincial house in Cochabamba. There were many missionaries from five different countries: U.S., Mexico, Spain, Peru and Bolivia. The sisters just celebrated their 40th anniversary in Bolivia. Their life style is quite different from ours. I loved living with them; they accepted me as if I were their own sister. I learned that when once St. Magdalene Sophie was sick, she lived in their community in Paris. They also have periods of prolonged private prayer, but the center of their life of prayer is mostly communal prayer. I missed ‘sharing’ in the community. I became more appreciative of own charism, especially our personal contemplative prayer life.

I am the second of six children in my family. I have one elder sister, two younger brothers and two younger sisters. The youngest brother is a diocesan priest in Seoul. I was born into a Catholic family; I’m the sixth generation, which means there were martyrs in my family during persecutions in 220 years of history of the Catholic church in Korea.
My parents sent us to a parochial school and we grew up in a religious environment. Many of our uncles and aunts were priests and nuns. Prior to entering the Society of the Sacred Heart, I taught in a parish elementary Sunday school while at the same time I was a full-time teacher for six years in an elementary school in Seoul. My experience being a teacher led me to the Society of the Sacred Heart, which I entered in 1981. My formative years in the Society of the Sacred Heart were spent in prayer, learning about religious life, its meaning and its possible impact on our society. My ministry experience as a novice was teaching religious education to children in a coal mining area where our sisters worked, as well as working as a laborer in a factory. The latter experience of living and working with poor, uneducated, unskilled teenagers had a profound effect on me. I realized firsthand how laborers and the poor really live, and saw the conditions under which they suffered. My co-workers were teenagers who had neither skills nor education.

After making my first vows I continued my work teaching for two years in very poor parishes and also helped to prepare adolescents and adults for Baptism, Communion and Confirmation so they could become active responsible members of the Church. I was happy to help them develop their faith so they could begin to believe in God as adults.
In 1986, I was sent to Myong Dong Cathedral to work in the Religious Education Center. I found myself continuing my work of adult education, helping adults with their on-going formation and directing retreats for youth groups and adults. I enjoyed being part of their faith development. At that time I realized that enculturation belonged to the very core of evangelization. In 1989, I was sent to serve in Youth Ministry at the Education Department of the Diocese of Seoul. My work of educating young adults in the faith continued.

Later my desire to learn more Theology and advance my own education in order to help me become a better educator led me to come to the United States before and after my final vows in order to receive a degree from St. Louis University. I continued studying Pastoral Theology at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and received my Master of Arts Degree in 1995.

When I studied pastoral theology, I focused more on ‘women’s issues’. I was very interested in working with women's issues. Even though I studied in the U.S., I tried to bring the gift and insights of my own culture to my learning experience and was determined to translate what I learned into my world-view as a Korean woman so that I could integrate these studies into my being. While I was studying theology I also took an ‘internship program in spiritual direction” at the Claret Center in Chicago.

My increasing awareness of the role of women in the Church and of their spirituality in the Asian context continued after returning to Korea. I worked as a chairwoman of the women’s committee under the meeting of the Major Superiors of Religious Women in Korea. At that time Son In-Sook rscj was the chairperson of the AMOR (the Asian/Pacific Meeting of Religious Women) Executive committee. I participated in AMOR XI which was held at Bangalore, India in 1998. Through the meeting I learned more about the realities of women in Asia. Eco-feminism became very important in my spirituality.

My own experience of “Probation” was very positive and energizing. I still remember my long retreat during the Probation. It was an opening to a new stage of my life. With the experience of God’s unconditional and strong love, I could embrace my whole life, seeing my past sufferings and pains as a real gift of God’s love. This has given me a great inner freedom and a strong desire to follow Christ for the mission of the Kingdom.

In the Society, I have become aware of our spirit as educators, and through the service of education, I have gradually grown in an understanding of how education can liberate others and bring them to self-fulfillment. Through the experience of working in formation, I have grown in understanding what relationship truly is. I am convinced that Jesus is the only one who can change and form our lives. Jesus is the only formator. The whole experience of being director of novices was not easy but I loved and thanked God for the experience of accompanying young sisters and witnessing their spiritual growth. Living with RSCJs from other countries has also helped me to understand somewhat the meaning of internationality, and the meaning of the diversity of languages and cultures. As a member of the Society, my world view is gradually expanding.

For my relaxing time, I enjoy music, dance, swimming and meeting people and forming relationships as well as being alone. I like knowing about new cultures, listening to different view points and sharing about my own culture. I have enjoyed working on a team in the past.

Now I am going to go to Rome. I feel like Abraham when he was asked to leave his hometown and his father. He left his hometown not knowing where to go, with only faith in a loving God to lead him to the right path. I also, like Abraham, will leave my home for the ‘Unknown’.

I feel that I have had a variety of life experiences and have worked with and for many young people, all of which I hope will help as I enter this new and very exciting venture. I look forward to working as a team with Sr. Chabe (Maria Isabel Garcia Garcia-Huidobro) and hope that our time together will be blessed by the Spirit to help us learn new ways of not only serving the probanists but also ways of leading and shaping the rest of our lives as we strive to live the mission of the Society.

Last Updated ( 27 Jan 06 )