Finding the Truth in Jesus Christ

St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, citing Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, said “veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus” which means “truth is the equation of thought and thing.” It is crucial to be able to say “the truth is outside of me, it does not depend on me; and all I’m doing is discovering it, not making it.

By Br. Hector Eduardo Duarte

Since really early on, many people have questioned what the truth is, if it even exists. Even Pontius “Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). Probably many of the readers can relate to the experience of being taught since we were little that truth exists, that it is outside of me and that it does not depend on my opinion; probably heard “it is what it is,” and never thought more than that.

However, in today’s world it seems like it is indeed being questioned, and now more than ever in this “post-Christian era,” what was common knowledge before, now it’s not even accepted as true or even hostile to society. I think many of our problems in society lies in this, in that we like to accept many truths and, in a way, “shy away from it” because it’s easier than facing reality, however we can’t live blindfolded forever.

St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologiae, citing Isaac Israeli ben Solomon, said “veritas est adaequatio rei et intellectus” which means “truth is the equation of thought and thing.” However this may seem complicated to grasp at the beginning, so, what does this mean and what does it have to do with us? Well… This means that there is a reasoning behind saying that truth is outside of me, and without even the need of faith, by reason alone, we can say that the truth is objective i.e. it exists outside of the individual’s subjective judgement. It does not depend on what I think; the truth imposes on reality. And this is interesting, because even if someone were to lie, he would have to use fundamental truths to do so. We cannot escape the truth, we can ignore it, but it does not mean that it is not there nor does it mean that suddenly does not have an impact on me.

Understanding this concept is crucial, but it has to be applied to our way of thinking, and it is here precisely where society attacks it the most today. It is crucial to be able to say “the truth is outside of me, it does not depend on me; and all I’m doing is discovering it, not making it.” This, precisely, leads us to Jesus Christ.

If we look for the transcendental, you don’t find a truth, but the truth. That is precisely how Jesus described himself in John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”  By Jesus saying this, He is saying that He is the way to the Father and to eternal life, and therefore, by abiding to what He teaches, we can discover the Truth and the freedom it comes with knowing it. When we get to know Jesus, we receive the blessing of being offered the opportunity of being truly free; truly free by being saved from sin, by being given the sacraments necessary to be able to follow God’s path in our lives.

Jesus is the perfect way; the only true path for salvation. God, through the old covenant, prepared the way for His son to come and save us. He is the culmination of the plan of salvation. If we contemplate that for a moment, it is truly amazing to see how God had everything planned to offer the ordinary means of salvation through the Church. His way is not a way, but the way into God’s presence. He is truly the complete revelation of God for our times, and until -God willing- one day we enter into the Beatific Vision –Heaven– and get to the eternal contemplation of God in its entirety, this is the greatest knowledge of God we can have on earth, because that is the Word of God made flesh. 

This is why it is so important to be able to understand this, and be able to bring this knowledge into practice. We can do this by going from devotion to imitation. Devotion is great, it is necessary to grow in an interior life, but “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). We need to be able to put into practice Jesus’ teachings, and give them the respect they are due. It is normal that some things may be harder than others to accept, but it is important not to fall into the trap of accepting wrong teachings, because at the end of the day, the truth prevails and the only one to whom you are deceiving is yourself—and maybe even others. Holiness is about being able to come back up and start again, giving yourself chances every time you need them (without falling into laxity of course). So, a great way of starting is by doing an examination of conscience prayerfully before the Lord, being honest with Him and working from there.

In conclusion, let us remember that what is important is that the truth is not merely a concept to be debated, but rather a reality to be embraced. We need to humble ourselves before our Lord, and listen to His teachings, because He is God and knows way better than us. Therefore, let us strive to live this life the best way possible, and be able to walk always to a greater freedom, that is only found by the knowledge and following of God.