Truthful eyes

When we think of seeking the truth, we are not just talking about a spiritual reality toward some concept. We are also speaking about finding the truth in our own lives, in our awareness of ourselves, in our ability to communicate honestly with another. That’s because any kind of meaningful relationship requires an honesty and forthrightness that challenges our personal conceptions, and calls us to seek the truth about ourselves and our frailty.

Robert Wicks in Seeds of Sensitivity writes it's not so easy for me to have such truthful eyes. I guess it isn't for anyone who wants to be an honest, vulnerable healer in concrete situations rather than a person of love in the abstract sense. Abstract love never involves risk or failure, just good wishes and a rich imagination. Still, love in the concrete often is not pretty but its results are wonderful if we are willing to take the chance to encounter ourselves honestly as we open ourselves to others in ways in which we are willing to follow through on our promises and commitments. (81)

According to Wicks (and life demonstrates this as well), our encounter with someone else can only be as deep and as meaningful as our willingness to encounter ourselves in truth. Our relationship with God is similar. We can only know him through truthful knowledge of ourselves.

The challenge of truth

Who do you say that I am? The question is direct, and it begs for honesty. What Jesus is really asking is have you discovered the truth for yourself?  Or are you basing your opinion of me on what others are saying? 

The same question can be applied to our image of ourselves. Who do I say that I am?  Is my image formed by what others say of me, what people tell me I am, what I imagine I am? Or have I discovered my own truth?

The question is important because we cannot make the spiritual journey without first entering into the cell of self-knowledge, which is necessary if we hope to go deeper into truth. It means to discover the authentic self, not from the image others give me, or even that I give to myself, but from my destiny.

Sometimes we look with envy at what someone else is doing because we fear to become what we are destined to be. We find every excuse to deny our own potential because we fear the pain, the demands, the sacrifice it takes to accept our own truth.  It is easier to let what others say I am be enough. But it is never enough. To remain an image is to remain hollow.

Self-knowledge requires serious reflection, self-reflection, prayer, courage, and acceptance. It demands authenticity. Only serious souls will journey down that path and not settle for less.

The whole of faith is built upon truth. It starts with self-knowledge. So, who do I say that I am?

Remaining naked before our God

In the spiritual life, we have a standing invitation to become and remain naked before God. It is the message that starts in the book of Genesis, where we see humans trying to “hide” from God because, as scripture records, “we saw that we were naked, and we were afraid.” The fear wasn’t being naked, but being naked before God. And we cannot help but wonder, why such foolishness?

We make that choice ourselves, every time we decide we cannot bear the truth, and decide to hide instead. It comes, not when we think we are above ground and on an even keel with God, but when we feel less than what we should be, and think hiding will protect us. Yet who was ever was healed by hiding?  We are only healed when we stand in the light and acknowledge our very real selves.

Light and grace comes to us when we decide to be naked before God by choosing to know rather than remain ignorant, to accept responsibility instead of turning a blind eye, to acknowledge our role rather than deny our part.  

Nakedness is essential to a real relationship with the Divine. It is our ability to walk with God, instead of hiding and pretending, being ashamed in front of the one who already knows. It is living in light, not in darkness. For the attempt to hide is as empty as darkness itself.  It offers us nothing but the spooks of our imagination.

Let us enjoy the light by standing truthfully before God. It is only then that we will be clothed in light, a light that reveals. 

The choice is ours. Will you become naked before God?

When you pray

By Mary Grace Thul, OP

Perseverance. I was taught, as a young religious, that no grace was greater than that one. That once you made a commitment, you had to live and die in that commitment because that was the highest perfection. I believed that-until I realized truth should have been my higher goal.

Commitment is important. But we need to accept the fact that we do make mistakes. And to stay in God's grace doesn’t mean we must "stay the same". There are times when we must move on, when staying in our present position is actually a response to fear. We sometimes make promises we should not have made, and take on commitments we should not have taken. To refuse to acknowledge that such acts may not have been in my best interest is to say, I can never make a mistake. And that is a lie.

