I AM THE WAY
When Lasallians pray, “Live Jesus in our hearts,” they tend to go back to the Gospel teachings as they attempt to learn more about who Jesus is.
The most popular of all His utterances comes to mind: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6). Christ being the Way means no one can go to the Father except through Him. As the Way, Jesus reconstructs the bridge to heaven, which was destroyed by the sin of our first parents. Being the sole Mediator between heaven and earth, He leads us back to the way of salvation with neither merit nor expense on our part, but by the toll of His death.
As The WAY, our Blessed Lord does not simply give direction. He invites me, then takes me by the hand, and personally leads me. He does not merely show me the way. He is telling me: I am the Way.
You too can utter the same prayer: “Live Jesus in our hearts.”
I AM THE TRUTH
Catholic theology teaches that Jesus is the Incarnation of the uncreated wisdom of the Father that created the heavens and earth in the beginning. The Truth is the Word that was made Flesh: the Son of Mary (John 1:14). Through His Sacred Humanity, Jesus Christ communicates to us all the treasures and the wisdom of the Eternal Father. In the Incarnation, the Father uttered the Truth that will set all mankind free (John 8:31-32).
In one intense moment in His earthly life, when Jesus asked if the Apostles also wished to leave Him, when everybody left because they could not accept his teaching, St. Peter replied: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:67-69).
Jesus is both the Gospel Message and its Messenger. He is both the Word and the Proclaimer of the Word because God revealed Himself through His Son. And this revelation is found in the Sacred Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterium of the Catholic Church.
Sacred Scriptures
How consoling to realize that God left the Bible, His inspired word, to be with us all these years. How encouraging to know that the Bible or the Sacred Scriptures are the written word of God committed to the Church to instruct and inspire those who believe. The quick reaction to this realization is to thank God for the Bible and begin a life that includes a daily reading from the scriptures, particularly the Gospel
Sacred Tradition
The Sacred Tradition is the entirety of revelation of God to us that are not captured in the Scriptures, both oral and written. It is transmitted from age to age under the assistance of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of the teaching of the Pope.
Sacred Magisterium
The teaching office or the Sacred Magisterium is entrusted by Jesus to the Roman Pontiff, the Pope. During his lifetime, St. John Baptist de la Salle has encouraged all members of the Lasallian family to work hand in hand with the local bishop because he sincerely believed that all bishops and priests, in union with the Holy Father, possess the divine right to teach about Jesus.
Because of the presence of the Scriptures, Sacred Tradition, and Magisterium in the Church, we are given the assurance that the Gospel that we believe in is true. Jesus is right when he said, I am the Truth. We cannot be wrong!
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