Truth Part One

In our last post, we spoke of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, True God and True Man, which we said was the second most important mystery of our Faith, after the Blessed Trinity.  We spoke of different titles attributed to Him.   One important one we did not mention was the Truth.  Jesus says in John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life."   Our Lord testifies to Pontius Pilate "the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." (John 18:37) . The apostles John says in his Gospel that Jesus is "full of truth" (John 1:14).

I once heard a beautiful statement from one of my seminary professors, who was answering the question "Who is Jesus to me?"   He said that Jesus was "the truth of my life".   What a beautiful, simple, yet powerful statement to the closeness he had with Our Lord.

The Catechism says in paragraph 2466 that "In Jesus Christ, the whole of God's truth has been made manifest."   The disciple of Jesus is called to "live in the truth".
In the world we live in today, the concept of universal truth is often challenged.   There are many Pilates in the world today who say, as he did to Our Lord on Good Friday, "What is truth?" (John 18:38).  
Let's try to help Pilate a little here.  The definition of truth according to the dictionary, is
"the quality or state of being true".   So we then have to ask what is the definition of "true"?   According to the dictionary, "true" means "in accordance with fact or reality."  It can also mean "accurate or exact", and/or "loyal or faithful".
Let us see just how Jesus is the Truth.  Well, first off, Jesus reveals the full reality of the human condition.  By uniting himself to humanity, and then dying and rising for us, he revealed a few things about human beings:

1) We are important.
2) We are loved.
3) We are destined for great things.
4) At the same time, we are sinners in need of a Savior.

Can anyone deny these statements correspond accurately with the condition of the human person?

In addition to revealing truth about man, Jesus also reveals the full reality about God.  Through Him, we learn that God is:

1) Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
2) One (no other gods besides Him)
3) Creator of the world
4) Redeemer of the world
5) Origin and destiny of mankind

I found it interesting that the dictionary mentioned loyal or faithful as one of its definitions of the word "true".   Who is more loyal or faithful than Jesus?

I also find it interesting that the paragraphs in the Catechism that speak about martyrdom is in the section on truth, which is discussed in its section on the Eight Commandment "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16).   Martyrdom, above anything else, the Catechism says, is "the supreme witness given to the truth of the faith; it means bearing witness even unto death." (p.2473).   Yes, martyrs do die for a personal love of Jesus, they die to be holy, they die to be able to get to heaven, but really, deep down, they die because of the truth that Jesus died and rose for all mankind, and they refuse to deny that reality.  The reason for their death goes well beyond their own circumstances.  Their death, like the death of Our Lord, points to a much larger truth, truths about God and man that we listed above.  
In this month of July, which is devoted to the precious blood of Jesus, let us remember that His blood, the blood of martyrs, and maybe even our own blood someday, are or will be testaments to the Truth of God, the truth of man, and the truth of creation.

In the next post, we will speak of sins against truth.

One of the titles in the litany to Saint Joseph is Joseph most faithful.  As we stated above, being loyal or faithful is synonymous with being true.  Joseph remained true to Mary and to Our Lord all his adult life until he was called home to the Father.  Let us emulate him in being true to our self, and to Our Lord, no matter what the cost.
Joseph most faithful, pray for us.