In 1989, I was admitted in the hospital. My husband was with me. at the hospital. I almost became a mute and couldn’t speak a word then. A nun came to see me. She said, “I’m here to receive a prayer.” My husband said, “I’m sorry Sister, but Julia can’t even move or talk now. What can we do for you?” “I see.” She left the room shortly.
At the same time, I was thinking to myself, ‘How many difficulties was she undergoing that she had to ask for prayers from a sick patient?’
Instantly, I gave my husband an eye gesture to get the Sister back into my room. And while praying for her, the scent of cresol and alcohol became very strong. At that moment my voice returned and I said, “Sister! I guess there are a lot of bitterness in your heart. You are heartbroken, aren’t you?” She said, “No.” But I had many experiences counselling nuns.
Most of them concealed their inner wounds at first like that nun, but when I mentioned their matters precisely, they would open themselves eventually. Likewise, that Sister denied she had any ill feeling in her heart at first. Then, the strong smell of cresol and alcohol even filled the restroom. I said, “Sister, you have a lump of bitterness in your heart.” And I prayed for her quietly, and the nun cried a lot.
Then, she started saying to me. 40 years ago, some nuns got together to set up the convent. In the early days, they were very poor, so they had to farm and sell tobacco leaves to make a living.
While doing that, she had pesticide poisoning and had been suffering from it since then. During her time at the convent, she was hurt badly and bitterness began to fill her heart. That nun was also in-charge of the hospital kitchen.
When I completed my prayer, she said, “Actually, I just packed up my luggage and was ready to leave the convent today. But I thought, ‘If I could request prayer from Julia Kim at least once, I would be able to live in the secular world.’ That’s why I visited you.”
Then I said, “Sister, you had such a good share of work. The kitchen is the best place to practice ‘Turning our daily lives into Prayers.’” Everyone, listen carefully. When washing rice, “Jesus, please take out all the bad habits from as many souls as the number of these grains. And wash away all the filthiness from their souls and bodies.”
While boiling rice, “Lord, let our souls and bodies be fully matured in the love of the Lord and Mother Mary.” And when you scoop up rice, making the ‘Sign of the Cross’ three times with a rice scoop, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” “Jesus, please bless it.” You can practice Turning your daily lives into Prayers. We must always keep Jesus in our mind.
Even with numbers, we can also Turn them into Prayers. So, while scooping up rice in a bowl, think of the Holy Trinity, and Jesus who resurrected on the third day as you are scooping rice up three times. I explained this to her one by one.
When you make side dishes, “Jesus, I can’t do it by myself. Jesus, Mother Mary! Please stay with me. Grant me the ability to do it. When Jesus and Mother Mary do this together with me, the food will turn delicious.”
And what about while chewing. You should pray that Jesus will crush your ego. I requested the nun to practice praying in that manner daily.
Also, for ‘Bibimbap’, various ingredients are mixed into one. If we lived alone, we wouldn’t commit sins. But we don’t live alone. We live with others who have different ideologies, and their thoughts are not the same as yours or mine.
So while putting all the ingredients and mixing them up for the Bibimbap dish, “Lord, let us all be united as one.” Often, we use many different spices to make the side dishes. What is the most delicious sauce? (The sauce of love!) It is the sauce of love, right?
Too much sesame oil makes it greasy, too much sesame powder makes it rough, too much chili powder makes it spicy, and too much soy sauce or salt makes the food salty. It also doesn’t taste good if there’s not enough. We must use moderate and adequate amounts.
Similarly, in order to achieve unity in our lives, if another person is not doing so well, you must lead them well.
After explaining everything to her, since she was working in the hospital kitchen,
“You have a lot of dishes to wash, don’t you?” “Of course!” If one person is done with a meal, there are two chopsticks, one spoon, one bowl for rice, and one bowl for soup, 5 or 6 in total. There must be a lot of things washed for all those patient’s meals. So, each time you wash, “Please wash away all the filth from our souls and bodies.”
If you pray in everything, you will have so much to pray for.
“You can also forgive all the people that you’ve never really forgiven in your life by washing the dishes. You can do penance for all your past wrongdoings.”
Then, the nun cried her eyes out and said, “I’ve packed everything already, but I’ll unpack it now. Despite the Lord giving me such a good share, I blamed God, saying, ‘Why do I have to do this kind of work?’ I am very ashamed of myself for I have said, ‘Our Lord is my spouse.’”
On that day, the nun was healed from the pesticide poisoning, including all its aftereffects that she suffered for 40 years!
If you accept everything as My Fault with thanksgiving, then, this is exactly “Live with ‘The Five Spiritualities’. Amen!
