A theological reflection of my T’ai Chi Chih ministry

Oakland, CA—Sr. Delores Rashford’s class in Spirituality at Holy Names College in the spring of 2002 provided an opportunity for me to deeply reflect on my connectedness with God and how I hear his call. Following that, I began my Master’s program in Pastoral Ministry and learned even more how to create a dialogue with God through personal theological reflection and contemplation. Circumstances made me realize that my final thesis and project is to create a Healing Ministry within the Catholic Church, including T’ai Chi Chih classes that would profoundly help the sick and dying.

Realizing T’ai Chi Chih practice is already one of my ministries, I was honored to teach two extended classes of TCC at Holy Names College for Sr. Rashford. I had no idea the group consisted of religious brothers and sisters from all over the world attending this program as a rest and rejuvenation period.

The class exploded with excitement after learning the TCC movements. They carried forward using videos to refine their practice. Seon Keun Oh, a Catholic brother from Korea, was one of these students who took it to the next level asking me to review his moves. We met and after a complete teaching practice, I saw his desire for more feedback. I contacted Athene Mantle to see if she could include him as a student in one of her classes. She kindly took over and Seon Keun demonstrated the capacity to be a certified instructor. With the support of Athene and the Bay area teachers, a plane ticket was purchased, arrangements were made for expenses. Seon Keun accepted the challenge to earn his certification.

Now, the seed of T’ai Chi Chih education will grow not only in Korea but also in the many other countries that the students returned to with the special knowledge of a way to find peace and regenerate energy. I am happy to be part of God’s work seeing his plans are greater than mine with a simple “yes” to teach a class or two.