It has been a week of changes. You once again settle yourself into a peaceful meditative spirit of prayer. You close your eyes and pray to the Holy Spirit, "Lead me into the desert." After a few minutes you feel the heat of the sun on your face. You open your mind and eyes to another prayerful encounter. You seem to be standing all by yourself. As you look down you notice in large letters the word "TRUTH". You look at it and then look all around. As your eyes search the distant horizon you feel the familiar hand on your shoulder.
You turn and smile at Dominic. "I'm happy to see you. I thought I might be out here all alone."
Dominic returns the smile and says, "You are never alone. You did look a little lost, though, as if you were looking for something."
"Well, I was. I saw the word truth over there, and I wondered what that was all about."
Dominic nodded as if he understood. "Many wonder what the truth is, but they seem to have difficulty looking at it and turn their eyes away. Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"How important is the truth to you?"
"It's very important. I don't like when people lie to me."
"I see," said Dominic. "Are you good at lying to others?"
For a few minutes you think about his question. "I don't know how to answer that question," you admit. "Do I lie? Of course I do, everyone does. There are plenty of times when honesty is just difficult. It can hurt people's feelings. It also helps me avoid uncomfortable situations and sometimes it is just necessary in order to to avoid being penalized. I don't go around telling malicious lies just the small ones that don't really matter." As you awkwardly shift your gaze away from Dominic, you notice the word "truth" appears much smaller and then disappears completely. "Hey, where did it go?" you ask.
"Where did what go?" Dominic replies.
"Truth" just disappeared," you answer.
"It often does. Are you willing to search for it?" inquires Dominic.
"Where?"
"In your own life. Spend this next week searching for the truth. What lies have you told others or told yourself. Where is truth missing in your life?"
-Susan
