As we prepare to celebrate the wonderful liturgies of Holy Week, we must remember where those liturgies lead us.

They lead us to the great solemnity of the Christian calendar, Easter – the celebration that proclaims: Jesus is Risen, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is Saviour.

As we celebrate, we can never forget the reactions of our sisters and brothers in the Faith who knew Jesus, believed in him and became disciples. They were in shock at the passion and crucifixion.

They wondered about the future, whether they had made a mistake. They reacted differently: Some fled and one, in panic, explicitly denied the Lord, another doubted and Mary moved into a deeper trust of God.

Unlike the people who went through that challenging experience, we have a more consoling perspective. We know the Father accepted the sacrifice of Jesus and sent the Holy Spirit to raise Jesus from the dead. Our responsibility is to remember through liturgy, to live the message and to grow in the freedom the message brings.

To live the message and to grow in freedom requires that we open ourselves to the truth and that we understand clearly that only the truth will make us free.

The truth

The journey to the truth is both gradual and complex. It is gradual because discernment about various issues takes time. It is complex because it must begin with self-knowledge. Why?

Self-knowledge is the first step because prior experience or the lack thereof can affect our capacity to know the truth and to live it. In an Encyclical Letter on the Relationship between Faith and Reason, the Holy Father states, “Faith and Reason are the two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of the truth.”

What sets us apart from the rest of creation is our ability to know ourselves. In pursuing the truth, we understand ourselves better and we become self-motivated to grow in the truth which transcends us as persons. Without a foundation of truth, people lack the means for making proper life decisions.

What is the truth?

Truth is a characteristic of knowledge and reality. Knowledge is true when it conforms to the nature of things. In the Old Testament, truth was understood as lived fidelity to God's Wisdom.

In the New Testament, truth is understood in a personal way. In his Gospel John describes Jesus as, “ the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth.” Jesus, as the perfect revelation of the Father, is the truth. Truth is also understood as the absence of duplicity, dissimulation, hypocrisy and lying (the method of Satan). Once truth is found, it must be followed.

No one can claim a right to ignore the truth. We recall the witness of the former Pentecostal pastor who visited the Archdiocese last year to work with the Commission for Evangelisation. He gave testimony that what drew him to the Catholic Church was his search for the truth.

Where do we find the truth?

The Holy Father answers the question in his Encyclical Letter. We find the truth through Faith, Reason or the interaction of both Faith and Reason.

For the Church, which is the continuation of Christ through history, the teaching of the Magisterium (the Bishops teaching on Faith and Morals in union with the Vicar of Christ) is a great help to the believer who may not have the inclination, the time or the educational background to do the required research.

While it is possible to know God through reason alone, for the believer it is easier to know God through Faith and with the guidance of the Magisterium. The Scriptures, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (still an international bestseller) and the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church are “safe guidelines” for a person who is searching for the truth.

A practical question suggests itself: How many people will read, study and reflect on these “safe guidelines” in the search for truth? The probable answer is not many. Second question: Is that a reason for discouragement? Answer: No!

However, it is a reason for bishops, priests, religious and catechists to prepare substantive homilies, lectures, class plans, retreats in which people can hear the truth and be encouraged to pursue the search for truth.

Freedom

Freedom is a gift of God. It is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act and to perform acts on one's own responsibility. Freedom is a force for growth and maturity in the truth. From the viewpoint of Church teaching, the connection of freedom to truth is clear.

A person must know and understand the truth of the issue about which a decision is being made. If understanding the truth is not present, the quality of the decisions will be poor, they will probably not last and, in some cases, may even lack the criteria for validity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church stresses that proper choices lead to growth in goodness and that living in goodness deepens our freedom. It is important to remember that human freedom is limited and fallible.

The Scriptures give us many examples of decisions for sin. Those decisions are an abuse of freedom and they lead to the slavery of sin. Freedom needs the help of grace for Christ has set us free. Through grace, the Holy Spirit can deepen our sense of what is true and what is good. The ministry of the Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom.

Conclusion

The celebrations of Holy Week teach us the truth that Jesus has won salvation for all. In Jesus, we have communion with the truth that makes us free.

Yet there is still a challenge for us: we must freely accept the truth of salvation on the terms of God. When we accept God's gift of salvation, we must still remain ever alert. Why? Because we are free and it is always possible that we can change our minds. Celebrate Holy Week well!