Reflection: The Catholic Church is Reality As It Truly is

Pilate said to him, 'What is Truth?'

Contrary to popular modern-day belief, the truth about reality is not subject to the malleable and ever-changing tides of relativism, nor is it governed by the subjective opinion of those whose view of themselves as kings and queens over reality has allowed for the false notion that they may pronounce what is and is not, weighing down bookshelves around the world with their personal philosophies.

GLADE PARK, CO (Catholic Online) - Just hours before the Holy Sacrifice upon the Roman Cross was to occur, an astonishing event countless millions would ponder from that day forward, one which would yield confusion and wonder, tears and joy, Pilate the Roman governor silently looked into the eyes of the seemingly helpless Man who stood before him. Only seconds ago this Man had informed Pilate that his "kingdom does not belong to this world." Confounded by this statement, Pilate said nothing for a time, hearing only the gentle breathing of the humble and patient Jesus, as the crowd outside had fallen into silent anticipation.

With contempt, his words reverberating off the cold walls of the praetorium, Pilate asked pointedly, "Then you are a king?" This was indeed a dangerous question -- an imprudent answer would surely bring condemnation as a revolutionary. Perhaps Jesus paused for a moment before responding, giving his attention to the soft light of morning which began to filter in through an open doorway. Turning back toward Pilate, he said, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."

Pilate said to him, "What is truth?" (see Jn 18:29-38).

Not long after Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, he was sent to appear before the emperor Tiberius, at which time he disappeared from history. Yet that famous question he asked as he stood before Truth Itself continues to resound everywhere in the world. In fact, all throughout history man has searched for the truth about the created world around him, the universe, the meaning of his own life, and what lies beyond death, that mysterious doorway each of us must pass through.

Perhaps the most tragic situation we face in the West today is the widespread, heedless disregard for the truth about man's existence and his relationship to God, which has resulted in an arrogant disregard for the reality of things both visible and invisible. The indifference displayed toward understanding reality as it is, in which we are inseparably immersed, and in which we are inescapably bound is patently insane. The poorest of all are those who rush headlong, ignorant of the truth by their own choosing, toward the loss of heaven.

On June 29, 1959, Pope John XXIII issued the encyclical Ad Petri Cathedram (On Truth, Unity, and Peace), in which he observed, "All the evils which poison men and nations and trouble so many hearts have a single cause and a single source: ignorance of the truth -- and at times even more than ignorance, a contempt for truth and a reckless rejection of it. Thus arise all manner of errors, which enter the recesses of men's hearts and the bloodstream of human society as would a plague. These errors turn everything upside down: they menace individuals and society itself" (APC 6).

How Do We Know And Understand Reality?

Contrary to popular modern-day belief, the truth about reality is not subject to the malleable and ever-changing tides of relativism, nor is it governed by the subjective opinion of those whose view of themselves as kings and queens over reality has allowed for the false notion that they may pronounce what is and is not, weighing down bookshelves around the world with their personal philosophies. The truth about reality begins and ends in God; the Alpha and Omega of Truth; the omnipotent, omniscient and immutable Being whose divine mind has preordained what is and what is to be. Reality is precisely and exactly what God says it is -- nothing more and nothing less.

No few find such a concept quite disturbing, for that deep-seated and adamantly insistent "need" which so plagues us, tempting us to incorrectly believe we reign over reality, continues to assert itself in our lives. A symptom of this type of outlook is displayed in the manner in which some treat those elements of God's revelation they deem unpalatable, such as the deadly perils of mortal sin, as one example among many, which are often looked upon with disdain and thus dashed into that lightless file in the basement of the human intellect, discreetly labeled as "unreal," and tightly locked away so as to never be read again.

