The Way, the Truth and the Life

As we continue hearing from Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper, we consider today these beautiful words of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

You might see this inscription with old artistic depictions of Jesus: “Ego sum via et veritas et vita.” In Latin they are words that all start with ‘v.’

The Way

Jesus is our way. We humans can do a lot of things, but we cannot travel to heaven. We have made it to the moon and our machines have made it to other celestial bodies. Two of them have left the solar system and are in interstellar space.

But we cannot figure out a way to journey to heaven. Many of our most brilliant scientists even deny that there is a heaven or an afterlife.

It is Jesus, the one who came from heaven, who can get us there. It is by uniting ourselves to him through faith and through baptism that we get to heaven. For most people baptism comes first, then faith, as a person grows in understanding and is taught our faith. For converts like me, faith came first, which prompted me to seek and receive baptism.

The Truth

Jesus is the truth. He taught us about God. He taught us how to live.

It is not enough to believe in Jesus and to receive baptism. We learn about God and about how we are to live. We are called to live in this world doing good and avoiding evil. Our faith tells us what Jesus taught and the Church informs us about right and wrong in today’s world. It is essential to live according to this teaching.

As we grow in understanding, we learn more of Jesus’ truth. We are then called to live more and more according to this truth.

The Life

But we do not do this by our own unaided efforts, because Jesus is our life. We do not try to journey to heaven on our own. This would be like sending a spaceship to heaven. It is just not possible. The Book of Genesis, written before we invented spaceships, describes the endeavor as the construction of a giant tower that should have reached heaven. It did not succeed.

Through faith, through prayer, through receiving the sacraments, we receive grace from Jesus. This grace is our spiritual life. It is our supernatural help so that we can live “in spirit and in truth.” We can become people who are a light to the world, who are the salt of the earth. We become people living as we are meant to live.

Through this Easter season and throughout the year, we follow Jesus, our risen Lord, who is everything for us.

[Readings: Acts 13:26-33; Jn 14:1-6]

Fr. Mike Moore

Fr. Michael Moore converted to the Catholic faith, being baptized as a freshman in college. He was ordained in the country of Slovakia, spent time in Russia, and now is pastor of St. Peter's Church in Lemoore, California.

1 Comment

  1. Steven & Kathy Wee on May 5, 2023 at 9:09 am

    Thank you Father Mike. I can almost hear your voice as I read you words.

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