Brothers' Assembly presented with model of enthusiasm
by Korean Brother Oh
SEOUL: 18th June 2006 -- He would have been embarrassed had we
published this before his death - but his life of Salesian enthusiasm
was no secret to his Korean confreres anyway. Enthusiasm, which
knows no bounds, cannot be kept hidden even by the humblest!|
Brother Thaddeus Oh passed away after a long illness (stomach cancer)
on 17th June and will be buried in Seoul on 19th. He is but the
third deceased Korean-born Salesian, all three of whom have been
Brothers.
Brother Thaddeus was born in 1939 at Yosu, 100 kms
from Kwangju where the first Salesian community in South Korea was
located. He was nicknamed 'Brother Provincial' at one stage of a long
stint on the Council during the time of Frs Luc Van Looy and Marc
Cuvelier, partly because he was Provincial Economer for those fiftenn
years but also in very many ways the 'bridge' between two mentalities,
the Korean and the missionary. It was during this time that he
played a crucial role in the construction of so many of Salesian
Korea's buildings. But his passion was for people rather than buildings
- noted for his commitment to the accompaniment of young candidates and
a witness that has been the key to the many good Brother vocations in
the Vice Province. As Economer he was a builder; as a communtiy
man, a community builder.
Brother Thaddeus became a missionary at 60 in one of
the Vice Province's outposts, and was instrumental in the launching of
a new International Technical School. He played a vital role,
again as the community builder in a demanding situation, keeping up
dialogue between local staff, teachers, officials and the SDB and FMA
communities involved.
In 2004, by then suffering the illness that would
bring about his death, Brother Thaddeus wrote to the members of the
Provincial Chapter. His message was simple enough: "I have a huge
interest in mutual formation amongst us", he said. "We all carry the
responsibility of helping each other live the Salesian vocation...to
make it possible we need to pause, reflect together. When we live
the same vocation, before anything else we should make our lives
interesting. We should never lose enthusiasm for our life.
That means each one of us is responsible for creating the best
atmosphere in our communities....let's have more interest in the life
of our younger confreres, see if they are living life with enthusiasm".
You can read more of the life of Brother Thaddeus Oh
by clicking on the What's new
on the site this week in the Bosconet homepage.
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