Keeping My Word

By Fr. Conor Donnelly

(Proofread)

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My Lord and my God, I firmly believe that you are here, that you see me, that you hear me. I adore you with profound reverence. I ask your pardon for my sins and grace to make this time of prayer fruitful. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

“Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and let your 'No’ be ‘No’” (Matt. 5:37).

Our Lord praises those who keep their word. Our word of honor should be sufficient guarantee.

In Our Lord's time, the practice of oath-taking had fallen into disrepute due to the frequency and lack of seriousness with which oaths were taken.

Our Lord opposed that custom, and with the formula, “But I say to you…” which He frequently used to show the divine origin of what He was saying, He forbade calling on God to witness, not only to a lie but also to those matters where a person's word ought to have been enough.

Our Lord gives great importance to honesty; to integrity. “Behold, an Israelite, in whom there is no guile,” He said about Nathaniel, later called Bartholomew (John 1:47).

He said the devil “is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44) and He proclaimed Himself to be “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).

To take an oath, that is to say, to call upon God to witness to the truth of what we are saying, or as a guarantor of a promise, is lawful, and at times necessary when circumstances warrant it.

It is then an act of the virtue of religion and redounds to the honor and the glory of God. The prophet Jeremiah tells us that swearing “in truth, in justice, and in uprightness” is pleasing to God (Jer. 4:2).

What we state must be true, spoken prudently and not lightly or rashly, and must refer to something just and good.

When there is no pressing need, our word as Christians and as honorable men and women should be sufficient, because of our being known as people who seek the truth and keep our promises.

We want to be loyal and faithful to Christ, to whatever commitments we have freely taken on, also to our family and friends and to those who employ us.

In most situations in life, to give our word would be an adequate guarantee of our truthfulness and fidelity. But for this to be so, we have to be truthful in little things, willing to correct our mistakes and fulfill our commitments.

We can ask ourselves: Do the members of our family, our friends, our workmates know us to be loyal and faithful? Do they know that we will never tell a lie, even in a joking way, to achieve some good or to avoid some evil?

We have to try and practice love for the truth, always and in every circumstance.

Christ attacked hypocrisy and falsehood very forcefully (cf. Matt. 23:13-32). Truthfulness is one of the virtues He praised most: “Behold, an Israelite, in whom there is no guile” (John 1:47).

He spoke of Himself as being “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6), and the devil as “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

People who follow Our Lord must be honorable and sincere in their doings. They have to avoid deceitful behavior and be truthful in their dealings with both God and man.

Truth is taught by word and example. Our Lord is a witness of His Father (cf. John 3:11), of the apostles (cf. Acts 1:8) and the first Christians, and now we are witnesses of Christ to a world that needs living testimony.

But how will our friends and colleagues believe the truths we wish to pass on to them unless our own lives are based on a real love for the truth?

That's one of the reasons why we have to have a hatred for every lie. Try and make a resolution never to tell a lie for the rest of your life.

We ought to be able to say, with Christ, that we have come into the world “to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37) at a time when many use lies and deceit to achieve promotion or a greater degree of material well-being, to avoid commitment or sacrifice, or simply through cowardice and lack of human virtue.

Our Lord taught us that love for the truth is a necessary quality for being His follower. Such love brings peace, because “the truth will make you free” (John 8:32).

We need to be exemplary in this matter, being ready to live our lives, build up our material wealth, and do our job with a great love for the truth.

We have to love the truth and also put effort into finding it, and do the apostolate of truth, and challenge organizations when the truth may seem to be lacking.

Several years ago in a certain country, there was an organization that was set up. It was the “National Truth in the Media campaign”—an interesting initiative.

At times blinded by sin, passion, pride, and materialism, we won't find truth unless we love it. It can be easy to fall in with a lie when it comes, as it may be disguised or might be open, as a means to achieving more prestige or get ahead in our profession.

When we are faced with temptation, no matter how it presents itself, we have to recall the clear, unambiguous teaching of Christ: “Let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and let your 'No’ be ‘No’” (Matt. 5:37).

We are obliged in justice to be truthful, and also out of respect and love for our neighbor. The dignity of other people demands it.

That same respect for those listening to us would bring us sometimes not to express our own ideas and opinions indiscreetly, but to take into account their age and also, their degree of formation.

Love for the truth which someone has confided to us will bring us to be morally upright in cases of professional secrecy or discretion, or with the person's right to privacy.

If necessary, we should ask for advice about how to behave when confronted with someone who wants information to which they have no right.

