Knowledge of Truth

“This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved, and come to knowledge of the truth.”

Today Saint Paul reminds Timothy and all of us, that salvation is tied to knowledge of the truth. This is not too abstract a concept for us to grasp. Let’s say for example, a friend of yours at dinner suddenly starts to choke on a piece of steak. Your knowledge and awareness of the Heimlich maneuver will allow you to save his life. But the salvation and knowledge that Saint Paul refers to is much more profound and demanding than even that.

One of the more powerful documentaries to be released about the tragic events of 9/11 was done by two French brothers: Though when they initiated their plans for filming it, they had no idea that this event of unimaginable magnitude would occur. The documentary began harmlessly enough in the early part of the summer of 2001 and focused on a young man, a probey as new trainees are not so affectionately referred to, who was training and being prepared to be a firefighter.

Having to endure an initiation that is almost akin to joining a frat house, the more grueling part of his training was learning the incredibly demanding trade of fighting fires, supporting your crew and helping to save lives when need be.

During one of the more tiring and wearisome moments of his early training, the eager young cadet made the following remark about pursuing a career in firefighting: “To love it…you gotta learn it.” This quote is the pearl of great wisdom which is the foundation statement of our Christian Faith and the mission demanded of each of us by this Faith.

The probey knew that without any prior training and experience, one can’t just show up to an emergency, especially a deadly fire, and then proceed to help and save others. Without any knowledge of what to do and how to respond, one might rather wind up injuring others or worse, killing them.

After all, who would be comfortable going under the knife of a so called surgeon who had no prior medical training, let alone ever having gone to med school? And how invaluable was that training, how crucial was the probey’s fire engine company’s training and experience when having to face one of the greatest and most dangerous crisis in modern times…the terrorist attacks on the Two Towers.

But even more challenging than these events, is our life of committed faith…and not only for a single day, week or month…but extending one’s entire lifetime. Having to confront the greatest challenges that any person will face: Satan, sin, suffering and death:

If one is not engaged in the process of acquiring knowledge of one’s Catholic Christian Faith and is not in the process of serious preparation and training for one’s successful completion of one’s mission of discipleship in this life:

Then tragedy after tragedy will continue to dominate individual lives, families and entire cultures. What training is to the fireman so he can with confidence help his crew mates and with greater confidence and courage save lives…so is prayer to a Catholic, so that with confidence and courage he can support the members of the Church and help Christ save souls.

Prayer is communication and communication allows one to acquire knowledge. In this instance, it is knowledge of God who is perfect love, who is perfect truth. Just as when the probey said, to love it, you first have to learn it, very similarly one can’t love what or who one does not or refuses to know.

This is why, as related to us by Sacred Scripture: the marital act, or greatest expression of intimacy between man and woman is referred to as “knowing”. Adam took Eve for his wife and knew her.

Love making means to know each other because in this expression of marital devotion and fidelity, the two become one heart, one soul and one flesh. In other words, one’s whole being…flesh and soul…is communicated in this expression of love that is so potent, so total that it leads to the creation of new life. Knowledge is power, only if that knowledge is first and foremost awareness and love of God and all His commandments.

We have no idea then how vital and necessary attending Mass is. It is more than simply having to keep a third commandment as marriage is more than just a wedding reception…there is infinitely more to it than that. At Mass and through one’s prayerful participation in it and prior preparation for it, we learn about God…we then love God, we then live God.

This is very much like the probey who in showing up for work each day, responds to training each day and is prepared and readied to fight and overcome all sorts of dangers and challenges. He is able to do so not only with a disciplined body put through some really tough work outs and heavy liftings, but a disciplined mind and heart that has been strengthened and enlightened by the acquisition of this all important knowledge.

The most intimate moment in any Catholic’s life, even more so than the greatest intimacy shared between a husband and wife is the reception of Holy Communion: We become one flesh with God…fully present body and blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist…our Amen at Communion time is our I do…and what spouse to be would dare say I do to a complete stranger?

Mass is then the most powerful form of prayer because it is the most intimate form of communication between two people…us and God. It is a love that expresses and gives itself entirely: This is My Body which is given up for you.

To remove prayer and Mass from one’s life is like a firefighter showing up to a 9/11 like disaster without any equipment…the fire will very quickly consume and destroy him, not allowing him the chance to be any good to the men whose team he had hoped to be a part of, and those lives needing to be rescued.

Life is too challenging, salvation to demanding to refuse training and equipment. To love it, you gotta learn it…To love God, you gotta know him…and as a man and woman’s love for each other, intimate knowledge and awareness of each other leads them to the altar of Holy Matrimony…so God’s love for you and I, His intimate knowledge and awareness of us, must lead us to the Altar of Holy Communion.