Strive for Perfection
Fr. Brian Carpenter
Originally posted on 5/16/2010

Last week, Rev. Mr. Gould (soon to be Fr. Gould) wrote an excellent article calling for an enhanced sense of nobility in our Liturgy. Throughout the course of many conversations with Deacon Gould, I have come to appreciate his argument that we seem to have lost the sense of nobility. As Deacon Gould pointed out, he is not calling for a aristocracy, but a certain sense of dignity in our worship. Of particular note, however was Deacon Gould’s constant reminder that we need to strive for excellence.

Indeed, throughout our friendship, while Deacon Gould has often expressed to me his concerns over the loss of the sense of nobility in our society at large, I have often expressed to him my related concern – something I term “The Quest for Mediocrity.”
As this name implies, it seems to me that in many ways our society has lowered the bar rather than raised it. In so doing, our goal seems no longer to strive for excellence, but for mediocrity (which of course implies that we have not even succeeded in achieving mediocrity).

This attitude is prevalent in so many ways in our society. In academia, the proliferation of cheating and plagiarism are but one example (another would be the use of sites such as Wikipedia rather than doing actual research). One need not search very hard on the internet to read articles or see videos on depicting how our moral standards have declined – in fact I recently learned that there is a website dedicated to helping married couples have affairs. Almost everywhere you look, you can see yet another way in which society is lowering the bar, rather than raising standards.

Indeed this attitude has even infiltrated our Church. It is no secret that a significant number of Catholics do not attend Sunday Mass on a weekly basis. In fact, it has become “socially acceptable” for many Catholics to skip Mass if there is a sporting event of particular interest, or a dance recital or concert. Similarly, it is also no secret that many Catholic couples are cohabitating well before they are married.

The issue is that in each of these examples, whether in the Church or society at large, there seems to be a reluctance to call people to something greater. This attitude flies smack in the face of Christianity. Christianity is, after all a faith that calls people to holiness, that calls people to perfection.

By calling people to perfection, I am not suggesting that we need to focus on punishing those who fail to live up to those standards (such as the student who cheats, or the couple who cohabitates). To focus on punishment is to miss my point entirely. Christianity is not a fear-based religion where we do things for fear of some punishment. It is a purifying and perfecting religion, whereby our actions are meant to make us holy and perfect.

In other words, we are called to holiness. And this call is indeed universal. But holiness is not the same as mediocrity. It does not mean that I’m okay, and you’re okay. No, it is about a quest for something greater. It is about reaching out beyond ourselves, and constantly improving ourselves. It is the constant challenge to become something greater than we currently are. It is about looking at the current situation of our lives, and asking how we can become better.

This week we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension. In this feast Jesus ascends to Heaven in bodily form. In so doing, he shows that our humanity has indeed been divinized. It has been incorporated into the Godhead. This solemn feast “raises the bar” for all humanity, as we are called to follow Christ, to live our lives with the dignity of a noble race, a race worthy of standing in the presence of God.

The Good News of the Gospel does not solely consist of the fact that our sins our forgiven, but that our nature has been recreated, and we are capable of living to a higher standard. St. Paul often refers to this by saying what was acceptable before is no longer acceptable because we have a new standard by which to live.

Jesus Himself was constantly raising the bar on people. When asked by the rich young man what was necessary to gain eternal life, Jesus told the young man what was necessary, but then began to speak about was necessary in order to be perfect. Essentially Jesus was saying, “don’t let that be the bar by which you live your life, don’t settle for eternal life, strive for perfection.” Over and over again in the scriptures we are told to strive for perfection, that is we are commanded to raise our expectations and not lower them.

Certainly this is something the early Church understood. They were constantly challenging people to live lives of holiness, to strive for excellence. One needs to look no further than Paul’s epistles where he rebukes those who act as busy-bodies and implores them to cease being mediocre and to start doing what is right.

Christianity is not a faith for the timid. It is a faith for those who want something more, for those who strive for excellence. As Christians, we must not become complacent, and we certainly must not lower our standards. Rather, we must take a hard look at ourselves and ask, “What do I need to do to achieve perfection? What can I do better?” Our lives as Christians is not about lowering the bar for ourselves, but rather about asking what do I need to do in order to perfect myself, what do I need to do in order to become holy?