Who is Truth?
The amount of bad news surrounding the Catholic Church in the last few weeks has been overwhelming! Between the Grand Jury report, the McCarrick resignation, Archbishop Viganó's testimony, Cardinal Wuerl's response, and the statements of dozens of bishops and cardinals to their own respective flock, the average Catholic - indeed, the average person - has been bombarded with information from all sides. If the sheer volume of information wasn't enough, this has been compounded by the political spin presented in scores of opinion editorials masquerading as news reports. How can the faithful, and especially the abuse victims, move forward with the necessary reforms and healing if we cannot even be sure that we have the facts straight?
We find ourselves echoing the words of Pontius Pilate to our Lord in the Praetorium:
"What is Truth?"
Like us, Pilate was presented with a list of incredible accusations. Partisan leaders were calling for his swift action. Special interest groups were pressuring him with threats of rebellion on one hand and treason on the other. Insatiable crowds were screaming for retribution and punishment; "Crucify Him!"
In the center of this turmoil was a silent, humble Man, Who refused both to testify to His innocence or His majesty. A Man Who would not even beg for his own life, even after being mocked, scourged, and crowned. A Man Who seemed unconcerned with the fact that He would very soon be crucified if He did not answer His accusers.
Our Lord's only answer to Pilate is that He came to testify to the Truth (John 18:37). In a fit of frustration and desperation, Pilate socratically demands an explanation from Christ: "What is Truth?", to which he receives no reply.
As a Catholic today, it is easy to identify with Pilate. What is the depth of the scandal in the Church? Who knew what about which dastardly character? What laws were broken, what rules were violated? And most importantly, how can we assure that this never happens again so that we can protect our children and seminarians? All we want are the facts, to know what truly happened, and we have a legitimate right to know.
But we cannot rely on others to tell us what the truth is; we must instead seek it out for ourselves. Not by obsessively pouring through the web of accusations, testimonies, editorials, opinion pieces, blog posts, Facebook rants, or tweets, looking for evidence of the cold, hard truth. If we get caught up in the whirlwind of relativistic media, we will fare no better than Pilate.
We must first seek Truth in the person of God. Only by first knowing Truth Himself can we be certain of discerning the truth amidst everything else.
"For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light." (Luke 8:17)
In fact, part of the Gift of Wisdom that we received at Confirmation is the ability to discern truth from falsehoods. It makes sense the the Holy Spirit would help us to identify Truth, since all Truth comes from God! Like Solomon, who was able to discern between the two mothers, the Holy Spirit will give us the ability to recognize the truth and filter out lies.
So how can we actively seek Truth? Below are three practical tips:
1. Go to Confession and Receive Communion often. We must be in a state of grace in order for God to fully enter our hearts. And God fully enters our hearts through reception of Eucharist at Mass.
2. Ignore reports and articles that have an obvious bias. When we expose ourselves to too many biased sources, we allow others to think for us instead of trusting in ourselves and in the Spirit to work in our hearts.
3. Seek out original documents, and read them thoroughly in a prayerful setting. Like other types of discernment, prayer is helpful in allowing the Spirit to guide us to the truth in sometimes conflicting reports or sources. By reading original documents in prayer, it allows God to work in our hearts.
4. Look for convincing evidence, and be open to the Truth contradicting your own personal bias. The truth will reveal itself in the way of concrete evidence and testimony. Beware of sources who both provide unverified claims, or who attack the integrity of others. Look and pray for hard evidence.
5. Don't mistake personal feeling or intuition for revelation. Truth will be verifiable by evidence. King Solomon verified the truth through observing the acts of the mother, not just on a gut feeling. Don't confuse your own feelings with the truth, or blindly trust others until claims have been verified or refuted. Thoroughly investigate, with the Spirit leading you to the right answers.
6. Be Patient. God works in His time, not ours. If we do not have an answer, it is because He has not deigned to reveal it yet.
7. Pray the Litany of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom will be found when we call upon Her. Pray the Litany of the Holy Spirit to ask for God to enter your heart and fill it with the Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit. Found here.