The Bond of Perfection
A reflection and study on St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, chapter 3 verses 12-17:
“Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels of mercy, benignity, humility, modesty, patience: Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another: even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so do you also. But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection: And let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts, wherein also you are called in one body: and be ye thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom: teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in your hearts to God. All whatsoever you do in word or in work, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Since God has chosen us to be His very own, “the elect of God,” St. Paul implores us to clothe ourselves with the virtues. He literally says to “put them on” in the way we would put on a shirt. In Romans 13:14, he expresses the same sentiment and summarizes it by saying, “Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, he expands it by signaling out a specific list of virtues which embody the Person of Christ and are graciously given to us as fruits of the Holy Spirit, as we see in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
“The bowels of mercy” is referencing the innermost part of man, meaning from the very depths of his soul. By saying “the bowels of mercy,” what is being expressed here can also be interpreted as genuine heartfelt compassion from our very core. “Benignity” refers to kindness, but not in the worldly sense of just doing something nice. The Greek term is chrēstotēta, a very rich term which signifies profound goodness. We see it used by St. Paul in Titus 3:4 when he describes “the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior.”
St. Paul is also not the only Apostle who writes about being clothed with humility. St. Peter uses this same terminology in his own letter when he writes, “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). The term “modesty” in Greek also stems from the same sentiments as being gentle and considerate towards others. And of course, all of these virtues have patience as their foundation, because patience is the wellspring from where they arise. As the Psalmist writes, “The Lord is compassionate and merciful: longsuffering and plenteous in mercy” (Psalm 102:8). This is why St. Paul wants us to be clothed with Christ, because then we are able to look like Him to the world around us.
Two of the spiritual works of mercy are to forgive offenses willingly and to bear wrongs patiently. Indeed, forgiveness is one of the hardest practices of the Christian Religion, however we look to Our Lord as the prime example for us to follow, as He extended forgiveness to us right from the Cross where our sins placed Him. As many times as we can forgive others, so too, God is able to forgive us of our own shortcomings and imperfections as well. St. Augustine wrote, “Two works of mercy set a man free: forgive and you will be forgiven, and give and you will receive.” If we truly wish to be free, then let us practice the virtue of forgiveness.
Charity is named as the “bond of perfection.” The Baltimore Catechism defines Charity as, “A Divine virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” The reason it is the bond of perfection is because charity truly links all the virtues together. Anyone who truly strives to love God above all things and to love our neighbor for the love God is also someone who is merciful, compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient.
When we are able to combat the vice of pride, and sin which is rooted in selfishness, then we are able to let the peace of Christ rejoice within us. The Greek word for “rejoice” is brabeuetō, which means to rule or to govern. Essentially, it refers to a joyful disposition in the context of ruling. St. Paul is saying to let Christ’s peace truly reign within our hearts. As he wrote in Philippians 4:6, “And the peace that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” The way to combat the vices is by pursuing the virtues. May we spur one another on to lives of virtue and sanctity, and may we assist one another in combatting the vices. Not by pointing fingers, but by humbly offering to lift others up when they have fallen, just as Christ does for us time and time again.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.
