Charity
Gospel
Faith - Hope - Charity.
If, therefore, you will progress in charity, which pours in you the Holy Spirit, he will teach you all truth.
(Jn 16, 13).
The Holy Spirit leads the disciples to the fullness of truth continuously pouring their hearts charity.
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From the first letter to the Corinthians
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a resounding gong or cymbal screaming. If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have so much faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And if I give all my belongings in the food and deliver my body to be burnt, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it does not boast, is not puffed up with pride, not rude, does not seek its own interests II, does not get angry, do not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. The charity will never end. There are prophecies, tongues will cease, knowledge will vanish. [...] Now, therefore, these three things remain: faith, hope and charity. Faith will end, hope will end, what is left is love, because the biggest of them all!.
(1 Corinthians letter from 13.1 to 13)
St. Paul in this passage intrigues us when he says, "If I give all my belongings in a food ... but have not love, I gain nothing".
If today we were to give us food in our possessions to those in need, we would be considered charitable people, but Paul does not seem to feel the same way because he says: "If we did all these things, but do not have love, everything would be worthless". Paul is instructing the Christians of Corinth of this great theme, so that even today, as then, the idea is correct on charity, a truth that must remain forever. He continues: "If I owned a lot of faith to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing".
Paul says: "Faith and hope will end", because faith and hope we serve only for our earthly journey. He continues: "We now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror ... Now, we know imperfectly," we need faith. Then "we will know perfectly ... because we will see God face to face": faith will not help, for we shall see Him. For Paul, hope is the certainty that we must stand up along the way and nourishing the faith. The hope is that tells us: "Be strong, because I reach, you have to achieve it" and supports you but when you arrive, hope its service life, then it will remain only charity.
What is this love?
"Love is forever", is our state of eternal life, those who rejoice in the presence of God, to those who feel at one with God. Love is the state of man, who is in communion with God. Our journey has come to that knowledge, that we will be given when we become one with Him, then we will be in love forever.
Love is the force that sustains our earthly journey, because it is the initial state of communion with God, until we reach it permanently. We must begin to live charity on earth, but not as a virtue but as a state, because, if the charity is communion with God, to live charity means that, from now on, we live in communion with God.
Charity, therefore, are not the actions of men, but it is the state of communion with the Father. The charity is to give people the opportunity to know, to understand, to reach this communion with God.
We can enter into the state of communion with God only if you accept and live the gospel of Jesus through the living word, enables us to have within us the life of God. This is the state of communion.
If it is true: "Love is patient, is kind; love is not jealous, it does not boast, is not puffed up with pride, not rude, not seek its own interests, does not get angry, do not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth, but most of all love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. Love is the power that transforms us, that is because we have adhered to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is in us.
We are shaped by charity when our humanity reflects the humanity of Jesus. When we turned us by the Spirit, when we realize that, within us, we are no longer us to drive ourselves when we hear more and more to get closer to the certainty of being in communion with God and immerse ourselves constantly in Him.
Today, in the name of the alleged charity, we do not think more to the Gospel, we are interested not understand if Jesus really is the Son of God, and if we have to model ourselves on Him. Let's just free rein to those who are our emotions, our feelings, our "good heart", rest assured that this is the way to reach God. We therefore ask the Lord lucidity and clarity to guide us to the truth and not fall into the deception.
If we live in Jesus, He transforms us and we can say with St. Paul: Love is patient, is kind; is not jealous, it does not boast, is not puffed up with pride, not rude, not seek its own interests, does not get angry, do not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. "This is the love that gives us the life of God, the Spirit of God, being in communion with Him.
Christian theology
In Christian Theology:
- It is meant by charity the love with which God loves himself, the love with which the Father loves the Son, and the love with which the Father loves the Son is the same Holy Spirit.
- It is meant by charity also the love with which God loves each of us, and God loves us with the same love with which he loves himself, that love us in the Holy Spirit.
- It is meant by charity the love with which we love God, ourselves, and our neighbors, if you will, is a love that responds to God who loves us.
The Christian love then is a dynamism of love with which the Christian and able to love with the same love received from God, which has its origin in God and has the ability to conform to the life of Christ.
Solidarity, altruism, mutual aid, benevolence are good dispositions of mind, but the origin of these acts can only be born from the awareness of belonging to the same community and have common interests and goals, but if these acts lack the charity of God, then everything remains on a human level and as St. Paul says: "they are nothing".
Charity, however, presupposes the discovery of being loved by God, we are all brothers in Jesus Christ and that we are all called to participate in the salvific plan of love and bliss of the Trinity, then it can strengthen any of solidarity, social altruism, a fraternal mutual help. Rather, the charity gives an added value to action, the lifeblood that is the grace and love of Jesus Christ.
