YOUCAT on Truth

YOUCAT 342

342 Are we all supposed to become “saints”? 

Yes. The purpose of our life is to be united with God in love and to correspond entirely to God’s wishes. We should allow God “to live his life in us” (Mother Teresa). That is what it means to be holy: a “saint”. [2012-2016, 2028-2029] 

Every man asks himself the question: Who am I and why am I here, how do I find myself? Faith answers: Only in →HOLINESS does man become that for which God created him. Only in holiness does man find real harmony between himself and his Creator. Holiness, however, is not some sort of self-made perfection; rather, it is union with the incarnate love that is Christ. Anyone who gains new life in this way finds himself and becomes holy.

 Holiness is not the luxury of a few people, but a simple duty for you and me. BL. TERESA OF CALCUTTA 

THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 

452 What does the Eighth Commandment require of us?

 The Eighth Commandment teaches us not to lie. Lying means consciously and intentionally speaking or acting against the truth. Someone who lies deceives himself and misleads others who have a right to know the full truth of a matter. [2464, 2467-2468, 2483, 2485-2486] Every lie is an offense against justice and charity. Lying is a form of violence; it introduces the seed of division into a community and undermines the trust on which every human community is based. 

453 What does our relationship to the truth have to do with God? 

Living in respect for the truth means not only being true to oneself. More precisely it means being truthful, being true to God, for he is the source of all truth. We find the truth about God and about all of reality quite directly in Jesus, who is “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). [2465-2470, 2505] Someone who really follows Jesus brings greater and greater truthfulness into his life. He eliminates all lies, falsehood, pretense, and ambiguity from his accomplishments in life and becomes transparent toward the truth. To believe means to become a witness to the truth. 

454 How strongly obligatory is the truth of the faith? 

Every Christian must give testimony to the truth and thereby follow after Christ, who before Pilate said, “For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (Jn 18:37). [2472-2474] This can even mean that a Christian lays down his life out of fidelity to the truth and love for God and mankind. This ultimate form of commitment to the truth is called martyrdom. 

455 What does it mean to be truthful? 

Truthfulness means that one acts sincerely and speaks honestly. The truthful individual guards against double-dealing, misrepresentation, malicious deception, and hypocrisy. The worst form of untruthfulness is perjury. [2468, 2476] A great evil in all communities is slander of other people and malicious gossip: A tells B “confidentially” something derogatory that C said about B. 

456 What should you do if you have lied to, deceived, or betrayed someone? 

Every offense against truth and justice, even if it has been forgiven, demands reparation. [2487] If one cannot make amends publicly for a lie or false testimony, one must at least do whatever one can secretly. If one cannot compensate the injured party directly for the wrong, one is obliged in conscience to give him moral satisfaction, in other words, one must do his best so as to make at least symbolic reparation.