by James Paulin
Opinions are varied as snowflakes when it comes to certain topics and often lead to disputes that are still unsettled even after they are ancient history. Absolutes for one person are absolutely wrong from someone else’s perspective. Science doesn’t always have the final answer as revelations many times change basic premises that have been assumed to be correct. What is seen with our eyes can be deceptive or just an inkling of what the entire reality is. So how do we know where to place our beliefs in much of anything?
Magicians use illusions and slight of hand to fool and amaze. Con artists deceive with ploys full of convincing lies. Maybe some well respected members of society have secret agendas when they appear to be working for the common good. Sometimes individuals appear who are beyond reproach, totally committed to truth and born out in actions of self-sacrifice. They may be called heroes or saints but recognition is not on their minds. The heart and soul prompts spontaneous reactions that most would question. With nothing but pure purpose and motivated by love, they are easily recognizable by their actions.
Truth is consistent. When philosophers question morality or ethics, they bring logic and values that vary from mind to mind and within different paradigms. Truth must be universal and cohesive. We cannot find it in inanimate ledgers but in something or someone eternally alive to touch matters as they develop in changing circumstances. There must be a way to understand it. It must be powerful in spirit. It must be life giving to ourselves and all others. God sent Jesus to be all of this, for all of us, for all of eternity.
We are a community of laymen and laywomen who, with vowed Passionists, seek to share in the charism of St. Paul of the Cross through prayer, ongoing spiritual formation, and proclamation of the message of Christ Crucified.
