Darkness

“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God.” (Jn 3:19-21)

As St. John tells us, darkness hides things but the light exposes evil. From this we can deduce that lying, which hides the truth, is a form of darkness. We also know that lying is tied directly to the devil, the father of lies. [Jesus said] “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn 8:44-45)

During a recent meeting of one of our parish’s men’s groups our deacon reviewed the Catechism’s coverage of the eighth commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (2464) While many think this means things like not committing perjury (which is addressed in art. 2476), it really covers all aspects of not telling the truth, i.e., lying (2483). Basically, lying is the misrepresentation of the truth (CCC 2464). When viewed this way, one can see the broader implications of this commandment. Article 2468 explains further: “Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthfulness in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy.” St. Augustine wrote, “A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving.” (De Mendacio)

As the deacon went through various articles in this section the men in the group could not help but think of the news media and politicians of today. This thought really hit home when the deacon read these words, “The culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.”

The whole abortion world comes to mind at this point. Think of the lies told to convince women to get abortions (and to make the public complicit in this travesty): it’s just a blob of tissue, you’ll recover without problems, it’s an act of love, it’s not murder, it’s your right (to kill your innocent child). There are a lot of politicians who call themselves Christians (and even Catholics) who not only believe that abortion is OK, but aggressively promote it. Think of the current administration and its attacks on so much of what the Catholic Church teaches. The most obvious is our president, but there are many in his administration who claim to be Catholic while promoting abortion, LGBTQ lifestyle, and transgenderism.

These people are walking in darkness and bringing darkness to our country and the world. The darkness is further exacerbated by the communications media, whose job, as outlined in the Catechism, is to serve the common good (2493). Yet, they are complicit in all the lies pushed by the progressive elites in the country who claim moral superiority and knowledge while actually harming the general population; hardly working toward the common good (2494). The words of Isaiah come to mind: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” (Is 5:20-21)

The Decree on the Media of Social Communications, Inter Mirifica, promulgated by Pope St. Paul VI in 1963 notes, “The public authority, in these matters, is bound by special responsibilities in view of the common good, to which these media are ordered. The same authority has, in virtue of its office, the duty of protecting and safeguarding true and just freedom of information, a freedom that is totally necessary for the welfare of contemporary society, especially when it is a question of freedom of the press.” Words to ponder as we approach the next election.

Think about the lies propounded during the COVID dilemma, especially concerning masking (known to be ineffective prior to COVID), vaccine effectiveness and safety, Ivermectin “is an animal drug” (it has been used to treat humans since 1987), and so on. Meanwhile the country was plunged into darkness with churches being closed while abortion clinics, bars and strip clubs were kept open. Killing babies was essential while God was not.

And, besides killing babies in the womb, what could be darker than the mutilation of children to fill the coffers of doctors and clinics who tout the false idea that gender can be changed? Even Europe, frequently more liberal than the U.S., is stopping such treatments.

We need to turn to the light. These evil works must continue to be exposed. It will be difficult in view of the control the current party in power and the media have on information and propaganda generation and distribution. What is difficult to understand, in a country enamored with pleasure seeking, is that the more these programs are pushed the more unhappy people become, and still they double down on their position. Researchers have shown that those who believe in God, who follow the light, are happier, more stable, more law-abiding, more engaged with others, and even healthier than those who are not. Of course, the elites continue to deny the facts in an effort to justify doing whatever they please, regardless of the negative effect it has on them, their lives, their families, and the country. They do not realize that, without God, nothing they do has value.

These people are restless and in spiritual darkness. St. Augustine recognized this during his conversion from a life without God to a life in the light: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (Confessions)

Pope John Paul II wrote, “To claim the right to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom ...”

That a life without God will bring happiness is one of the biggest lies the devil has persuaded too much of the world to believe. “Satan’s primary lie that deceives humanity, keeps it in spiritual infancy and causes more suffering than anything else, is the lie that selfishness is fun and unselfishness is not.” (Peter Kreeft & Ronald Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics)

“God has to keep reminding us of the two most obvious truths in the world: that we are not him, and that he is not us.” Dr. Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul, Cycle C.

“If Christ has chosen the Cross, Satan has chosen the stage.” (Fanzaga, Fr. L., The Deceiver: Our Daily Struggle with Satan)