True Perfection: A Reflection on Christian Perfection and the Tridentine Mass
Offertory "Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice..."
Summary of Headings
- Introduction to Perfection and Heresies
- The Pharisaical Error
- Perfectionism in the Catholic Church
- Materialistic Perfectionism Today
- Despair and Protestantism
- The Role of God in True Perfection
- Surrender to God
- Living a Martyr's Life
- Conclusion
Introduction to Perfection and Heresies
We have, um, excuse me. In the history of the church, there have always been certain heresies and errors to crop up, which the church had had to condemn. And in order to condemn, in order to condemn them, the church had to clarify, and more clearly define certain points. One of the more complicated ones, which caused a lot of conflict and dismay, was the question of perfection. Because our Lord said, Be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect. And that became quite a burden for a lot of people. But it also meant that several people misinterpreted it completely and totally.
The Pharisaical Error
There's always been a certain tendency in, um, any religion, but specifically in, uh, Christian, Christianity, and even the Old Testament, of, uh, certain pharisaical, uh, tendency in the practice of religion. What was the Pharisees' error? What did our Lord condemn them of? That they were white sepulchres. That they were painted white on the outside, made to look very nice on the outside, but inside they were rotten. Um, the reason for that was because they were legalistically very perfect. They followed the rule of the law absolutely and perfectly. But, they also only sought for perfection for perfection's sake.
Perfectionism in the Catholic Church
Now, this came up more and more during the, the history of the Catholic Church as well, with Manichaeism, Albigensianism, even in Jansenism. The very concept of the perfect, the path of the perfect. In Jansenism, people were not allowed to approach the blessed sacrament, or even approach confession, until they had proved a certain level of perfection. To show to the world that they were, that they were sufficiently perfect to be able to be worthy of the mercy of God, and of his love.
Materialistic Perfectionism Today
This is actually something that is very common even now. We have standards, if you will. Who belongs here, who does not? What do we look for to decide if somebody is really a trad cat or not? Things like that. These are very common, common errors that we still hear, even in our day and age. And there is a certain materialistic perfectionism that is constantly being held up over our heads, as tantalizing as a carrot to a rabbit.
Despair and Protestantism
And this is the root of Protestantism. When Martin Luther started his movement, it wasn't born overnight. What ended up happening was, he suffered for his entire life from devastating scruples. And because he could not understand how it was that he was supposed to be a creature of grace, having received everything from God, and life itself from God, and yet somehow he was still such a sinner.
The Role of God in True Perfection
Because it's not about our personal perfection, or merit, or what we deserve, or anything else, it has nothing to do with that. What it has to do with is very simply the fact that God, for whatever reason, for the infinite love that he has for us, has chosen to come and die for our sins, so that he can elevate us in grace to the stature of his children. And that is the perfection that Christ speaks about.
Surrender to God
It can be very frustrating to go to confession, time and again, confessing the exact same sins. It can be very frightening to have serious sins in our souls and we don't know how to get away from them. It can be very frustrating and fearful not to know the way ahead. It can be frustrating and fearful to know that we're weak, we're ignorant, we don't know what to do. We're afraid of losing someone we care about. We're afraid of making a tough decision or tough choice. We're afraid of all these other things.
Living a Martyr's Life
Father William Doyle, a famous Jesuit from the First World War, a military chaplain who died during one of the battles, he wanted desperately to be a missionary to Africa because he wanted to be martyred. Because of his health, he wasn't allowed to go to Africa, so he was instead sent to preach retreats through England and Ireland. So his response was, well, if I can't die as a martyr, I will live as a martyr. A constant martyrdom in my everyday life.
Conclusion
The homily challenges us to reflect on the nature of perfection in our spiritual lives, urging us to avoid the pitfalls of both presumption and despair. It is a call to recognize that true perfection is found in God alone, and our journey toward it requires surrendering to His will. Through the example of Father William Doyle, we are reminded that daily sacrifices and a life of habitual offering can lead us closer to sainthood, the ultimate goal of every Christian.
The message emphasizes that our worth is not measured by outward perfection or adherence to a checklist of religious practices. Instead, it is about allowing God to work through us, using even our imperfections for His greater glory. By making every moment an offering to God, we align ourselves with His purpose and find true fulfillment in serving Him, ultimately reaching the perfection He desires for us.