A man once called himself The Truth His claim is gaining ground And though He often seems aloof He’s ever near! For where there’s but an ounce of truth, He’s found
Where science explores celestial sparks Or glances quantum dances Or documents new breeds of larks He’s shining there! “Eureka” moments gladly He advances
He’s root and branch of any truth That’s found in creed or “ism” Those mixed with falsehoods, lots or few He’s purging now! Transforming every viewwith Spirit-Chrism
Where truth is violently denied Or outlawed, crushed, or jailed Where for the truth, some even die They die for Him! Where truth is hailed, He’s found…
And one day, all will see The Truth unfettered
Andunveiled
***
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” -John 14:6
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” -Matthew 5:10-12
Cake OR ice cream? Burger OR fries? Happy OR holy? Daring OR wise? Law OR freedom? Science OR Creed? Blood and sweat and tearsOR Patient prayers I’ll need?
Love my neighbor OR my Lord? Save the planet OR save the poor? Dimes and quarters have two sides Serve wherever in disguise God mourns Or cries
Adore at Mass OR past closed doors? Implore at church OR bedroom floor? Confess to priest OR in one’s mind? Not OR but AND to find The Lord Enshrined
But does God speak through verse OR pope? Transcendent OR descending near? Is Christ in man OR in the Host? While in the latter, Present most
In both, to be
Revered
Not OR but AND! He’s high AND low His ruses fade; His Face appears For in each lad or lass… distressed Yes, in the “least of these”… oppressed He’s often missably, in-explicably… In each slum… surreptitiously… And in each child… hug and kissably… Here
My science prof once sat me down at lunch and gushed with pride “I’ve spied how hard you’ve worked… With all your heart, you’ve tried!”
He shared he’d like to tutor me in things not taught in class I said, “I guess, but will it help me pass?”
He grinned and said, “Of course! Let’s start! For seniors and for youth Two wings are sorely needed… To soar and fly to truth
“Like Beatrice, or Morpheus, I will open up your eyes So listen well”, he mumbled, munching fries
“The Matter-only Vision says, the tangible is real The things that you can sense Or measure, test, or feel It holds that all that matters is the matter you can hold On the Matter-only Vision, are you sold?”
I mused, “So if I get it, on physics this is founded The only things that count Are things that can be counted The view that all that’s valuable is viewable by eyes But in the face of many faiths, this flies!”
My mentor chuckled, stating, “You have grasped the concept clearly There’s more, please hear me out But first, you have a query?”
I stated, “I believe in God, and I believe science Could both beliefs be somehow in alliance?”
He jumped, capsized his mug, and cried, “Of course! They’re best of friends! They complement each other On each, the truth depends! A score of famous scientists were also faithful Christians Like Bacon, Llull and Ockham: all Franciscans!”
I paused and posed, “I guess they had a different kind of vision?”
He nodded, “Yes! Passed down through loooooong tradition!”
“The Sacramental Vision says that while what’s seen is real The unseen is as well To me, this view appeals It holds, what matters most is that which eyes cannot behold When hearts learn how to see, new worlds unfold!”
I realized that the sandwich in my hand I’d not yet bitten His words were oddly filling Such wonders left me smitten I stated, “This is deeper than your class, but no offense!” “I see”, he laughed and cried, “it’s making sense!”
I thought, “I just can’t wait to tell my friends about this stuff!”
He drew a breath, sat down, and on he spieled
“The spirit realm’s unseen, yet by the stuff of earth, revealed Things visible are symbols Unveiling what’s concealed That realm is, in a sense, more real than that which senses sense Is all this clear as mud, or too intense?”
I wagged my head and spurred him on, my breath held in suspense
He plucked his glasses, pointing to a lens
“The Matter-only Lens examines galaxies or Mars, while The Sacramental Lens Sees past the sea of stars The former says that love is merely chemical reactions The latter, soul and body interactions”
“The former claims our bodies have no purpose but to live and thrill The latter, that they teach us Our purpose, and God’s Will The former has a scope confined to human scopes and tools The latter isn’t bound by physics’ rules!”
The bell then yanked my head from new and mind-expanding clouds “May we pick up tomorrow” I begged, “as time allows?” He cried, “Of course! And bring a friend who might enjoy this topic!” “I will!” I said, “It’s made me less… myopic!”
That night in bed I pondered, head upon the pillow resting The Matter-only Vision Is flatter; dull; depressing! It claims that when I die, so dies my “I”, as worms lay claim The other Vision… sparks my heart aflame!
That wise old bird! He’d shoved me from the nest to spread both wings
Of science and of faith
To help me find fresh things
To let me scan the heights with eyes of flesh and eyes of heart
And glimpse the skyward sights new Vision brings!
*****
“Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth.” -Pope St. John Paul II, Fides etc Ratio
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
“He kept calling them to what was primary by means of what was secondary, that is, through foreshadowings to the reality, through things of time to the things of eternity, through things of the flesh to the things of the spirit, through earthly things to the heavenly things.” -St Irenaeus, Against Heresies
