Street of First Doctrine
43. What Is Truthfulness?
Street of First Doctrine: first Catholic doctrine for souls learning how to believe, pray, and live.
"Let your speech be yea, yea: no, no." - Matthew 5:37
Truthfulness is the by which a person speaks and lives according to truth. A beginner must learn truthfulness because lying disorders the soul, wounds trust, and imitates the father of lies.
The catechism answer is simple: Truthfulness is the that makes us speak, act, and bear witness according to what is true, with and .
Truth is not owned by man. Truth comes from God.
The question is not, "Can I escape consequences?" It is, "Am I standing in the truth before God?"
Lies may seem useful. They may protect , hide sin, gain money, avoid conflict, or secure approval. But every lie wounds the soul's relation to reality.
The Christian cannot serve Christ by falsehood.
A lie is speech contrary to one's mind with the intention to deceive. Lying is sinful because speech is meant to communicate truth.
Some lies are grave by matter or harm. Others may be lighter, but they still form the soul badly.
The habit of lying makes confession difficult because the soul becomes practiced in hiding.
Truthfulness also guards another's reputation. is harming another by false accusation. is revealing another's real fault without just reason.
Both can wound and .
Not every true thing should be said. Truth must be governed by , , duty, and .
assumes guilt without sufficient reason. It often grows from , suspicion, , or anger.
The Christian should not be naive, but he should also not pretend to know what he does not know.
Judgment belongs to truth, not imagination.
Truthfulness includes bearing witness to the faith. A Catholic should not lie about doctrine, hide truth out of cowardice, or pretend error is equal to truth.
Silence may be at times. But silence becomes sinful when duty requires witness.
Truth must be spoken with , not surrendered for comfort.
Sins against truth often require repair. A lie should be corrected. A damaged reputation should be as far as possible. False witness should be retracted. should stop.
Confession forgives sin, but may still require action.
Truthfulness rebuilds what falsehood damaged.
The soul must learn to hate lying.
The soul must learn to guard the neighbor's reputation.
The soul must learn to avoid .
The soul must learn to repair falsehood where possible.
The soul must learn to bear witness to Catholic truth.
Truthfulness is the that makes us speak, act, and bear witness according to what is true, with and .
A beginner should ask: Do I lie? Do I ? Do I accuse without proof? Have I harmed a reputation? Do I hide the faith through fear? Do I repair falsehood when I can?
The truthful soul lives in the light. It belongs to Christ, who is the Truth.