Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on 15th 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 2506.
The Eighth Commandment, ‘You shall not bear false witness’ has both negative and positive aspects. While we are directed by God to not lie (negative) we are similarly directed to bear true witness (positive). We are called by God to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel, the truth of the Faith. Jesus Christ Himself is “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He is the one who sets us free from sin, from slavery to Satan and disordered passions. If we deny Jesus Christ, His Gospel or His Church before others He will deny us before the Father (cf. Matthew 10:33). We should never be ashamed to bear witness in word and deed to the truth of our faith in Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Timothy 1:8). We do this by living holy lives and encouraging others to do the same. Accepting God, His grace, His call to holiness while rejecting sin, Satan and the glamor of evil.
The Greek words martus, martur are the origin of the English word “martyr” which is often translated as “witness.” The martyrs give supreme witness to the truth of the faith. Who do you think of when you think of martyrs? There have been holy martyrs from the earliest centuries of the Church. Think of the Holy Innocents, Saints John the Baptist, Peter, Paul and Stephen (Matthew 2:13–18; 14:3–10; Acts 6:8–8:1)… Depicted in the film Man for all seasons (1966) Saint Thomas More (+1535) defended the indissolubility of Marriage and was beheaded by Henry VIII. The missionaries Saints Isaac Jogues (+1646) and Companions, known as the North American Martyrs with their shrine in Auriesville, New York, were killed by Mohawk Indians. Saint Charles Lwanga (+1886) and his companion martyrs were put to death by the sodomite king of Uganda for refusing to submit to lustful advances. Blessed Miguel Augustine Pro (+1927) was killed by a a Mexican firing squad during the masonic revolution in that country. Among the many martyrs of Auschwitz are Saint Maximilian Maria Kolbe, OFM Con. (+1941) and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, OCD (Edith Stein, + 1942). Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero (+1980) was gunned down while offering the Holy Mass in a hospital in San Salvador.
Some people in our days will say, “let’s all just get along”… but we are not religiously indifferent. We can know the truth which sets us free. We are not sinfully rigid or mindlessly obstinate by insisting that salvation comes through Christ alone and the power of His saving passion, that there is such a thing as sin, that we are all called to repentance… Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel, Christ crucified and glorified (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23; 9:16).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr