Seeking perfection: Classical wisdom and Christian truth

“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). Jesus calls us to perfection, but what does this truly mean? We will begin by exploring the idea of perfection through the non-Christian perspective of Plato’s concept of the Forms, then move to what Jesus revealed about the Father and Himself, and conclude with St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason). My hope is that this reflection will help us see that, in our desire for perfection, we catch a glimpse of something transcendent—a desire that ultimately originates and finds its fulfillment in God. 

Have you ever tried to draw a perfect circle? First, you probably attempted to do it freehand. Then, you may have used a jar lid or something round, and while that was much better, it still wasn’t quite right. Where does this desire for a perfect circle come from? Now, imagine trying to find a perfect spouse, a perfect home, or achieving a perfect sports score. Deep down, we know what these should look like. Even if we can’t achieve perfection—whether in drawings or in perfecting our desires, things, or actions—we still have an innate sense of and desire for it. It’s as if the idea of perfection is written in our hearts and souls, guiding us back to its source, which lies beyond what we experience in the world. 

In Plato’s view, the perfect circle would be described as the Form of a circle—an ideal that cannot be fully manifested in the material world but exists in a realm beyond physical reality. Plato, an ancient Greek philosopher who lived around 427 to 347 B.C., was a student of Socrates. His teaching on the Forms is well illustrated in the Allegory of the Cave, where prisoners, trapped in a cave, can only see shadows on a wall—imperfect reflections of true reality. The Forms, like the perfect circle, are the true realities, and everything we encounter in this world is merely an imperfect representation (shadow) of those perfect ideals. Plato focused particularly on the Forms of Beauty and Justice, though his understanding of these realities was impersonal. 

While Plato’s understanding of the Forms was the product of reason and philosophical inquiry, Jesus brings us something even greater—divine revelation. When Jesus calls us to be perfect, it may seem as impossible as trying to draw a perfect circle by hand. However, Jesus’ words in Matthew—“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect”—reveal that perfection is not merely a philosophical ideal or Form but a personal and relational call from God, made achievable through grace and communion with Him. No matter how hard we try, on our own we can only come close, but never fully achieve perfection in this material world. Similarly, if we wish to leave Plato’s cave and seek the true reality beyond the shadows, we need a guide—someone who knows the reality outside the cave. In Plato’s framework, a person who leaves the cave would return to help others escape, having seen the true Forms. But what if, in Platonic terms, Jesus could be understood as someone who didn’t merely leave the cave but came directly from the realm of the Forms—the true and perfect reality? Jesus didn’t just glimpse the truth and come back to guide us; He is the truth and the light itself. He was never chained or imprisoned. As He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).  

I invite you to continue exploring the connection between philosophy and faith by referring to St. Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason). As he writes, “It is an innate property of human reason to ask why things are as they are… The Church remains profoundly convinced that faith and reason “mutually support each other”; each influences the other, as they offer to each other a purifying critique and a stimulus to pursue the search for deeper understanding.” (Fides et Ratio, sections 3 and 100). In this letter, John Paul II explores the deep relationship between human understanding and faith, emphasizing that while reason allows us to grasp truths about the material world and glimpses (shadows) of immaterial reality, it is only through faith that we are able to reach the fullness of Truth. Just as reason leads us toward ideals like Plato’s Forms, it is faith that opens the way to a higher, divine reality where those ideals find their ultimate fulfillment. 

It seems that while our earthly efforts at perfection—whether in drawing perfect circles, finding perfect relationships, or fulfilling our desires—are a reflection of a greater truth, they are ultimately limited. True perfection, as revealed by Jesus, is only fully attainable in the light of God’s grace and eternal communion with God the Father, where our imperfect desires for perfection will finally be fulfilled and last for eternity. 

 

Questions for Reflection: 

1. How does your personal pursuit of perfection, whether in interpersonal relationships or professional achievements, mirror a deeper, transcendent yearning for something beyond the confines of this world? 

2. How does the promise of eternal life with God the Father transform your comprehension of perfection in the present moment?