Praise be to Jesus Christ

We dedicate today’s mass to the Lunar New Year!

 

Today is the first day so let us greet each other with “Happy New Year!”

 

We celebrate the first day with the Words: “May the Lord bless you and keep you.  May the Lord reveal his face to you and take pity of you.” (Numbers 6: 24~25)

 

Human beings have memories.  I reminisce my Lunar New Year experiences in my home-town.  I hope you can also recall your memories of your youth in Korea when you celebrated the New Year.  

 

My home town is in Kwangwon-Do but I was raised in Cheung-Chung Do.  On holidays, we went back to our home-town but what I remember most is car sickness.  We normally took a bus and this was the perfect way to get sick.  

 

When we arrived at the bus station, you could already smell the fumes and exhaust and I was already getting sick.   The bus was really old and during winter the inside of the bus was always hot.  Most of the road to the home-town was un-paved and hilly, so we had to zig-zag as we ascent up and over each mountain.  

 

I normally packed an emesis (vomit) bag for each trip.  Every time I rode a bus, I would use it.  After several incidents we would arrive at our destination and I was totally exhausted.  This was by far the most difficult experience I remember from my childhood.

 

Despite being dead tired from the bus ride, we would visit our home-town every year.   We just assumed it was our duty to visit.  

 

But when I think back, this journey brought the family together.  The gathering brought all our relatives into one family.  We still greet each other and share happiness and sadness through our chat room in Katalk.  

 

We also prayed for the dead when we gathered.  On the Lunar New Year morning, we would eat rice cake soup, kowtow to our elders, then prayed for the dead.   Adults did not use the book rather recited from memory with rhythm and composure.  As I followed them, I was also absorbed into the ambience.  

 

On this Lunar New Year, my memories revived and brought me back to my home-town, family, and prayers.  The feeling is not the same in the United States, but I hope you can all reminisce your experience.  Also, I hope you can remember and pray for those who have passed away in your own family.  

 

May God bless you and your family on this Lunar New Year.    

Let us meditate for a moment.