Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are ten (10) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Eighth Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not bear false witness.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2509.
The Eighth Commandment, ‘You shall not bear false witness’ requires us to both not tell lies and to tell the truth as well as to make reparation. Sins against the truth call for reparation no less than other sins. As followers of Jesus Christ we believe that sins committed against the truth demand reparation. More often than not, reparation is thought of in connection with financial crimes, together with restitution: giving back what was stolen. Merriam Webster, when treating reparation puts it this way: the act of making amends, offering expiation, or giving satisfaction for a wrong or injury, something done or given as amends or satisfaction, the payment of damages. The Oxford Dictionary highlights the making of amends for a wrong one has done, by paying money to or otherwise helping those who have been wronged when treating reparation.
The difficulty of making amends or reparation for sins against the truth is made clear by a helpful old rabbinic story:A man went about the community telling malicious lies. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the rabbi and begged forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The rabbi told the man, “Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds.” The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the rabbi that he had done it, the rabbi said, “Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers.”
How can we repair someone’s good name or reputation once we have destroyed it by our lies or gossip or calumnies or detraction? If we have spent time and energy committing such sins we should spend no less energy saying whatever is good or true or beautiful about the one we have damaged (Philippians 4:8). This is a beginning of our reparations. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving also furthers our reparation for our sins. The Sacrament of Penance (Confession) is a major form of reparation together with the penance assigned for our sins. Devout participation at Holy Mass, even daily, unites our hearts to Christ’s Heart offered on the Cross once for all in reparation for all our sins (cf. Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18).
The Lord Jesus Christ promises us that reparation for our sins, even against the truth is possible, by His grace (cf, Matthew 19:26; 18:27; 2 Corinthians 12:9). We should have great confidence in God’s mercy without being presumptuous (cf. Micah 6:8; Acts 17:11; Romans 6:15; Ephesians 2:4–7; 1 Peter 1:3–4).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr