Praying the Communion Antiphon Series
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Praying the Communion Antiphon |
A Time Set Apart – Saturday, First Week of Lent
As the Father Is
Thinking
About the Words
“Be
perfect.”
This
word can unsettle us.
In
English, perfect suggests flawlessness — no mistakes, no weakness. The Greek
word teleios carries a fuller meaning: complete, mature, brought to
fulfilment. It is about wholeness rather than faultlessness.
Jesus
speaks these words at the end of the teaching on love of enemies. The
“perfection” He describes is not moral performance. It is love that reflects
the Father.
“As
your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The
measure is not comparison with others. It
is resemblance to God.
We
may ask ourselves: what is the Father’s perfection in this passage?
He
gives sun and rain to both the just and the unjust. He loves without
calculation.
At
Communion, we receive the Son who perfectly reveals the Father. The call to
perfection is not an impossible command — it is an invitation to participate in
divine love.
Lent
is not about polishing ourselves into spiritual trophies. It is about allowing our love to grow wider,
steadier, less selective.
Reflection
- When I
hear “be perfect,” do I feel pressure — or invitation?
- Where is
my love still conditional?
- Do I
measure myself against others rather than against the generosity of the
Father?
- What
would “maturity in love” look like in one concrete situation this week?
We began the week with mercy.
We end it with perfection — defined as love.
That arc is deeply Lenten.
Prayer
Father,
shape my heart in Your likeness.
Teach me to love without measure
as You love me.
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