"Korea Dreambus" Pilgrimage and Documentary Film

The night of screening Korea Dreambus: A Journey of Faith, the Buffalo Bills were playing the Denver Broncos in hopes of going to the Super Bowl, and we were being hit with dangerous whiteout snow conditions.  I was hoping we might get 25-30 people in; we were set up for forty. Madonna in Korean Hanbok (traditional dress) I arrived early to help my friend from St. Bernard's (with his daughter, who helped us get ready) set up coffee service and some cookies from Leo's Bakery. I hung some posters on the doors, and then I spent some time with Jesus in the chapel. I prayed that "whoever needs to see this film will come," and I left it at that.  When the first attendees arrived, I met them at the door and welcomed them in. I could see people coming up the walkway, and my nervousness melted into gratitude. And then they kept coming...and coming and coming. I greeted everyone with a growing feeling of humility that this many people would come to see my little movie. People ...

Friends, there is so much to write about concerning the history of the Korean Catholic Church and its noble martyrs and saints, but I will start with a brief overview of its early history, highlighting a few saints which I'll write more about on my Patreon . The birth of Catholicism in Korea happened as a result of the human search for God, that innate draw that God has placed in every person. In the late 1700s, the dominant ideologies in Korea were Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Scholars subscribing to these ideologies would attach themselves to different political factions and dispute with other factions. However, a few scholars of the time abandoned this fractious political life and retreated to the countryside to research more deeply into the question of Truth and the human condition.  This group of scholars met in Chonjinam and Chuo-sa (sometimes referred to as the Bethlehem of Korea).  There they studied the work of Yi Ik, a philosopher who had studied "The True Doct...