Claim. Perfection comes only through love, because mind and body, all creatures, and God-human unity mature through love’s give-and-take.
Elaboration. SMM says individual perfection results from “continuous give and take action between the mind and the body” on the foundation of God’s love (CSG 4.1 §6, Blessed Family 313). The same rule appears in nature: plants bear fruit through the circular action between stamen and pistil, and “everything and everyone continue to exist through the circular motion of love.” The section concludes that “all beings can be perfected only through love.” Human beings become complete when mind and body conform to the nucleus of God’s love, and Adam’s original path was to become one with God through love as the eternal bond. Love is therefore the operating principle of maturation, not only an emotion.
See also. give-and-take-action, purpose-of-creation