What is Truth? Augustine, Verbum, and Authentic Self

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare, Ireland. The "Verbum" of God is Jesus Christ, and that "Word" speaks the Truth of God for all humanity and for all Creation. (photo P. Smith)

Augustine uses “Verbum” to refer to one’s Authentic Self. That is, Augustine understands that at the core of every human being is a Truth that you yearn to communicate to the world. There is a Truth that you desire to cry out for the self and for “the Other” to hear. Until one can speak this Verbum you will remain restless. Like Aristotle and the Classical philosophers, Augustine realizes the need to encounter the transcendent in order to “know” such an objective voice. Augustine adds the dimension of relationship in order to fully comprehend the concept of Verbum or Authentic Self. Even if you knows your Verbum, if there is no one to hear that Word, then the Verbum has no meaning. My students, at this point, know that Verbum is synonymous with the Authentic Self and the Authentic Self is the same as Loving and being Loved on a transcendent level. If Loving and being Loved is Verbum, then there must be some sort of relationship in order for that Verbum to be heard. You cannot Love in a vacuum. Relationship between individuals, therefore, is essential for you to begin to know your Verbum. In addition, as you hears another person’s Verbum, as you experience Loving or being Loved in more and more transcendent ways, you fulfills part of your own purpose, namely, to assist in the realization of the Other’s Verbum.