This is the sad truth about Truth, like as expressed in the Liturgy of the Hours today:
Office of Readings
Psalm 12
Help, O Lord, for good men have vanished:
truth has gone from the sons of men.
Falsehood they speak one to another,
with lying lips, with a false heart.
May the Lord destroy all lying lips,
the tongue that speaks high sounding words,
those who say: “Our tongue is our strength;
our lips are our own, who is our master?”
“For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan
I myself will arise,” says the Lord.
“I will grant them the salvation for which they thirst.”
The words of the Lord are words without alloy,
silver from the furnace, seven times refined.
It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care
and protect us for ever from this generation.
See how the wicked prowl on every side,
while the worthless are prized highly by the sons of men.
 |
| Peace at the expense of Truth |
With all the worldliness and vanities in our world, the truth is already blurred, as these temporary things and gratifications are regarded as the truth. The world is plagued with disturbing immoral laws such as same-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia. Power and riches define what life must be, even in the media, as some celebrities like Beyonce and Jay-Z act like ‘gods’ that people indirectly worship.
To continue living as a Catholic, I wonder, what then, the ‘truth’ really is?
In the scholastic philosophy, the classic definition of truth is “conformity between intellect reality”. But St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica says “Truth is in God’s intellect properly and firstly; in human intellect it is present properly and derivatively. God is truth itself, the sovereign and first truth.” (Summa Theologiae I)
Pope Benedict XVI explains above:
The world is “true” to the extent that it reflects God; the creative logic, the eternal reason that brought it to birth. And it becomes more and more true the closer it draws to God. Man becomes true, he becomes himself, when he grows in God’s likeness. Then he attains to his proper nature. God is the reality that gives being and intelligibility.
Jesus during his trial said “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37) Then asked by Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?” (John 18:38).
So Jesus said he speaks of the truth, and his purpose is to “bear witness to the truth” in the world, which means giving priority to God and to His will over against the interests of the world and its powers. God is the criterion of being, making criterion intelligible and its truth accessible from God’s perspective — the perspective of creative reason — in such a way that it can serve as a criterion and a signpost in this world of ours, in such a way that is great and mighty are exposed to the power of truth, the common law, the law of truth.
The strong arm of the powerful becomes god of this world when there’s a failure to understand the meaning of creation, which is the failure to recognize the truth; and as a result, the rule of pragmatism is imposed.
Creation is explained to us in this modern world by science. But it only gives the functional truth about man. But it never discovers the truth about man himself — who he is, where he comes from, what he should do, what is right, what is wrong. And this results to blindness toward the question of our real identity and purpose.
If the man lives without truth, life passes by him; until he surrenders in the field to whoever is the stronger.
For truth to be rcognizable, it’s only “Redemption” in the fullest sense. And it becomes recognizable when God becomes recognizable. He becomes recognizable in Jesus Christ. In Christ, God entered the world and set up the criterion of truth in the world, just as Christ is powerless by world’s standards (he had no military power and ‘legions’); He was crucified.
Yet in Jesus’ powerlessness, he is powerful: only thus does the truth become power.
The center of the message, all the way to the Cross — all the way above the Cross — is the kingdom of God, the new kingship represented by Jesus. And this kingship is centered on truth. He first proclaimed this kingship in parables and before Pontius Pilate is the kingship of truth. The inauguration of this kingship is man’s true liberation.
Christology is the concrete form acquired by the proclamation of God’s kingdom. In Christ, God — the Truth — entered the world.
When the truth counts for nothing in this world, what kind of justice is then possible, when truth changes depending on changing opinions and poweful lobbies?
Even Pontius Pilate knew very well the truth of Jesus’ case that he was no a criminal and that the kingship he claimed this not represent any political danger — that he ought therefore to be acquitted. Indeed the great “Truth” of which Jesus had spoken was inaccessible to Pontius Pilate. The people theat Pontius Pilate with “If you release this man, you are not Ceasar’s friend” (John 19:12). So in the end, he has chosen his concern for career that his fear of divine powers (“When Pilate heard these words, he waseven more afraid” (John 19:18).
Pontius Pilate represented the Roman Law, on which Pax Romana rested — the peace of the empire that spanned the world. They had military force. But peace is not secured only through it, as peace also depends of justice. Rome’s real strength lay in its juridical order. He knew the truth of Jesus’ case, and hence he knew what justice demanded of him.
But more important for him than the truth of this case is the pragmatic concept of law and its peace-building role, and in this way he doubtless justified his action to himself. Release this innocent Jesus could not only cause him personal damage, it could also give rise to further disturbances and unrest, which had to be avoided at all costs, especially in the time of the Passover.
Peace counted for more, than justice in Pontius Pilate’s eyes, as perhaps he eased his conscience by believing that he was fulfilling the real purpose of law — its peace-building function. For that time being, all seemed to be going well. Jerusalem remained calm. At a later date, though, it would become clear that peace, in the final analysis, cannot be established at the expense of truth.
—–
With all the evilness that justice is manipulated, the poweful men are oppressors to the meek and powerless. They are taking advantage of the silence of good men who can say and do nothing. Like the Psalm says these evil men say ‘our tongue is our strength; our lips is our own, who is our master?”. But the psalmist heeds “May the Lord destroy all lying lips.”. To which the Lord promises “For the poor who are oppressed and the needy who groan, I myself will arise.”. And truly, “It is you, O Lord, who will take us in your care.”.
And this goes on with the Psalm Prayer from the Midday Prayer:
God of wisdom and truth, without you neither truth nor holiness can survive. Safeguard the Church you have gathered into one and make us glad in proclaiming you.
The devil, along with these wicked men, has a limited power. Just like Pilate, he knows the truth that it will come a day that he’s over. Remain holding on to that truth based on the eschatology. Truth and Justice triumph in the end.
She is the Author of The Best Catholic website. As an experienced Digital Artist and Graphic Designer, she is passionate about creating and appreciating art, having focused on these fields these last few years. She also owns a couple of small businesses.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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