the transcendentals
The ancient Greek philosophers identified a certain category of concepts as "transcendentals". The three classic transcendentals are Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. These represent the highest forms of Being, and are in many ways reflections of each other. Truth, Beauty and Goodness are the deepest spiritual aspirations of the human heart.
Therefore, the transcendentals, according to Christian doctrine, can be described as the ultimate desires |
of man. Man ultimately strives for perfection, which takes form through the desire for perfect attainment of the transcendentals. The Holy Catholic Church teaches that God is Himself Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Each transcends the limitations of place and time, and are rooted in being. The transcendentals are not contingent upon cultural diversity, religious doctrine, or personal ideologies, but are the objective features of all that is.
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The recent popes, in calling for a New Evangelisation for the Church and for the world, have drawn the attention of society towards the transcendentals. Evangelisation, according to them, is to be undertaken by pointing the world towards that which is beautiful, which would subsequently lead its admirers to goodness, which would in turn lead seekers of goodness to truth.
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the popes
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POpe ST john paul ii (1993)"Inasmuch as [natural law] is inscribed in the rational nature of the person, it makes itself felt to all beings endowed with reason and living in history. In order to perfect himself in his specific order, the person must do good and avoid evil, be concerned for the transmission and preservation of life, refine and develop the riches of the material world, cultivate social life, seek truth, practise good and contemplate beauty."
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pope benedict xvi (2008)"Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy.
We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth. Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life." pope francis (2013)"...the Church exists to communicate precisely this: Truth, Goodness and Beauty 'in person'.
It should be apparent that all of us are called not to communicate ourselves, but this existential triad made up of truth, beauty and goodness." |
THE STORY
The Splendour Project is the name given to a collaborative effort between various individuals that have sought to proactively respond to the call of the Holy Catholic Church for a New Evangelisation through the proclamation of Truth, Beauty and Goodness. Since then, this series of collaborative efforts has been recognised by thousands of Catholic faithful - clergy, religious and laity - and many more have come to identify themselves as being a part of this Splendour Project in varied ways. This website helps you to keep in touch with the current happenings in the Splendour Project and hopes to keep inspiring you with the truth, beauty and goodness of that which we preach and proclaim together with the Holy Catholic Church. |
Convened by the Rev. Deacon Dr Sherman Kuek OFS, we came together as a group of collaborators in 2012 to string together a series of apostolate activities undertaken by the various collaborative parties that would create a synergy in the transmission of the Holy Gospel as proclaimed by the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Splendour Community continues to travel around the region of Malaysia and beyond on a regular basis to catechise the faithful of the Church and to preach the Word. This is done through live conferences and events, through production, publication and distribution of formation materials and media, and also through formation-based pilgrimages organised to various sacred sites around the world. |