I heard of a journalist once who called a professional person and asked this person if he was of this opinion or that opinion, or if he belonged to this organization or that organization.

The person said, “Well, I won't affirm it and I won't deny it.” In other words, he was saying that really, it is not your position to know.

When we give our word, in a certain sense we give ourselves. We put ‘on the line’ what is most intimate to ourselves. In spite of personal failings, a true disciple and follower of Christ will be honest and loyal, a man of his word.

In the Church, Christians are called ‘the faithful.’ This term underlines the state acquired by members of the People of God through Baptism (cf. Álvaro del Portillo, Faithful and Laity in the Church).

But a person who inspires confidence, whom we can trust, can also be called faithful. People like others to live up to the confidence placed in them, to the demands of love, friendship, or duty. That kind of person keeps their word.

In Scripture, the term ‘faithful’ is also applied to God Himself because no one is more worthy of trust than He. God is always faithful to His promises; He never fails to keep His word.

In St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, we're told, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Whoever keeps his word is faithful. The person who fulfills their commitments to God and to others is loyal.

But our society often falls into doubt and relativism. Many people, irrespective of their age, are often ignorant of the noble obligation to keep their word, to fulfill the commitments they once assumed with complete freedom, or to behave by the decisions that they have made before God and man, in civil or religious life.

Difficulties may arise, but the faith and teaching of the Church and the example of the saints show us that it is possible to live these virtues. God does not deny His grace to those who do what they can.

We must be firmly convinced, and help others to have the same conviction that it is possible to live all the virtues with all the demands they may make.

Sometimes we might hear of an idea that is in vogue: that virtues and commitments are ‘ideals’ or ‘goals’ to aim at, but without much hope of attaining them. We could ask Our Lord that we might never fall into that error.

A Christian who is loyal will not cave in when upright moral behavior imposes or seems to impose serious difficulties.

We have the great example of St. Thomas More that the Church has given to us. “This is not the stuff of which martyrs were made,” he said, very aware of his own limitations.

We can ask God for an upright conscience. One who gives in may desire in theory to practice a particular virtue, may wish not to sin, but in practice considers that when the temptation is great or the difficulties serious, he is more or less justified in giving in.

This can happen in one's work situation, or when faced with the obligation to react energetically when sensuality threatens to supervene, or when a serious effort has to be made to finance the children’s education, or to be faithful to one’s spouse, or to one’s vocation.

Our Lord tells us in St. Matthew, “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock” (Matt. 7:25).

The greatest praise we could receive would be that we have been faithful to Christ—that Christ can rely on us, no matter what present or future circumstances may bring; that our friends can know that we will not let them down; that society can trust us, knowing that we will keep our word and fulfill our obligations freely and responsibly.

One writer says, “When making a night journey by train, have you never thought how the lives of hundreds of persons are in the hands of the driver and the signalman, who in spite of hunger and thirst must stay at their posts?

“The life of a whole country, the life of the world, depends on the fidelity of men in fulfilling their duties at work and in society, and in adhering to their contracts and being faithful to their word” (Georges Chevrot, But I Say to You).

And all this without having to call upon God as a witness, but simply as upright and loyal citizens.

And so, may your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your 'no’ be ‘no,’ honorable people, loyal in fulfilling small daily duties, without recourse to lies or deceit at work, being simple and prudent, fleeing all murkiness, open and plain in what we say or do.

This is a wonderful virtue to instill in young people: a love for the truth, no matter what the consequences.

If we are loyal to our fellow men, then with God's grace we will be loyal to Christ, and that is what really counts.

We’re told in St. Luke, “He who is faithful in very little is faithful also in much” (Luke 16: 10). We won't be upright and faithful to Christ unless we are loyal in our everyday human dealings.

It's very pleasant when a friend comes to us in the midst of some difficulty and says, “You can count on me!”

In our prayer, with simplicity and with an awareness of our weakness, we can approach Our Lord and say, “Lord, you can count on me!” We could use the same words as an aspiration throughout the day.

We could ask Our Lady, who is also Virgin Most Faithful, to help us to be loyal and faithful, each and every daym in fulfilling our obligations and duties.

The Lord is truth in all its fullness. The truth comes to us from Him (cf. John 1:14,17).

Christ's teaching, His life, and His death all constitute a testimonial to the truth (cf. John 18:37). Whoever has the truth is of God and hears the word of God (cf. John 8:44).

Truth has its origin in God. Falsehood has its source in opposition to God. That's why Jesus calls the devil “the father of lies” (John 8:44), since he was the first liar. As a result, he who lies has the devil for his father.

