The phrase "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48) is the climax of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. In Catholic teaching, this is not a demand for flawless, sinless infallibility, but rather a call to strive for holiness, wholeness, and a radical, all-encompassing love. The Catholic understanding of this verse centers entirely on God’s grace and the pursuit of charity:God's Divine Love: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is talking about loving your enemies and doing good to those who wrong you, just as God makes the sun shine on both the good and the wicked. To be perfect means to love others with God's unconditional, supernatural love rather than worldly expectations. The Catholic understanding of this verse centers entirely on God’s grace and the pursuit of charity:God's Divine Love: In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is talking about loving your enemies and doing good to those who wrong you, just as God makes the sun shine on both ...