May 11

Perfection is so far away from us that, however much our lives may differ, the distance between us and perfection is the same for all of us.

1

The one who has no notion of perfection is satisfied with what exists and does not argue with reality, which becomes for him identical with justice, with the good and with beauty. For such a person there is no movement, no life.

— After Amiel

2

The driving force of all improvement, both in individuals and in nations, is not the knowledge of what is, but a vision of what can be.

— Martineau

3

“The human being is weak, the goals we set must be within our power,” people say. This is the same as to say: my hands are weak and I cannot draw a straight line between two points, so, in order to make it easier for myself, I will instead follow the example of a crooked line, or a broken one, even though a straight one is what I want.

The weaker my hand, the more perfect should be the example for me to follow.

4

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

The perfection of God, i.e. the perfection of everyone’s highest good, is what all of humankind aspires to.

5

The Christian teaching of perfection is the only teaching that can guide humankind.

We cannot and must not replace the image of perfection in Christ’s teaching with external rules, and instead we must firmly keep this image before us in all of its purity and, most important, we must believe in it.

We can tell someone who is swimming near the shore to grab hold of some elevation, mass, embankment, etc. But when a swimmer is some distance from the shore, he can only be guided by unreachable beacons and a compass that shows him the way. We have been given both.

However much a human being may fall, he can always see the perfection he can move towards.