Lansing
June 20, 2025
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Welcome to week twenty-five of BMW, Be My Witnesses. This week we will continue with another learning session. The work of the Spirit in our lives seeks to keep truth and love united. We know that can be a difficult task. It is not so much a balancing act as an embracing of Jesus who is both truth and love.
Learn: Truth and Love Together
God is love! All of us appreciate this assertion in the first Letter of St. John: “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love” (I Jn 4:8). Earlier, he wrote, “Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth” (I Jn 3:18). It is this combination which the Psalmist lauds: “Love and truth will meet, justice and peace will kiss” (Psalm 85:11).
Love and truth. Clearly, these belong together. But, how? As I mentioned earlier, this is not a balancing act. Rather, God is love and God is truth, both of those describe God. And we, who are in the image of God, are meant to be loving and truthful as well.
There is really no love without truth and truth without love is barren. In fact, Paul several times speaks of these two virtues. “If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (I Cor 13:1); “[love] does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth” (I Cor 13:6); “living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). St. John Paul concludes: “Do not accept anything as the truth if it lacks love. And do not accept anything as love which lacks truth! One without the other becomes a destructive lie” (Homily, Canonization of St Edith Stein).
Yet, again, how to be both truthful and loving, especially as this is worked out in our daily interactions with one another. I have often said that merely spouting truth, simply for the sake of getting something off our chest, is not the best approach. We must first love the other. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, reinforced this, “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). I was encouraged early on in my priesthood to love the people I was sent to serve; in fact, that this should be my first action, to love them. If we are inclined to speak truth, but cannot seem to muster up love for those we are addressing, then the best thing is to keep silent.
Jesus also urged us to pray, as we just heard. Prayer should surround any of our encounters with others where we feel compelled to speak truth. And when we have prayed, we should pray some more. This will help us to keep our motivations pure, that we are truly seeking, in love, the good of the other and that, ultimately, all is left to God, who alone can look into the heart.
This does not mean that we do not speak truth where it is needed to be heard, but it must be a loving truth. We all need to remind ourselves that we are always sinners speaking to sinners. God did not abandon us sinners. Rather, as Paul wrote, “But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). We cannot do any less.
The Challenge
So, for our challenge this week is to read the section of the Catechism dealing with Charity (articles 1822-1829) and with Truth (articles 2465-2474). Until next week, may God Bless you.
I am sincerely yours in Christ,
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Below is a video version of this week's Be My Witnesses. Please do share with family and friends. Thank you. God bless you.