The Church reproves not only the liar who by his lie hurts others. She also disapproves of those who “lie for recreation or entertainment, as well as those who lie for the sake of worldly interests” (Catechism of the Council of Trent, III, 37), and this even if no one appears to suffer as a result.

The lack of honesty to be found in lying or hypocrisy, or in leading such a double life as insincerity involves, is a manifestation of interior discord. A man or woman who lives like this is like a broken bell, discordant and out of tune.

Our Lord showed His appreciation for authenticity many times: “Behold, a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile” (John 1:47). Our Lord wants to be able to say that about every Christian.

We live in a time when our culture puts a great premium on sincerity. And yet, this period of the world's history has become known as the “time of falsehood and of lying. Among others,” said Cardinal Luciani, later Pope John Paul I, “the list of impostors includes those members of the press who, spreading scandalous indiscretions and slanderous insinuations, appeal to people's lowest instincts, gradually corrupting their moral sense.

“To the press,” he says, “one could add movies, radio, television. These instruments, useful in themselves, when handled by shrewd operators, bombard people with sounds and colors and hidden persuasion, which is all the more effective because of being hidden.

“Such media are capable, little by little, of making the best fathers hated by their children, of making white seem black, and vice versa” (John Paul I / Albino Luciani, Illustrissimi).

This may be how the habits of thought and the customs of people are being transformed in our culture.

Whenever possible, we should try and use the means of communication to give sound doctrine to society as a whole. A letter to a newspaper or a phone call to a radio program is within everybody's reach. This is one of the ways whereby we spread the truth.

We should try and stress those ideas which have a transcendental importance for social progress—the defense of life from its conception; the dignity of the family and of the person; social justice; the right to work; due concern for the weakest members of society.

In many cases, we can communicate these ideas in simple ways, in a short three-line letter to a newspaper, or making a telephone call to a radio station, or by participating in opinion polls or on radio programs, or also making our views known to our public representatives.

These are the means available to us to show our approval or our disapproval of a program or an article that either reinforces fundamental human morality or fails to do so.

These may seem small measures, but many small measures can add up to a considerable impact on the media.

I knew a man a few years ago who phoned into a radio program because he was impressed with the pro-family orientation that there was.

The following day, he was surprised—he got a call back from the compere of the show, thanking him for phoning in. Sometimes we think the whole country is phoning into these programs, but the reality may be that nobody is.

The compere thanked him, “because,” he said, “I had to struggle a lot with my producer to be able to give this orientation to the program, and your phoning in has made a big difference. It's helped a lot.”

In our day, there is a special need for men and women in the middle of the world who are true to their word, who live a unity of life, who refuse to hide from the consequences of their beliefs, who will not be conditioned to fall in with the opinions or ways of other people.

St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that truthfulness is the virtue that inclines us to speak the truth always and to manifest outwardly what we think inwardly (cf. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, Question 109).

There are times also when we're not under any obligation to speak the truth, and where, in fact, we may be bound not to reveal it. Such cases can be situations of professional matters, or national security, or other serious issues.

An important area where this also applies has to do with the sacramental seal of Confession and whatever relates to spiritual direction.

There are ways of withholding the truth without having to lie.

Situations arise also in which information is being sought about a matter the enquirer has no business asking about. There may also be extreme cases of an aggressive inquisitor.

One spiritual writer says, “Let us remember that often it is our own fault if we are asked indiscrete questions. If we were more recollected and silent, people would not ask them of us, or at least they would do so only rarely” (Réginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Three Ages of the Interior Life).

We can try and imitate Our Lord in His love for the truth. We should try and shun all types of falsehood or anything that has the odor of hypocrisy.

St. Josemaría in the Furrow says, “You were reading in that dictionary the synonyms for insincere: ‘two-faced, surreptitious, evasive, disingenuous, sly.’ —As you closed the book, you asked the Lord that nobody should ever be able to apply those adjectives to you, and you resolved to improve much more in this supernatural and human virtue of sincerity” (Josemaría Escrivá, Furrow, Point 337).

We can ask Our Lady who “pondered all these things carefully in her heart” (Luke 2:19,51), that she too might help us to ponder the importance of our love for the truth, and to put that into practice daily.

I thank you, my God, for the good resolutions, affections, and inspirations that you have communicated to me during this meditation. I ask your help to put them into practice. My Immaculate Mother, Saint Joseph, my father and lord, my guardian angel, intercede for me.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

NJF