“Remain simple and innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the evil that destroys man’s life.” CCC 2517

The holiness of our actions depends on the purity of our intention; without it our actions simply amount to good deeds. This practice of doing good to others is and always will be a worthy and necessary habit to aspire to. And yet, in order to “go beyond the precept” as some would put it, we are called to seek what is above and to allow the glory of God and the selflessness of His love to catipult us into a greater striving for a perfection of Charity. And with this, our good deeds will be accompanied by an inner purity of intention. A charity that demands a greater unity of the will, intellect, and act; a greater understanding of God’s will for us in everything. It demands an uninterrupted dialogue with Jesus who is the source of perfect charity.

Jesus can guide us in our understanding and growth of how to live for Him; how to give of ourselves to others through Him; and how to love others wholly with an inner disposition of heart that can only come from Him. And the more we grow in our dialogue with him the more we instinctively begin to act as he would. It is only through the closeness of our heart to His Sacred Heart that His life lived in us begins to act for us and when it is Jesus who acts in us, we can be sure that our disposition of heart will always be worthy of his glory.

Now, this perfection may seem taunting to some. Not the understanding of it, because it is clear that one would have to attain such heights in order to reach a perfection of holiness. But the living out of such holiness requires a humble examination of our life. It requires we not become comfortable with committing a mere act of service but to challenge ourselves to turn that act into an act of pure love. A love that will overflow into every part of our life and every encounter we have with others. Because even a wicked man knows how to give good gifts to his children (Mt 7:11) but is he capable of directing such goodness to the glory of God, not as an exclusive act toward those whom he chooses but to both friend and foe alike, to those whom God chooses for him?

Therefore, try to live in God’s will and do everything with the sole purpose of loving Him. Try to live constantly in his presence because it is in his presence that we learn to live in a way worthy of His presence. If we can accomplish this in all things, then we have accomplished a life of perfect charity.