Hard Truths

(Note: Today’s guest blogger is Mary Heveron-Smith. Among other things, she is a writer and a former English teacher. Mary is an active member of our faith community and is part of SPARC (Spiritus Christi Anti-Racism Committee) and has been instrumental in helping Spiritus move forward in this arena. We’re fortunate to have her voice for today’s readings)

Today’s readings have to do with sharing our truths.  Jesus tells His disciples in the Gospel of Matthew that he has come not to abolish the law or the prophets, “but to fulfill” the laws and the words of the prophets. Moses tells the Israelites not just to tell their truths, but to keep these truths alive. 

What happens, however, when we realize or uncover that what we thought was true may not be as straightforward as we previously thought?

For example, I’m in the midst of writing about my Rochester pioneer ancestors, and I have a lot of conflicting feelings. I’m a proud descendant who still wonders what “my people” could have done and did not do regarding racial equity. We might ask: Should an uncovering of the pernicious sides of our past make the parts we have cherished any less cherished? 

Gloria Johnson-Hovey, social worker and founder of the Roc Juneteenth 5K Run/Walk, often reminds us that once we know a somber truth, we can’t “un-know it,”  and we have a responsibility to share it. Her words connect us to Moses, in the first reading, when he tells the Israelites to keep the truth of God’s presence alive, “not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, …but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.” 

Alex Mikulich, a leader in our Spiritus Anti-Racism Coalition, and author of Unlearning White Supremacy (Orbis Books, 2022), knows how urgent it is to let nothing stand in the way of being a “truth-teller.”  In Part I of his book, Mikulich takes a deep dive into early colonialism, the beginnings of “anti-Black white supremacy,” and the role of the Catholic Church in all of this. I asked him: How does a Catholic reckon with this history? 

His response is full of hope: “The answer is love…Truth telling is rooted in love.  I know from personal experience that truth telling can be extremely painful… It is no different with our beloved Church.…All of the mystics…call us to truthful remembering and truth telling in the name of the One who unites us in love.  The Church will not become the Beloved Community unless it tells the truth to itself and the world.” 

In the second half of his book, Mikulich advises us on practical ways to live more justly.  And we can’t avoid the hard parts.  Learning to “be with discomfort and work through conflict together” is part of the work, he tells us.   

Let us ask God during our Lenten journey to help us live with and work through any feelings of conflict and discomfort, as we learn to be loving truth-tellers.