(53) Truthfulness

"Realizing that we are always in God's presence, we strive
after truthfulness and reject deceit and hypocrisy."
[Guy-Marie Oury, O.S.B., ST BENEDICT, BLESSED BY GOD,
Liturgical Press, 1980, p. 39.]

Comment: At the time of publication, Guy-Marie Oury was a
monk of the Abbey of Solesmes in France.

The above little sentence speaks of something immensely
important. Deceit is about deception--not just only about
deceiving someone else in an unseemly manner, but about
deceiving ourselves! We probably engage in self-deception
more than we realize. (Me? I'm guilty as charged.)

As to the "how and why" of self-deception, such remains a
private story for each and every individual. But when we do
engage in deceiving others, well that's another ball-of-wax.
There's all sorts of fraud. One that oft sticks out in our mind is
financial fraud. However, the one that sticks out in *my* mind
is spiritual fraud.

We have had many cases of fraudulent do-gooders, who oft
cover up financial fraud by preying on the spiritual good will
of believers. And it's not only cushioned in Religion, but also
in questionable charities. This all points to yet another issue:
hypocrisy.

People pretend to be who they are not, and such pretension
is usually connected with fraud. But this pretension, too, can
be connected with self-deception. In spiritual ways some of
us can presume a kind of "perfection" that gives them sway
over others, maybe even over themselves! Following specific
spiritual or religious prescriptions, we absolutely know that we
have "got it."

Maybe this is why I like the old Benedictine message that we
"stumble and get up again, over and over." There's a sincere
truthfulness in this old observation. There's also a practicality
in this, as I see it.

Being true to our self, admitting that we might stumble, reflects
our need to improve or to grow, to evolve. Via such truthfulness
we can become more conscious not only of our mistakes but
also of our potential.

There's that biblical adage about Truth that can set you free.
Of course, to be biblically correct, it's about understanding the
Truth of Jesus. Yet this adage has long morphed into other
meanings. But baseline, I believe, is becoming better towards
understanding the Truth about our self, about who we are,
about how we relate in this world, etc. Might take a lifetime,
but monastics realize this.