At the time when the spread of the Arian heresy was at its height and the battle for the Faith was the fiercest, an incident occurred in the city of Carthage, Africa that remained forever impressed upon the minds of both Catholics and Arians alike.

Unfortunately for the Church, many of its clergy - all the way up the hierarchy - had succumbed to the prevalent heresy of Arianism. The shepherds of the Faithful now became wolves and they often stopped at nothing to promulgate the error, if not persecute the faithful Catholics who resisted it. Rare was the diocese whose bishop had not become a heretic; Carthage, sadly, being no exemption.

In fact, this Arian bishop of Carthage, Cyril, was furthermore a very dishonest man who seemed to have more hatred for the truth than he had faith in his false beliefs.

In his battle against the Catholic Faith, he concocted a plan whereby he might convince the people of Carthage that God Himself sought to prove the truth of the Arian tenets. But to truly convince them… he would need a miracle.

And so Cyril selected a man who was a stranger in the town and he offered him fifty pieces of gold. Not for free, though. The condition? That he would pretend to be blind, and then come forward and ask the bishop (at time they had agreed upon) to cure him of his “blindness”.

Unfortunately, the stranger was most willing, and accepted the bribe eagerly. And so, at the appointed time, the “blind” man approached the Arian bishop, pleading that Cyril cure him. As the bishop “happened” to be in the middle of the market-place, a large crowd soon gathered, interested to see what would become of this stranger’s request.

Cyril, seeing the great number of people there, tilted his head back slightly and, in a loud voice that all could hear, he shouted his sacrilegious challenge.

“To prove to all that we Arians hold the true faith, in the name of God I restore sight to this blind man.”

All eyes were now fixed on the blind man, as the Arian commanded the stranger to open his eyes. Suddenly, the ‘blind’ man cried out in astonishment!

“Help me! I … I can’t see anymore!”

The onlookers were puzzled. Anymore? For God, in His infinite justice, had indeed worked a miracle because of the heretical prelate’s challenge. The stranger, who moments before had only pretended blindness - had now lost the use of his sight.

Frantically the man began tell all the real story - how he had not been blind, how it had been Cyril’s scheme from the start, and how he had accepted the bribe, but to what end? It had cost him the use of his eyes!

Needless to say Cyril had hastily disappeared into the crowd, and was soon gone from the marketplace. For all liars are also cowards, and they cannot bear the humiliation when their deceitful ways are exposed. Where was his loud voice and his confident statements now? Why did he not stand behind his bold challenge? Had he so quickly forgotten the words he’d spoken but a few moments before?

You see, apparently Cyril had never been interested in what was really the Truth. His lying scheme was merely a manifestation of the lies that his ‘doctrines’ were. For didn’t Our Lord say in the Gospel, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” (St. Luke 6:45)

But God, in His infinite mercy, took pity on the poor wretch who had gone along with the Arian’s scheme. For some time later, his sight was restored by the prayer and imposition of hands of St. Eugenius - the Catholic, the real, Bishop of Carthage.

And thus it was that error, which had endeavored to increase its followers by lies and deceit, had actually proven its own falsity, and had shown everyone that the dogma of the Roman Catholic Faith is the only True Faith that exists.