As painful as it is sometimes to know the truth, not knowing is worse. If someone we love is rushed to the hospital, the greatest agony comes from not knowing what is wrong. It is serious? How extensive are the injuries? Are they life-threatening? Will they cause further suffering? Not knowing the answers is very painful.

Once we know, even if it is bad news, the situation is easier to accept. We can start to make adjustments, to deal with the truth. But when truth is unknown, chaos reigns. It terrifies us.

There are things we do not know. You can be the smartest kid in your class, the expert in your field, the parent who knows the habits of your children better than they do, but there are still things you do not know.

Only with difficulty, the book of Wisdom says, do we understand the things of this world. “But when things are in heaven, who can search them out?” As hard as it is to understand the things of earth, it is impossible to grasp the mystery of God.

The closer we come to God, the more awesome is the mystery. The more we understand about God, the more we realize we do not know. Some people quit their relationship with God in despair of ever learning the truth. Others go into that mysterious relationship, deeper and deeper.

Written by Paul Turner. Liturgy Training Publications
Copyright 2003, Archdiocese of Chicago