"Who then can be saved?"

The Lord's response was, "with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (cf. Mt 19:23-26).

Pointing out that we are all imperfect is not an "excuse" for anything, findrichard. It is simply a statement of the human condition. As for "striving for perfection," there is no perfection outside of God. Therefore, the only way to perfection for us is to have it imputed to us by God, by His Grace, and the way to do that is to undergo transformation in Christ. Even then we will not be perfect (although we will be in the process of being perfected): we will, by His Grace, partake of the perfection of Christ, as members of His Body the Church. There is no earthly striving whereby we can possibly perfect ourselves, and that is not what the Scripture is saying.

Rather than standing alone, isolated as an imperative statement, "Be ye perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect" is what is called a "pericope" (pair-ICK-oh-pea), or a principle which is further informed by the rest of what the Scripture has to say on the subject. The greater pericope, of course, is the matter of salvation and of how we can get out of this life alive.

The statement is not illustrative of what can be achieved in the earthly part of our life, but rather illustrates what cannot be. It refers back to the Law, and makes it clear by stating God's absolute standard that God's Grace is our only hope.

This is (of course) one of my favorite subjects, and if you'd like to change the discussion topic I'd be delighted. But if you wish to apply it to an earthly situation, like Mr. Trump's (or yours or mine, for that matter) its only usefulness would be to express the futility of expecting our earthly accomplishments to save us in terms of Eternity.

For the rest of it, you say this:

 This country needs local, state, and national leaders with demonstrated moral integrity and a sincere desire to build and maintain one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

We are completely agreed. What is there, however, to say that Mr. Trump doesn't have that desire? The best of our leaders have always been flawed men who have striven to uphold a national moral standard superior to their own. Ronald Reagan didn't go to a parish church (he preferred private services held at home). So, he might have presented a "better" public witness in that area. Yet, he protected the Church, and worked for her advancement, with all the resources at his command. JFK was a rakehell and a serial adulterer, who worked very hard to model a solid family life and who promoted healthy, upright living at every opportunity, and whose behavior, discovered only after his death, was a huge surprise. Newt Gingrich, a man whose scholarship on the Christian origins of our nation is second to none, and whose leadership saved our country from a disaster similar to the one we're facing today, had an affair which was made public and for which his wife has since, equally publicly, forgiven him.

These are all great men, all of them trying to be good men as best they could, all of them human.  Their virtue was love of country and the desire to use their talents to pilot the country through muderous waters at a time of incredible national peril. They were determined to do the best they could, and despite their failings, they did.

Mr. Trump has declared himself on the side of righteousness. Does he personally live up to the standard on whose side he has declared himself? Certainly not! But then, neither do I. Do I doubt his word when he so declares himself? Who am I to do that? I lived a pretty outrageous life before I met the Lord. My attitude about absolutely everything was completely different--and even then, while still a worldly man, I experienced improvement and change-of-mind in this and that area. So, I know it's possible.

I know I come off like a cheerleader for The Donald, and maybe I am one, so far. That's because, so far, everything he says makes sense. Such reservations as I have, I hope will be answered by the time he announces at the end of May.

In the meantime, I would really like to shift this particular discussion to more substantive things, to actual policy issues rather than the theoretical stuff.  If you have policy disagreements with Mr. Trump, I would love to hear them. Perhaps I'm missing something, and if I am, it's in substantive discussion that I'll discover what that is.

Easter Blessings--

Fr. Jim +

 Fr. Jim Rosselli+    "Aslan is not a tame lion" --C.S Lewis

Hi, findrichard,

I think you're demanding perfection where there's none to be had. Perfection is not to be found among humans. The best we can hope for, when we're considering someone for a job, is competence. Anybody can be debunked. It's easy--just measure his reality against my ideal. But, as a taxpayer, I feel my money, as you say, would be safer with Mr. Trump than with a career politician, if only because he would actually think of it as money, and not as a concept or a campaign issue.

As for his character, I would rather rely on the character of someone who has to live with the results of his decisions than someone who is used to being able to defer their consequences until the next election--where he will try to "redefine" the ones that didn't work.

Is he honest? In a world that depoends on being able to keep your commitments, every major financial institution on the planet seems to be quite happy to keep loaning him millions of dollars.

Mr. Trump is, in fact, a proven man.  He has demonstrated the ability to assess a situation and deal with it accordingly. He is a chief executive who runs a huge, complex, world-wide enterprise with skill and quiet competence, who knows how to pick people and who inspires their loiyalty.

Has he ever made a mistake? I'm sure he has made many. He has, however, managed to become and to remain one of the most powerful and respected men in the world, and the other powerful and respected men in the world--whose standards tend to be high--continue to have enough confidence in his probity to do business with him--and, incidentally, to live and work in his buildings.

Mr. Trump's competence is obvious and beyond serious question. And I think it's about time, after four post-American-globalist  wrecking crews in a row, that we had some competence in the White House.

Have a blessed Easter,

Fr. Jim +

Fr. Jim Rosselli+   "Aslan is not a tame Lion." C.S. Lewis

Worse than a slow learner.   I was giving Mr Trump the benefit of the doubt. But if you insist he knew what he was doing, then he is too cavalier with other people's money to manage national finances. He signed a promisary note to pay borrowed money back and when it did not seem profitable to him, he made a conscious decision (through the protection of bankruptcy courts) to stiff the institutions that entrusted him. Although legal, this is not reflective of the kind of character we need in the white house. However, it is a free country and he is welcome to run for president if he likes.