Acceptance 받아들임

How would you feel if you had to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life without being able to walk properly for nearly 20 years after marriage or the ordination?

“You look so peaceful. What is the secret to living peacefully in the midst of suffering?”

“It is a matter of acceptance. I accepted an unexpected accident well.”

The secret for him to be able to live happily with inner peace, joy and gratitude despite many trials and suffering was acceptance, in a word. No matter what the circumstances are, accepting the given reality was the shortcut to inner peace. In fact, genuinely accepting an accident or suffering is the basis of recovery and healing.

What he learned through his unexpected accident is that God is always with us, no matter the situation. Sharing his life by talking to the visitors who came to comfort him was also a source of great strength for him.

In fact, we don’t have to worry about anything, for the Lord knows and fills everything. God, who is with us all the time and everywhere, bestows upon us trials, but he also gives us the strength to endure.

His only wish is to love people and live according to his word. His pastoral motto is to live life with others and to love everyone.

Born the eighth of five sons and four daughters, he liked to attend Mass since childhood. It was because a girl he liked went to Mass every day.

As he continued to attend Mass every day, the desire to become a priest sprouted and he started attending the vocational meetings of the secondary school. His older brother, who was five years older, first became a priest and his second older sister and youngest sister became nuns as well.

He entered the seminary in 1988 and was ordained a priest in 1997. During his seminary days, he enjoyed sports and had a good life. With a love for all people and a desire to be with them, he chose “Take care of my sheep” as his ordination scripture.

Being a priest was another new beginning, filled with joy, satisfaction and excitement. Along with his fellow priests, he visited various places and had the joy of saying his first Mass in each place. One day, three months after the first Mass, he was in an accident. He was driving while drowsy.

He became paralyzed and has been forced to rely on a wheelchair for mobility. There is no sensation left in the lower body. He tends to get pressure sores if he sits or lies for too long.

Being unable to serve at the church, he spent 12 years as director of Jang Joo-ki Joseph Rehabilitation Center and eight years as head of Salesio’s House in Jecheon.

A few years ago, a platform was established near the altar at Hakseong-dong Catholic Church so that he could enter to celebrate Mass in a wheelchair. This year, he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his priesthood with his fellow clergymen.

At the time of priestly ordination, he was full of dreams, but his body had been damaged. Nevertheless, his heart and vision soared like a bird, singing peace and love. And God made a miracle for him.