When truth and lie get mixed up

TRUTH and lie can sound and look alike. Both can make use
of hard data and facts. The challenge now is how to distinguish
between the two. It can happen that the lie can have greater appeal
than the truth that often requires more effort, sacrifice, humility,
etc., while the lie can offer instant convenience and other practical
advantages.

            Bluntly said, knowing the truth is dealing with God
through Christ in the Spirit. It’s living by faith, by God’s
commandments. It’s not just us with our human resources studying and
discovering things on our own, and accumulating all sorts of facts and
data.

            This latter way can have an impressive show of evidence
but lacks the spirit that makes those facts and data the truth. That’s
because for truth to be truth, it will always be infused with charity,
mercy, justice, etc. It cannot be any other way.

            Without God, without the proper spirit, those facts and
data would simply be at the mercy of our whims and personal interests
which are always tainted with our frailties. Sooner or later, malice
can animate those pieces of evidence and proceed to exploit them to
one’s own or selfish advantage.

            Nowadays, it’s good that people are aware that there many
kinds of truth. You have truths that come from the physical sciences,
or from the social and political sciences, or from our legal system.
There are also truths that just come from our common sense, or from
our direct contact with people, things and events.

            Because of these kinds of truth, we are also quite aware
that there are truths that are stable, and others not so, being
subject to some changes and are therefore evolving. There are truths
that we consider big, others small, some very important, others not
so, etc.

            There are many sources from which the truth can come to
us. We just have to realize that truth has a range and scope that
spans from the here-and-now to eternity, that covers the material and
spiritual, the natural and supernatural, the created and contingent
truths on the one hand, and the absolute, necessary, primary and
ultimate truth, on the other.

            We have to be wary when we confine ourselves in our
appreciation of truth to what is only here-and-now, material, natural
and contingent. That, I’m afraid, is the predicament of many of us, a
predicament that we need to solve and get rid of.

            As we can readily realize, we are equipped to know the
truth. We have senses that can immediately capture the sensible,
material realities. We have intelligence that can discern intelligible
and spiritual (non-material) realities like essence of things, the
causes and effects of things, etc.

            In pursuit of the truth, we can see, hear, feel, intuit,
then think, judge, reason, discuss, argue, conclude, discover, invent,
etc. We just have to realize also that we actually are also wired for
faith that would enable us to discern not only spiritual realities but
also supernatural ones. We can enter into the world of mysteries which
are also truths, in fact, a higher kind of truth.

            Our problem now is that many of us refuse to go far enough
in seeking the truth. They get stuck somewhere, short of referring
themselves to God, the source of all truth. And thus, we can arrive at
a point once described by St. Paul in the following words:

            “Know this also, that in the last days shall come
dangerous times. Men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, haughty,
proud, blasphemers, wicked, without affection, without peace,
slanderers, incontinent, unmerciful, without kindness…” (3,1-3)

            Every time I read these words and look at least at what we
see in the media that mirror the temper of our times, I can’t help but
notice the connection between the warning and the reality around us. I
can only gasp, “How true!”

            Many people don’t pray anymore. They have made God a thing
of the past, or at best, considered merely as a museum piece or an
ornament. They now proudly talk about how the present is now a
post-religion era.

            Obviously, with this mindset detached from God, the source
and measure of truth, we should not be surprised when we can witness a
lot of delusions and sophisms or circular, closed-circuit reasoning.

            What to do? Go back to God, of course. Revitalize
religion. Strengthen the faith. Thus, St. Paul says: “Preach the word,
be instant in season, out of season, reprove, entreat, rebuke in all
patience and doctrine.” (4,2)

            Reason and science cannot go alone without faith, without
God. They’d be flying in dangerous circles.

A magnificent, beautiful prayer

POPE Francis quoted what he called a magnificent prayer in
a recent address he made to the Vatican curia. I describe that prayer,
beautiful, that captures our human condition before the tremendous
mystery of God’s providence.

            It illustrates how God can write straight with crooked
lines, making use of us as his most inadequate instrument for his
providence. And yet, in spite of our limitations, not to mention, our
mistakes and sins, God still counts on us, and in a certain sense,
‘depends’ on us.

            It’s a prayer that can inspire humility and trust in God’s
will and ways, virtues whose importance we can never over-emphasize.
We have to learn to acknowledge our weaknesses and failures, which
should not prevent us from doing what we ought to do.

            Rather, our negatives should be another reason why we have
to be as active as possible in carrying out all our duties. They are
not supposed to be hindrances in our life, but rather enhancers, like
the smelly fertilizers that make things grow faster.

            So, instead of being saddened by these negatives, we ought
to be thrilled by the mysterious workings of God’s grace, full of
goodness and mercy. Yes, we ought to do something about our weaknesses
and limitations, try to avoid temptations, ask forgiveness for our
sins and make up for them, but we have to realize that we need to grow
more in virtues and in our life-long effort to identify ourselves as
closely as possible with Christ.

            I would like to quote the prayer here in toto in the hope
that my readers can make use of it as well, for it is a good reminder
of the reality we are in and of the basic dispositions we ought to
have. It’s a prayer that is full both of realism and hope.

