Fed by the Truth

God is the source of all truth. His Word is truth.

Just as the body needs food, water and oxygen to live, the three powers of the soul, the intellect, will and emotions need to be nourished by reality. The Intellect needs to be nourished by reality in the form of truth. The Will needs to be nourished by reality in the form of goodness. And the emotions need to be nourished by reality in the form of beauty. Without food and water, the body will die. Without reality in the form of truth, goodness and beauty the soul begins to die from a sense that life is meaningless.

The Intellect was made for truth like the stomach was made for food. Too often, instead of feeding our intellect with reality, the real food it needs, we settle for a cheap counterfeit of being “well informed” through the news and social media that does not give us reality and therefore truth. In our need, our addiction to be well informed we have turned into junk food addicts garbo dining on that which is not true.

Lent starts next Wednesday. So here is a challenge this Lent: pay attention to how many minutes each day you spend being well informed by the news or social media – whichever form your addiction is served to you. Then spend at least an equal amount of time reading or listening to the Word of God whether that’s through the Bible, Sacred Tradition, or the writings of the saints. This lent, find a way to put truth back into your diet.