Saturday of the First Week of Lent:

Reading 1: Deuteronomy 26:16-19

Responsorial Psalm: 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8

Gospel: Matthew 5:43-48

No religion or worldview places more esteem on man than does Christianity.

It was this realization that allowed the Renaissance-era thinkers to preach a Christian humanism which recognized the heights of man’s calling. We see this same logic played out in today’s Gospel: Jesus calls us to nothing less than perfection! The Greek word for perfect in this context is teleios, which is related to the English word teleological: relating to a purpose or goal. In other words, in calling us to be perfect, Jesus is inviting and challenging us to become fully who we are meant to be.

What amazing faith He places in our potential, a faith which the Catholic Church continues to emulate today. As human persons we were created for much more than worldly pleasures. We were created for glory, and as the psalm for today reminds us, it is by adhering to the precepts of the Lord that we will attain that eternal beatitude to which we are called. Of course, this is not to advocate for Pelagianism—the kind of thinking where we suppose we can be saved through our own efforts. On the contrary, we are called to be perfect, but we cannot get there on our own. In fact, apart from God’s grace we can do nothing at all (see John 15:5). How do we balance all these things? In an address given in France a decade before his death,

St. John Paul II described the Christian life beautifully: “Just when night engulfs us, we must think about the dawn coming; we must believe that every morning, the Church is revived through her saints. Not because they conquered the world, but because they allowed Christ to conquer them.”3 Let us take those words to heart today and every day.

Am I at times guilty of complacency in the way that I approach the spiritual life?

Do I ever buy into the untruth which says, “You’re perfect just the way you are”?

How can I embrace the Father’s love for me while still acknowledging my continued need for spiritual growth?

Reference:

Journey Through Lent: Reflections on the Daily Mass Readings by Clement Harrold