Tonight, we will begin discussing the Commandments that focus
on external actions of man towards his neighbor. We will begin with the 8th
commandment,
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
In the words of the Catechism (2464), the
eighth commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in our relations with
others. Why is this
forbidden? It is simple. God is truth.
All of us are made in God’s image and likeness. Therefore, we are called to witness to truth,
in our relationship with ourselves, with God, and with others.
I have written a few posts already on the topic of
truth. Links to them are here, but I
will repeat some of the material I posted there in this post here.
There is a natural inclination in man to want to be truthful;
that being truthful is right and not being truthful is wrong. Truth allows us to give each man and woman
his or her just due. However, I think
we all know there is temptation often not to be truthful. This is where we sometimes need grace to
bear witness to truth. The Church offers
this grace to the world, the grace of Jesus Christ whom he himself said is “the
Truth” (John 14:6).
Sometimes this witness involves martyrdom. I wrote in one of the aforementioned posts
above:
…the paragraphs in the
Catechism that speak about martyrdom are in the section on truth…
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." (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...
Being truthful today can have consequences!
In one of the posts mentioned above, I spoke about sins
against truth. I made a list, and here is what I wrote:
1) False witness and perjury leads to condemnation of innocent
people, exoneration of guilty ones, and unnecessary punishment for some.
2) Making rash judgment is assuming without sufficient foundation the moral fault of a neighbor.
3) Detraction is, without good reason, disclosing someone's fault and failings to a person or people who did not know them.
4) Calumny is making untruthful remarks that harms someone's reputation, and plants the seed for false judgements to be made about them.
5) Adulation (sometimes known as flattery) is confirming someone in malicious acts and perverse conduct. If we are accomplice with someone in their sins, it is a serious mortal sin. If we do it just to be agreeable, or meet some need, it is a venial sin.
6) Boasting (sometimes known as bragging) is highlighting someone's strength or accomplishments beyond their just measure, and/or to put someone else down by comparison.
7) Irony is caricature of some aspect of someone's behavior to disparage him or her.
8) Lying is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone to error who has a right to know the truth.
2) Making rash judgment is assuming without sufficient foundation the moral fault of a neighbor.
3) Detraction is, without good reason, disclosing someone's fault and failings to a person or people who did not know them.
4) Calumny is making untruthful remarks that harms someone's reputation, and plants the seed for false judgements to be made about them.
5) Adulation (sometimes known as flattery) is confirming someone in malicious acts and perverse conduct. If we are accomplice with someone in their sins, it is a serious mortal sin. If we do it just to be agreeable, or meet some need, it is a venial sin.
6) Boasting (sometimes known as bragging) is highlighting someone's strength or accomplishments beyond their just measure, and/or to put someone else down by comparison.
7) Irony is caricature of some aspect of someone's behavior to disparage him or her.
8) Lying is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone to error who has a right to know the truth.
The Catechism then
speaks of the duty of reparation after
one or more of these sins have been committed. This needs to occur even
after the person who committed one or more of these sins has been
forgiven. The injured person has a right to material and/or moral
satisfaction.
Sometimes, we have to discern whether to speak the truth in
a given situation or remain silent. In
cases like this, the Catechism (2510) suggests we apply the Golden Rule; do
unto others what you would have them do unto you. If you were in their shoes, would you want
the truth to be revealed, or not?
It is important that the truth not just be exercised in one
on one conversation, but in the general in the various forms of
media. The truthfulness of some news is
a hotbed issue these days. Those in that
profession are called to exercise sound judgment when deciding what to
broadcast. They should ask if it is
truthful first. Then, if it is, is it
prudent and just to broadcast it? The
world of mass media is in need of committed Christians more than ever it seems
to me to influence its quality.
In addition to discussing martyrdom, something else
interesting is discussed in this section of the Catechism that one might not naturally think would go here,
and that is art. It is not just words that lead us to
truth. Sometimes, truth is expressed in
other forms of expression that go beyond words.
Visual beauty is a way of witnessing to truth. (Art in the life of the Church is
probably worth a post of its own someday.)
Finally, creation itself speaks to the truth that is
God. When we see a beautiful scene of
nature, we are given a glance of the Creator, specifically, the Wisdom of God,
which is the Word through whom he created the universe. That Word, of course, is the Second Person of
the Blessed Trinity, incarnated in Jesus Christ. Creation is beautiful. Jesus is beautiful. Truth is beautiful.
Let us resolve to live our lives in truth, so that we may be
men and women of integrity and honor in the eyes of God, and be worthy to enter
his kingdom where truth and goodness abound forever and ever.
In the next post, we will go beyond verbal actions and begin
discussing Commandments that involve physical ones.
Joseph most just, pray for us.
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