“Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God.” (CCC 1822)
Father John Hardon wrote, “As Jesus said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ “(Mt 22:37).
Father Hardon wrote, “We must love God above all other things, and be ready to lose everything rather than offend him. Charity toward God, expressed by frequent acts of love, is necessary for salvation. In perfect charity, we are not motivated by any benefit, but simply by the desire to please the all-good God. This is pure love.”
St. Thomas says: “Charity makes man tend to God by uniting his affection to God in such a way that man no longer lives for himself, but for God.” Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen taught: “Charity plunges us into the very centre of God’s intimate life.” He also wrote: “Charity elevates our love and makes us capable of really loving God as He loves himself, although not with the same intensity.”
St. Francis de Sales said, “The only method of acquiring that love is by loving. You learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working. Just so you learn to love God and man by loving.”
St. Bernard said, “The reason of loving God is God himself; the measure of loving God is to love him beyond measure”
Love of God and love of neighbour are inseparable. Trying to separate the charity due to God from that which is due to men is to destroy charity. St. Teresa of Avila said, “There are only two duties required of us—the love of God and the love of our neighbour, and the surest sign of discovering whether we observe these duties is the love of our neighbour.”
From the obligation of love follow both negative and positive duties towards others. Negative duties are summed up: “Do not unto others what you would not have them do to you.” Positive duties are summed up: “Do unto others as you would that they should do to you.”
Father John Hardon pointed out: “Our neighbour is any person who is able to enjoy everlasting happiness or who already enjoys it. Therefore our neighbour is any person on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the angels and saints in heaven.” He said, “Fraternal charity is put into practice by wishing our neighbour well out of love of God, and by performing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.”
All human beings are capable of natural love. We love those who love us, and we wish good for our relatives and friends. But to love all people, including our enemies, we need supernatural love.
Pope Francis said, “But there is a greater love, a love which comes from God and is directed towards God, which enables us to love God, to become his friends. It enables us to love our neighbours as God loves them, with the desire to share the friendship with God.”
Because of Christ, “this love drives us where we would not humanly go: it is the love for the poor, for what is not lovable, for those who do not care for us and are ungrateful. It is love for what no one would love, even for one’s enemy. Even for the enemy.”
This is “theological.” It comes from God and is the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
“Christian love embraces what is not lovable, it offers forgiveness ... Love is the ‘narrow gate’ through which we will pass in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Because at the twilight of life, we will not be judged on generic love; we will be judged precisely on charity, on the real love we had.”
St. John of the Cross said, “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” The saint also said, “Where there is no love, put love—and you will find love.”
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