In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a command that may feel overwhelming: “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” At first glance, it may seem impossible. How can we, limited and sinful as we are, ever hope to be perfect like God?
This command to be perfect comes at the climax of a chapter where Jesus has redefined righteousness—not as merely following rules, but as a transformation of the heart. He tells us not just to avoid murder, but to let go of anger. Not just to avoid adultery, but to purify our thoughts. Not just to love our neighbor, but to love even our enemies. These are the marks of Christian perfection: a heart conformed to the heart of God.
Perfection is not something we accomplish by our own efforts. It is a grace, a work that God accomplishes in us if we cooperate with Him. As St. Thomas Aquinas taught, the perfection of the Christian life consists chiefly in charity—in loving God with our whole heart and loving our neighbor with God’s own love.
So, the command to “be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect” is a calling to the perfection of love, to grow into the fullness of charity that is a greater and greater share in the love of the Father Himself.
That means that Christian perfection does not happen overnight; it is a lifelong journey. It happens through prayer, the sacraments, self-denial, forgiveness, and service. It happens when we resist the urge to retaliate, when we speak the truth in love, when we are generous with our time and patient with the people who challenge us.
Again, we do not grow in perfection on our own; it requires effort to cooperate with the grace of God. Perfection is the result of grace and free will. You can’t have perfection without both.
To strive for Christian perfection is not to aim at being morally superior or scrupulously correct—it is to aim at becoming a living image of Christ, who reveals to us the perfect love of the Father.
So today, as we come to this altar, let us ask the Lord for the grace to grow in holiness. May our lives be built more and more on the foundation of Christ’s love, until we are made perfect—not by our efforts alone, but through our cooperation with His, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
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With confidence in God’s mercy, let us offer our prayers to the Father, who calls us to perfection through His Son.
That she may continue to proclaim the call to holiness and help all the faithful grow in love through the sacraments, prayer, and acts of charity.
For all leaders in the world: That they may govern with wisdom and justice.
For our parish: That we may cooperate daily with God’s grace, growing in holiness through prayer, self-denial, and acts of service.
For the poor, the sick, and those who suffer: That they may be comforted by the love of Christ and supported by the generosity and compassion of His disciples.
For our beloved dead: That, having sought to conform their hearts to Christ, they may now behold the perfection of God’s glory in heaven.
Heavenly Father, you call us to be holy as you are holy. Strengthen us to follow your Son with sincere hearts, cooperating with your grace, that we may one day be perfected in your love. Through Christ our Lord.
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