Christian van den Biesen

“ God's being is fullness of goodness and truth—Plenitudo veri et boni, חֶםֶד וֶאֱמֶח‎. They are foremost among God's moral attributes. They are the immediate outcome of His Divine operations. For God is an infinitely pure spirit. His being is Intellect and Will. Truth is the final object of the intellect, and goodness is that of the will. ”

“ Of the two perfections truth and goodness, the former ranks higher. Truth is the first of all perfections. The Hebrew word for truth is Emeth אמת‎. It is composed of three letters: Aleph=Alpha, Mem=My, and Thaw=Theta. The Aleph and the Thaw are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet as the Alpha and Omega are of the Greek. ”

“ We further find these two letters in frescoes and mosaics of several ancient churches; for instance, in the chapel of St. Felicitas, and in San Marco in Rome; in the world-famed mosaics of Ravenna, in Galla Placidia, St. Crisologo, St. Vitale. In the course of time Α and Ω ceased to be used as the monogram of Christ for church paintings and ornaments. During the last centuries the letters I.H.S. (see Abbreviations, Ecclesiastical) have completely taken their place. ”