Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
“There is only one vocation. Whether you teach or live in the cloister or nurse the sick, whether you are in religion or out of it, married or single, no matter who you are or what you are, you are called to the summit of perfection: you are called to a deep interior life perhaps even to mystical prayer, and to pass the fruits of your contemplation on to others. And if you cannot do so by word, then by example. Yet if this sublime fire of infused love burns in your soul, it will inevitably send forth throughout the Church and the world an influence more tremendous than could be estimated by the radius reached by words or by example.”
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) in The Seven Storey Mountain (New York: Image, 1970) 507.
We have reached the summit of our international journey, so this statement is fitting for today as we are on retreat and fly fishing in a remote part of Outer Mongolia. Tomorrow we will begin our long trek home. We aren’t scheduled to get back until next Tuesday, but we will head in that direction.
Life is about heading in a direction. Jesus charged everyone toward perfection long before Merton. Perfection in the biblical sense is all about pressing toward maturity. Undoubted on our journey, God has been trying to teach us things, to perfect us. What will we learn? We don’t know but we resolve to be attentive learners.
Want to see generosity through the Church that influences the world far beyond what words can describe? I do. Then let’s not just trek toward perfection. Invite others to join us on the journey. As we mature and grow, God has plans for us to do that we cannot comprehend.
The coolest part of this journey is we don’t have to “do” anything. God wants us to “be” perfect. In short, when we align ourselves with every aspect of His design for life, all heaven will break loose and nothing can contain the power of God’s love at work in and through us.