Catholic women, it’s time to raise the bar

It’s a privilege to represent Jesus as a Catholic, yet sometimes we forget the heavy responsibility that accompanies it and the depth of what we’re embracing. For, as said in Mathew 5:48, the Lord asks us to “be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.”

But what does that even mean? God is the king of the universe, and left to ourselves, we would be no more than ashes and dust. Measuring up to such high expectations seems impossible.

What does the world say?

The world carries two opposing views when it comes to perfection. Both fall short of the Christian expectation.

The first is that we are already perfect, so why try to become healthier, holier, or smarter? While the Lord delights in us just as we are, we are still a work in progress and have many ways in which we must grow. This first idea uses the concept that we are already enough to dismiss the possibility that we should try to become better. It’s an overcorrection for feeling insufficient.

The second idea says we are never enough, that we must work until we are bone-tired day after day, just so that we can have some kind of accomplishment to grasp onto when people ask what we do. This is an extreme representation of Christian excellence. This distortion claims that we must become perfect, with a moving finish line, and for the glory of one’s self.

But what does God say?

Both worldly perspectives have some resemblance to the truth. Yet when you take God out of the equation, you end up with dangerous lies. 

The Lord delights and loves us simply in our existence, but we must not stay there, for we are called to excellence. Excellence is not about being enough, but about glorifying God with all he has given us and rooting our identity in him.

Put simply, Christian excellence is living a whole and disciplined life — a life that other people look at and say, “There is something different about how they live … and I want to live like that.”

So what is Christian excellence?

Over the last few years, I’ve been introduced to the idea of living Christian excellence. Instead of giving you a long-winded theological sentence that causes us both to scratch our heads, let me give you some examples. 

Christian excellence is dressing like a woman of God: letting your clothing modestly draw out the natural beauty of how God created you, not just when you get dressed in the morning, but at Church, at the gym, and at the beach.

Christian excellence is staying until the end to help clean up the dinner party your friend hosted.

Christian excellence is studying hard for your classes.

Christian excellence is not just saving sex for marriage, but also keeping your relationship pure.

Christian excellence is waking up to your alarm, giving yourself enough time to get ready and be on time.

Christian excellence is being present to those in front of you instead of scrolling.

Put simply, Christian excellence is living a whole and disciplined life — a life that other people look at and say, “There is something different about how they live … and I want to live like that.”

And why is this important?

One of my favorite talks is by Arthur Brooks (the guy who wrote “The Happiness Files”), and he explains this concept in an eye-opening way. 

Brooks explains that we are all called to be missionaries of Christ in our everyday lives (which I’m sure you already know). He then offers three ways to do this well: be a public Catholic, be normal, and live a magnetic life.

First, be a public Catholic. That means people should know you are Catholic. Growing up, whenever we went out to eat, my family would cross ourselves and pray out loud together before eating. As an adult, I’ve struggled to do that around my anti-Catholic coworkers. Being a public witness is hard, but it’s important. Other things you can do include mentioning that you are going to Mass on Sunday or simply wearing a visible crucifix.

Second, you still need to be normal! Let’s not be genuflecting in movie theaters (I know I’m not the only one who has accidentally done this). But truly, there is no need to dress like you are Amish, only listen to Gregorian chant, and look personally offended when someone mentions Taylor Swift. The goal is to cause people to stop and wonder what makes you different. 

And here is where Christian excellence comes in: living a magnetic life. When you look like you have it all under control (although we know it’s God who’s holding it together) or accept adversity gracefully, when you exceed others’ expectations and when you go the extra mile, people notice. When they know you are Catholic and that you credit God for all that you do, what will people think? And when they notice their Catholic friends seem to be happier as they live a well-ordered life, the wheels in their brains will start turning.

“Why is she always having so much fun, even though she doesn’t get drunk?”“Why does her boyfriend not stay over, yet they have such a healthy relationship?”

“Why is she so dang cute, though she doesn’t flaunt her body with her clothing?”

Make them wonder, and point all glory to God.

The goal is to cause people to stop and wonder what makes you different. 

What if I’m trying, and my life is still a mess? Am I an awful Christian?

We have all experienced those seasons where life throws us hardships, and we fail. Over and over and over again. No, that doesn’t mean you’re an awful Christian. It just means you’re human.

But what do you do with failure? Do you fall on your knees and ask for the Lord’s strength, or do you wallow and spiral? There are very few things more magnetic than handling struggles and sufferings with joy.

Not to be cheesy, but it’s the journey, not the end goal. If Christian excellence were easy, nobody would find it of value or worth mimicking. 

If you lean on the Lord, find a good community to keep you accountable, and work hard, you can live a life of Christian excellence.

So, what now?

Take a moment to examine your life. Do the people around you know you’re Catholic? Are you weird about your faith? Are you someone you would look at from the outside and say, “Man, I want to be like her?” Take it to prayer and journal about it. If you want to examine your life even more deeply, take a look at these two life audits I put together and go through them prayerfully.

• Mental Life Audit

• Physical Life Audit

Now go out and let your lives shine the light of Christ through all that you do!

Rory is in the final stretch of her marketing and entrepreneurship degree. Born and raised a Wisconsinite (yes, she still hates the winters), she’s most at home writing in cozy coffee shops. If warm drinks were a love language, they’d be hers. When she’s not working, in class, or leading bible studies, you can find her lifting at the gym to chill indie music, soaking up the sunshine, or twirling in fun dresses. She also designs Catholic Stationery and runs a blog, Bite-Sized Beauty, for young Catholic women. Her blog came from a deep desire to call Catholic women to greater excellence after growing frustrated with how women’s ministry often stops at “Just love yourself,” but rarely calls us higher.