            The prayer is attributed to Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero,
the newly beatified Salvadoran bishop who was assassinated in 1980 at
age 62. The Wikipedia has the following biographical note about him”

            “He spoke out against poverty, social injustice,
assassinations and torture. In 1980, he was assassinated while
offering Mass in the chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence…He
was hailed as a hero by supporters of liberation theology…he was not
interested in liberation theology, but faithfully adhered to Catholic
teachings on liberation, desiring a social revolution based on
supernatural interior reform.”

            His episcopal motto was, “Sentire cum Ecclesia,” (to think
or feel with the Church) which reflected his fidelity with the Church
as it has to tackle the changing and concrete challenges and problems
of the times.

            Here, we have to understand fidelity as a dynamic thing,
not something static, a cold, unthinking adherence to rules that can
be at odds with the reality of things. It’s a fidelity that has its
mind and heart in heaven while its feet are firmly rooted on the
ground.

            The prayer goes this way:

            “Every now and then it helps us to take a step back and to
see things from a distance. / The Kingdom is not only beyond our
efforts, it is also beyond our visions. / In our lives, we manage to
achieve only a small part of the marvelous plan that is God’s work. /
Nothing that we do is complete, which is to say that the Kingdom is
greater than ourselves. /

            “No statement says everything that can be said. / No
prayer completely expresses the faith. / No Creed brings perfection. /
No pastoral visit solves every problem. / No program fully
accomplishes the mission of the Church. / No goal or purpose ever
reaches completion. /

            “This is what it is about: We plant seeds that one day
will grow. / We water seeds already planted, knowing that others will
watch over them. / We lay the foundations of something that will
develop. / We add the yeast which will multiply our possibilities. /

            “We cannot do everything yet it is liberating to begin. /
This gives us the strength to do something and to do it well. / It may
remain incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way. / It
is an opportunity for the grace of God to enter and to do the rest.

            “It may be that we will never see its completion, but that
is the difference between the master and the laborer. / We are
laborers, not master builders, servants, not the Messiah. / We are
prophets of a future that does not belong to us. / Amen.

            I just find it a magnificent and beautiful prayer from a
martyred witness of the faith.

Choosing the right leaders

NOW that we will be going through another political
exercise of choosing our political leaders, we first of all have to go
to God, praying and begging that we be enlightened and that the whole
process be peaceful, beneficial and fruitful to all of us. This
national event is no joke. We have to try to be dead serious about it.

            Of course, we have to reassure ourselves that since there
are no perfect candidates, no perfect electorate, and the whole
exercise, in spite of being designed to be effective, honest and fair,
will always have some loopholes when put into practice, God can always
make do with anything, even the worst scenario, and can derive some
good from evil. There’s always a fallback somewhere somehow.

            That’s why we are still afloat in spite of all kinds of
crises through the years. We should never forget that God is in the
middle of this very contentious national exercise, and in his own ways
is intervening in it actively. Let’s hope that we can have the faith
to see God’s hand in our political life. We need to remind ourselves
that there’s nothing in our life where God is not concerned and
involved somehow.

            Just the same, that sobering fact does not exempt us from
choosing the right leaders as best as we can. That’s why we, at least,
have to know what would make a good leader. We have to know what
criteria to use and how these criteria should be ranked according to
importance and indispensability.

            Of course, we can have many ideas about this, but I would
say that the most important quality of a leader is that he should be a
man of God, a man after the heart of God. After all, everything good
here on earth, including leadership, has God as its source, pattern
and power.

            When a leader is truly a man of God and not just faking
it, he will also have the political welfare of the people in his
heart. He will be concerned of both the temporal common good of the
people as well as the more important eternal common good. We should
try to avoid making these two levels of common good conflict with each
other.

            A true leader will strive to be honest and competent in
his job, always dialoguing with the people to monitor their needs and
lead them according to his vision of good governance.

            He understands perfectly well that his work is an organic
extension of God’s providence insofar as the political needs of the
people are concerned. And so he does not depend only on what is
practical and convenient for the people. He will try his best that
God’s laws for us be given priority and be made to inspire all the
policies he will pursue.

            Christian believers should be actively involved in the
political life of the country. Of course, the laity are the ones
directly involved in politics, since politics will always be partisan
in character. The clergy can only play the inspiring role and should
be above partisan lines.

            Thus, Christian believers who also are citizens and
therefore part of the electorate should know how to choose their
leaders well. They have to learn how to discern the true and the false
leaders, how to weigh the platforms, views and words of the
candidates.

            Let’s remember what Christ said of false prophets. “Beware
of false prophets,” he said, “who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but
inwardly are ravening wolves.” (Mt 7,15) They can show great signs and
wonders, and as St. Paul said, “they deceive the hearts of the simple
by their good words and fair speeches.” (Rom 16,18)

            Nowadays, many politicians have mastered the art of
rhetoric and of persuasive speech, and they can avail of tremendous
political and publicity machineries to make them attractive to the
electorate.

            It would be good that each one considers his political
choices in his prayer, in front of God, and closely listening to his
conscience. Of course, he has to listen to all parties involved, but
he has to learn how to discern the spirit of each candidate, the signs
of the times, etc.

            Since there will always some risks to be taken in these
exercises, one should try his best to choose candidates that he thinks
would serve best for the common good. He should try to rein in his
emotions and passions, and try his best to be as objective as
possible. For this, he may have to consult others.