Growing up as a Korean American Catholic isn’t easy. In addition to the usual challenges children face, like making friends and doing well in school, many of us born into immigrant families also struggle to learn our parents’ language. For me, that meant there were things we weren’t fully able to share, and one of those was our Catholic faith.
Although I attended Korean class every Saturday and my parents spoke Korean at home, I wasn’t fluent enough to follow Korean Mass. Oftentimes, going to church felt like an obligation; I felt judged on how well I recited responses and prayers I had memorized phonetically, like a parrot. When my mother told me that we were going to attend a different parish in Flushing, New York, I didn’t think much would change.
The first thing I heard about our new church, St. Paul Chong Ha-Sang, was that an American priest who spoke Korean served there. Maryknoll Father Joseph Veneroso — or “Father Bae” as we call him — led a weekly gathering called Friday Night Meeting. Along with free pizza, we high school students were given the chance to discuss topics relevant to living a Christian life. No question was off the table, no matter how controversial.
Having worked in Korea, first with the Peace Corps and then with Maryknoll, Father Bae understood our parents, but he understood those of us raised in the States, too. He gave thoughtful answers to our questions and quelled our doubts. He would hold forth with eclectic wisdom, drawing from Eastern and Western philosophy, literature, science, etymology and, of course, Catholicism. All of it centered on compassion, humility and making a difference in the world.
Between Friday Night Meeting and attending English Mass with Father Bae, many teenagers like me learned to make our faith our own for the first time.
My friend Daewook Kim prepared for baptism and confirmation with Father Bae at St. Paul Chong Ha-Sang. Dae went on to become a Maryknoll priest, ordained in 2013.
“Father Bae used to say, ‘You’re not a saint because everyone else sees your holiness. Rather you are a saint when you see the holiness of everyone around you,’” says Father Kim, who is now assistant chief financial officer for the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers. “He tries to see the holiness in others. It began with the people of Korea in his mission work and has continued at St. Paul working with Korean American immigrants.”
Father Bae isn’t just our teacher; he’s also our friend. When I was 15, I had an accident that caused injuries to my pancreas and spleen, leaving me hospitalized for three weeks. Father Bae visited me regularly, cracking jokes to cheer me up and always ending with a prayer for my recovery.
After college, I discovered that Father Bae had been made the head of our Sunday school. For the next 15 years, I served alongside him as a catechist to minister to the youth of our parish. Father Bae reviewed our lesson plans and helped us lead retreats and summer camps. He was known to not only give spiritual lectures, but also to play games and throw water balloons, as situations demanded. Many times, he invited us to his home at Maryknoll, where we were inspired by the stories of other Maryknollers and their work around the world.
This August, as we look back on 40 years of Father Bae’s service to our community, it is amazing to see the profound difference one person can make. Father created a place where generations of Korean American Catholics like me could belong and could come to know God. He explained our faith to us and helped us to understand ourselves at a time when we were confused about our identity. All of us at St. Paul’s are grateful that he is a part of our lives.
Michael Ho is a property manager who lives in Bayside, New York.
Featured image: (From left) Maryknoll Fathers Daewook Kim and Joseph Veneroso, Michael Ho, Father Peter Kim, Deacon Sokwon Im greet parishioners after Mass at St. Paul Chong Ha-Sang Church. Father Veneroso has served the Korean community there for 40 years. (Courtesy of Michael Ho/U.S.)
