Imagine for a moment that all you have been taught and believe are not true. How would you react to the realization that you have been lied to for years? It is not easy or comfortable to imagine. But we have all experienced being lied to. What lie or lies have you been told?
How did you find out the Truth, and how did you respond to the discovery of the Truth?
St Basil and St Gregory Nazianzen
Today is the memorial of Saints Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, two doctors of the Church known for their great teachings on the Blessed Trinity. In the 4th century, the Arian heresy, which essentially claimed the Son was not equal with the Father and questioned the divinity of Christ, crept into the Church and thrived. Both Basil and Gregory fought back with the weapon of the Truth of the Gospel. Imagine how a false teaching and lies about our Lord Jesus Christ almost took over the church founded by Christ who is the Truth! St. Basil and St. Gregory labored so much in establishing, by all means, that Jesus is the Christ, true God and true man, the second person of the Blessed Trinity. They fought to let the world know that there is undeniable Truth revealed to us by God Himself and dissent from that Truth is a lie.
Who is the Liar
“The Liar” is Satan. Jesus calls him the father of all lies, whose nature it is to be a liar (cf. John 8:44-45). Satan’s pattern remains the same: “Did God really say that”? “Is that Gospel story really true”? “How do you know God exists?” Satan makes people doubt that Jesus is the Christ. People question if God can save them, heal them, deliver them, restore them, et cetera. It is all the mission of the enemy. When some of Jesus’s disciples left Him because of His teaching on the Eucharist, Peter said there is no truth anywhere except in Him, Jesus! The fact is that we are made for the Truth which is why every human person (including professed atheists) hates to be told lies.
Made for the Truth
Today, the cultivation of virtues seems optional, a personal non-binding character, as opposed to what ought to be pursued and acquired for the good of everyone and society. You hear some parents say they will let their children “choose” whether to believe in God when they come of age. Children are beginning to choose their preferred gender. And yet, these same parents feed their children, send them to school and playing fields, go on vacations, and put in a serious effort to give their children a happy life. However, when it comes to faith, they say it is not up to them to choose whether to follow Christ or not for their kids. That’s not fair to the children and opens the door for them to believe lies.
Perhaps the parents are wondering if the faith’s content is authentic. They are not inherently “bad” people, but they need more conviction. Only the Truth offers such conviction – and we will need to give the Truth a chance (cf. John 8:32).
Conviction
Christ-centered life is the true way to a life of the Truth (cf. John 14:6). Life outside the Truth is a lie. Telling a lie or living a life based on what is in vogue is just an aspect of a bigger problem, an effect of being distanced from Christ.
Friends, in this brand-new year, could we decide not to give room to the enemy’s lies? The Truth of the faith is unchanging and can never change. Jesus Christ remains the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and He remains the same yesterday, today, and forever (John 14:6; Heb 13:8).
Blessed New Year!
Very good reflection. Life outside the Truth is a lie. There is no middle ground, when Truth is a person.
— Like you, I have difficulty understanding the rationale of a parent that lets a child choose whether to accept in God only when they become an adult. Having said that, I have never met a parent that is a serious faithful Catholic or even Protestant, who lets their children choose. We pass on to our children that which is important to us. If we do not pass on faith, we have made a statement about our regard for the importance of our own beliefs.
God Bless you Father.