Relativism is the constant bane of our human existence. From our first parents in the garden who made their own desires the definitive point of reference for their lives to the postmodern person who becomes tragically hyper-individualized through an unending sequence of “I feel…” statements, it is practically our default setting to be stuck in ourselves! And while well-meaning religious people may try to side-step such dead-ends by substituting religious ideas and imagery for the language of the self, they can just as easily get caught up in ecclesiastical relativism, such as obsessing over liturgical traditions or doctrinal expressions or moral concepts, which gets them no closer to the truth. The fact is that the Lord is the ultimate meaning of our lives. When our knees are drawn to the floor in prayer, or our hearts are opened in a graced moment of contemplation, or tears stream down our face at the sight of a loved one, or we are moved to minister to a person on the side of the road, we encounter the primordial pattern at the heart of the universe. In this way, the truth comes to us, and ours is simply to respond in love and learn how to remain in that truth. Ave Crux, Spes Unica.
