Question of the Week: Forgiveness, Mercy, and Perfection

As part of our preparation for Confirmation, we need to ask questions and seek answers to our thoughts about life, faith, God, the Church, and our role in the world. In fact, we should never stop asking questions and seeking answers in our lives whether we are a five-year-old repeatedly asking why or a ninety-nine-year-old pondering the mysteries of the universe. Each week we will tackle one question that a teen asked at the beginning of the year, answering the question both at an OLV Teen Night and here in the blogosphere. Chime in with your thoughts as long as they are constructive and approaching the topic with love. Thanks for sharing in the journey!

Q: If God forgives us all for our sins then why does the church still want us to be perfect?

A: A good coach in sports, music, academics, or any pursuit balances praise and prescription. The coach has to celebrate the things a student does well ("Nice catch!" "You really got that Mozart piece down!" "Way to go on your times tables!") and what a student can do better ("Next time, make sure you tuck the ball close to your body so you don't fumble." "Be sure you are using the right fingers to play that sequence on the piano." "You just missed one on your test."). Criticism, when it's well-placed, can make us better football players, piano players, math students, and human beings. That's why the Church, why our priests, and why the Lord doesn't let us settle for being a lesser version of ourselves.

God's mercy is endless. We cannot commit a sin that God cannot forgive. However, we are responsible for responding to God's mercy with our own love. Our lives need to be transformed when we come to know God's love. That's where the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Penance/Confession comes in. We don't need this Sacrament to have our sins forgiven--God can do that any time. What confession offers us is reconciliation to the community, acknowledgement that we have fallen short, accountability to another human being, and grace--sweet, abundant, beautiful, healing GRACE. Grace both helps us to be the best version of ourselves and helps us to know God more deeply through our actions.

In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says, "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." He calls us to a deeper level of self awareness, a level where we are constantly striving for virtue, where we are trying to deeply know, love, and serve the Lord. We won't ever be perfect in this life, but that shouldn't stop us from trying. As a bumper sticker I saw once said, "Get to Heaven or die trying!"