They say nobody’s perfect. But that’s false. For being Roman Catholics, like the Psalm below, we get the chance to be one.
Psalm 26
Give judgment for me, O Lord:
for I walk the path of perfection.
I trust in the Lord; I have not wavered.
Examine me, Lord, and try me;
O test my heart and my mind,
for your love is before my eyes
and I walk according to your truth.
I never take my place with liars
and with hypocrites I shall not go.
I hate the evil-doer’s company:
I will not take my place with the wicked.
To prove my innocence I wash my hands
and take my place around your altar,
singing a song of thanksgiving,
proclaiming all your wonders.
O Lord, I love the house where you dwell,
the place where your glory abides.
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men
in whose hands are evil plots,
whose right hands are filled with gold.
As for me, I walk the path of perfection.
Redeem me and show me your mercy.
My foot stands on level ground:
I will bless the Lord in the assembly.
*****
The Psalm from the Midday Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours talks about walking the path of perfection.
But how can we attain ‘perfection’?
Striving for holiness is the way to perfection. Jesus said it clearly in the Bible: Be you therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48). This means God alone is the supreme, infinite ideal, fullness of perfection. He’s our model of sanctity. And He’s free from any fault or failing. It is His will that we as well are perfect, depending on how much we try and imitate Christ.
We say, “Never, it’s just impossible! We’re mere humans! I’m too weak!”. But our Church says, “All the faithful, whatever their condition or state in life, are called by the Lord to that perfect holiness.”. This is still applicable to us in the modern age, not only to the mankind and saints in the past. Holiness is a calling. This is a challenge to all who want to follow in His footsteps.
But holiness is not an extraordinary challenge; rather it is an ordinary challenge. Like Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Holiness is not something for the extraordinary; it is not a luxury of the few. Holiness is the simple duty for each one of us.”. In the first place, Jesus won’t call us to be perfect if it is undoable and unreachable. Therefore, what we’re supposed to do – doing the laundry, cooking, washing the dishes, driving to take siblings somewhere is holiness… when doing it for the love of God and neighbor. It is directly living in God’s Will with the heart of service. Perfection is doing things and duties with love.
But we can only do this with His grace. And it doesn’t stop there. We need to continuously cooperate with grace for us accepting, understanding and doing God’s will. By grace, we turn to God now and discern what His will is, and doing it with all your love for Him.
If you are doubting that our Catholic Church has the greatest understanding of perfection, we need to read the lives of the saints. So many of her members is one of the proofs for the credibility of Catholicism. The saints are our role models and teachers in how to be holy. These men and women were ordinary people like us who went through difficulties, sufferings, and weaknesses, yet became extraordinary for having the determination to remain in sanctity, achieving the best of both accomplishment and happiness. This is the true religion that can meet one’s innate desire for perfection.
We might say that these saints had miraculous deeds, with extreme mortifications, and some had stigmatas – like how we picture a typical saint – but must remember they started with their small sacrifices at the start.
How can doing house chores make us holy? It is when we do it with love, and have faith that truly this would give us real happiness that someday, these little acts combined would be great to take us to heaven. When you see God in every good thing, to seek His kingdom in smallest things, while at the same time following his Commandments, that’s when we perfectly become human and do His will.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. (1 John 4:16-18)
Pope Francis recently has said that we need to pray to know God’s will, to pray for the desire to do His will, and once known, to pray for the strength to do his will.
“This is the path of holiness, of the Christian. That the plan of God may be done, that the salvation of God may be done… May the Lord give us the grace, to all of us, that one day we may say that which He said to that group, that crowd that followed him, those who were sitting around him, as we heard in the Gospel: ‘This is my mother and my brothers,” he said. “Those who do the will of God are my brother, my sister and mother.” Doing the will of God makes us a part of Jesus’ family, it makes us a mother, father, sister, brother.”
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| “O Lord, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint.” |
This reminds me of the very beautiful autobiography The Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (the Child Jesus) –
“O Lord, You would not inspire me with a desire which could not be realized; therefore, in spite of my littleness, I can aim at being a saint. It is impossible for me to become great, so I must bear with myself and my many imperfections; but I will seek out a means of reaching heaven by a little way—very short, very straight, and entirely new. We live in an age of inventions: there are now lifts which save us the trouble of climbing stairs. I will try to find a lift by which I may be raised unto God, for I am too small to climb the steep stairway of perfection…. O Jesus, Your arms, then, are the lift which must raise me even to heaven. To reach heaven I need not become great; on the contrary, I must remain little, I must become even smaller than I am.”
Sure, we can be perfect!
She is the Author of The Best Catholic website. As an experienced Digital Artist and Graphic Designer, she is passionate about creating and appreciating art, having focused on these fields these last few years. She also owns a couple of small businesses.
She graduated cum laude from the University of Santo Tomas, the country's Pontifical and Catholic university, with an AB in Legal Management and minor units in Theology.
As an unmarried woman, prayer holds a central place in her daily life, with a focus on the Rosary and the Divine Office. Embodying her faith, she emphasizes the growth of her inner spiritual life, guided by the wisdom of Carmelite spirituality.
God manifested to her in a unique and radical manner, which made her know Who He truly is and led her to total surrender of her life to Him.
She has studied the Bible with her family, developing a particular fondness for the Old Testament.
Her adorable and intelligent toy poodle is a delightful companion in her daily life, bringing warmth and joy to her home.
Her hobbies include reading about everything, learning Japanese and German, listening to music and playing the flute.
In her leisure time, she enjoys gaming on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch OLED, Nintendo 3DS, iOS and OS, and collecting things related to PlayStation and Nintendo.
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