Location: Korean Martyrs Catholic Church
As we gather today to celebrate the mysteries of our salvation, and particularly the Resurrection, we are also commemorating the lives of the Korean Martyrs and continuing to inculturate the Gospel into the traditional Korean festival of Chuseok. These moments remind us of the power of faith, life, and sacrifice, woven deeply into the cultural and spiritual heritage of Korea.
The Resurrection of Christ stands at the very heart of our faith, signifying victory over death and the promise of eternal life. This hope is especially poignant as we remember the Korean Martyrs, such as St. Andrew Kim Taegon and St. Paul Chong Hasang, who gave their lives for the Gospel. Their unwavering dedication to the faith, even in the face of persecution and death, echoes the words of St. Paul: “Neither death nor life… will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.” The Korean martyrs embraced their crosses, trusting that beyond suffering lies resurrection, sharing in the Lord’s rising from the dead.
Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, offers a time for families to gather, give thanks for the gifts received from God through our common home, and honor their ancestors. As Christians, we can see in Chuseok a beautiful reflection of our belief in communion with the saints and the eternal life promised to us. Just as families gather to remember their ancestors, we gather as a faith family to remember the saints and martyrs who have gone before us, especially those who shed their blood for the faith in Korea.
Pope Francis told the Korean Bishops, “It is significant that the history of the Church in Korea began with a direct encounter with the word of God. It was the intrinsic beauty and integrity of the Christian message – the Gospel and its summons to conversion, interior renewal and a life of charity – that spoke to Yi Byeok and the noble elders of the first generation; and it is to that message, in its purity, that the Church in Korea looks, as if in a mirror, to find her truest self.”
The Korean Martyrs, a few decades later, honored precisely that heritage, as seeds planted in the soil of Korea’s faith. The martyrs themselves became, in the words of today’s Preface, “a most fruitful seed of Christians.” Their sacrifice is a reminder that the Resurrection is not just a future promise, but something lived here and now through our witness, our struggles, and our perseverance in faith.
As we celebrate the Eucharist today, let us hold in our hearts the mystery of the Resurrection, the legacy of the Korean Martyrs, and the spirit of thanksgiving that Chuseok embodies. May Our Lady of Korea help us sow seeds of faith in our daily lives, trusting that the God who raised Christ from the dead will also raise us to eternal life.
