What is Truth? Augustine and the Extra Dimensions of Eternity

The Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St. Nicholas in Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland. The lofty dimensions of the Cathedral is not meant so much to make the congregation feel small as it is meant to lift our eyes to higher dimensions in which we can Hope to encounter our Authentic Self and the Divine presence of God. (photo P. Smith)

Augustine is attracted to Christianity, especially in terms of the Trinity, as the Trinity reveals origin, purpose, function, and destiny of the human person in terms of relationship. Augustine’s famous description of the Trinity in terms of Love is the beginning of his deeper understanding of the human person. Augustine describes the Trinity: the Father is the Lover, the Son is the Beloved, and the Holy Spirit is the Love between the Father and the Son. Within the Trinity, the relationship between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is the Verbum of God perfectly known, the Verbum spoken, and the Verbum perfectly heard. If humanity is made in the image and likeness of this Holy Trinity, this Holy Exchange of Verbum, then all humans are made to yearn for or desire this authentic exchange of Verbum. In this life, you can begin to speak and to hear your Verbum and in this exchange you experience great pleasure as it is the natural inclination of the all humans to want to speak and to hear their Verbum. But the relationship between humans as they strive to express their Authentic Self will always be incomplete as the Verbum remains a reality outside of time and space. Therefore, as Augustine realizes, one must form and foster a relationship with the Transcendent in order to better realize one’s Verbum. It is only in the extra dimensions of eternity where one can fully express their Verbum.