The obvious question is, what has God decreed as reality? In order to answer such a question, we must come to terms with a few historical facts. First, God has revealed himself to man. Such a fact is readily apparent to every Christian. The ultimate revelation of God is Jesus Christ (see Heb 1:12). In the fullness of time, indeed a pivotal moment for humanity, God sent his own divine Son into the vineyard, who taught the apostles everything he desired them to know. God revealed the reality of things, what is and what is not, to the apostles.

The problem, however, is in everyone else discerning precisely what God's revelation is. Echoing the words of Pilate, many ask, "What is truth?" yet history is often repeated again as they quickly wash their hands of the situation. For others, the question of truth and reality reoccurs over and again, rising to the surface of their thoughts. Frustrated, they wonder how it is possible to sort through the seemingly endless array of contrasting and even contradictory information found in the world today regarding the visible and invisible reality in which man exists.

Yet there is an answer to this question of reality as it is, which shines forth like the noonday sun. We must not for a moment imagine that our Lord Jesus Christ did not foresee this situation and address it. A few minutes meditation on the Cross brings us to the realization that God's love is far too great to allow for him to overlook man's need for the truth and the perils that result from muddling it. It is absurd to think that Christ taught the apostles everything he desired them to know only to have this sacred deposit of faith with which he left them, the reality about man's existence, end in its own death as the last apostle gave up his spirit.

Many will here point out that we have Sacred Scripture. Yes, that is correct, but the Bible does not contain the fullness of God's revelation. Christ, of course, understood that the Bible of itself would be insufficient in addressing all the questions about the reality of man's existence, about faith and morals, and about the reality of God.

This brings us to our second historical fact. Christ appointed the apostles as ministers of his truth. He said to them, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned" (Mk 15:16). It was impossible, however, for the apostles themselves to proclaim the gospel to every creature, for they would all soon die. Hence Christ founded his Catholic Church (see Mt 16:17-19), a specific and definite monarchical and hierarchical institution, in order that his ministry would continue throughout all time, and that all generations of the future would have access to the truth about reality. The apostles ordained their successors (bishops) in the Church, and thus the Bride of Christ lives on this very day, feeding the faithful her words of truth, which is the reality things.

Frank Sheed points out in his book Theology and Sanity that since the Catholic Church was founded by our divine Savior, she sees, understands, and faithfully transmits reality as it is. Therefore the Catholic who properly orients his or her intellect with the Church sees as the Church sees. "[The] enormous advantage of this is that the Universe the Church sees is the real Universe, because she is the Church of God. Seeing what she sees means seeing what is there. And just as loving what is good is sanctity, or the health of the will, so seeing what is there is sanity, or the health of the intellect" (Theology and Sanity, Ignatius Press, 22).

The Truth About Reality: The War Rages On

Two years before he became Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Wotyla spoke to the Catholic Bishops of the U.S., in which he observed that "we are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel and the anti-Gospel."

This final confrontation can be seen in the war of persecution waged against the Catholic Church, for she alone holds, guards, and transmits the fullness of truth, reality as it is, to the nations. She is a nourishing Mother who feeds her children the priceless words of truth and sacraments of life, yet she is, along with her children who reside within her secure arms, confronted on every side by those who abhor her sacred message of reality, and by those who wish to assert over her their own personal brand of anti-reality.

Yet the Church Christ founded is God's eternal kingdom and plan for the world, which cannot be undone, for there is no end to the supreme reign and governance of God (cf. Is 9:6-7; Lk 1:32-33). Thus while the Church's faithful are yet engaged in the temporal battle between good and evil, truth and fallacy, caught up in the final confrontation between life and death, God's children whose love for Truth has brought them into safe residence within the Church as members of Christ's Mystical Body already bear off the palms of glorious triumph; for in eternity the Church is the victor. In God's divine and immutable providence, the final outcome is preordained; those who wield the sword of truth, though they may appear to fall, cannot be defeated.

-----

F. K. Bartels is a Catholic writer who knows his Catholic faith is one of the greatest gifts a man could ever have. He is managing editor of catholicpathways.com, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online