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Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Mark Shea: "At the Core of Reality is Joy"

Read his latest at Catholic Exchange. It has often been said that the perception of reality is relative to each one of us, but this is not an absolute truth. The reality is that Jesus Christ died, apparently in abject defeat, but rose again, in absolute triumph over death and sin. What would be relative would be the reaction ellicited from each of us. For the faithful, Christ's resurrection is cause for joy, but for Satan, it is a cause for despair. Reality is not what we make of it, for it remains true regardless of what we make of it. That is what reality means: it is what is. This also brings to mind who God is: He is who is, and so God and His triumph are reality, regardless of what we make of it. As Mark says, the reality is that the worst had already happened, and Christ won. Christ won: that is reality and that is cause for joy. Even Satan, whose reaction goes the other way, must nonetheless acknowledge that Christ won. How much more real can that be, when even the enemy who would do anything to unmake reality must acknowledge that it cannot be undone.

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