So now I don't make life about perseverance. I make life about God and grace and truth. Because these things mean more than "staying with that choice you once made many years ago, maybe a choice made under pressure or stress or whatever, but once you make that promise, you can never ever admit it was a mistake, God simply would not understand such humanness."

When you pray, do not say “Let me stay the same.”  Instead, say, “What are you asking of me, this day, this hour?” And if you find you are not in the right place or state, don't be afraid to say "Gosh, I've made a mistake. It's time to change my life and move on." It actually takes a great deal more courage.

Being Set Free

In Jn 8:31-32, we read Jesus words If you remain in my word, you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

There is an invitation in these words, to accept the words of Jesus, to live them out. For as we can see, only when we remain in his word are we set free. What is it to remain in his word? It is to seek life with an altruistic heart and with courage. For sometimes the truth we learn about us, a situation in life, or about others, reveals hardships or weaknesses we would rather not have learned. Sometimes learning a truth is like opening a Pandora’s box, leading us onto a journey that is more painful than the one we enjoyed in ignorance.

And yet, the truth does indeed set us free. We must be willing to bear its burden. Unlike a Hollywood version, seeking the truth does not always result in some glorious Epiphany. Sometimes the truth is accepting the hard facts about ourselves or our lives. But the end result is always the same: it will set you free.

The Only Mistake is to Succumb to Fear

If  you read the psalms daily, you will find certain ones speak to you at different times. Recently, reading psalm 25 struck a cord in my soul. It reads in part:

Make known to me your ways, Lord teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.

Early on in my life, I was concerned about the need to be perfect.Only later did a holy person tell me this verse, and suggest I make it my mantra. I did, and gradually learned the havoc such a verse can create in the soul. Truly amazing!

The psalmist here is crying out to the Lord, that he may to learn his ways. But to do so, he realizes he must be committed to truth. But what is truth? Here I'm not speaking of the doctrine of truth, but of the truth each one of us needs in order to discern that path we are destined to follow. Only the individual can find that truth, through earnest prayer, contemplation, reflection and discernment.

When I read this psalm, my own wondrous journey comes to mind, the the marvelous things that were planned for me, things I could not grasp until I let go of my concept of perfection. Once I did, I began to do courageous things, believing in God's guidance and forgiveness. And what amazing things began to happen in my life!

If you are restless, dissatisfied with your life, feel something is missing or that you need a change, take this psalm and make it your mantra. Then go forward with courage, knowing the only mistake you can make is to stay where you are because you've succumb to your fear of making mistakes.

To Be Set Free

In  Jn 8:31-32, we read Jesus words If you remain in my word, you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

The truth of these words come with living them out. For the truth to set us free, we must seek it with an altruistic heart and with courage. For sometimes the truth about us, or a situation, reveals hardships or weaknesses we would rather not have learned. Sometimes learning a truth is like opening a Pandora's box, leading us onto a journey that is more painful than the one we enjoyed in ignorance.

And still, the truth does set us free. We must be willing to bear its burden. Unlike a Hollywood version, seeking the truth does not always result in some glorious Epiphany. Sometimes the truth is accepting the hard facts about ourselves or our lives. But the end result is always the same: it will set you free.

The Tie Down

Perseverance. I was taught, as a young religious, that no grace was greater than that one. That once you made the commitment, to live and die in that commitment-that was the highest perfection. I believed it-until I found out better.

To keep in God's grace doesn't mean we have to "stay the same". There are times when we must move on, when staying in our present position is actually a cop out, a failure to God's inspiration in our heart. Just because we've begun life a certain way in a certain state doesn't mean we have to remain in that state or way the rest of our lives. To do so means we can never admit we've made a mistake.

So now I don't think about perseverance. I think about God and grace and truth. Because these things, to me, mean more than "staying with that choice you once made many years ago, maybe a choice made under pressure or in stress or whatever, but once you make a promise, you can never ever admit it was a mistake, God simply would not understand such humanness."

So don't think perseverance. Think - is this right for me? And if you find it isn't, don't be afraid to say "Gosh, I've made a mistake. It's time to get out of this and move on."