Charity

WHAT IS CHARITY?

Recall what the theological virtues are

Let us first recall what we have said about the theological virtues. Faith, hope and charity are called "theological" because they have God for their

• source: they come from God, and they grow when God pours more of them into the soul, hence we need to pray to God if we want them to grow in us;
• motive, reason or support: the reason for believing, or hoping, or loving is God, not other factors, such as those based on any created thing;
• end or object: we believe God and believe in God, we hope and trust in God, we love God and (for the sake of God) love others.

ARE THERE MANY KINDS OF LOVE?

A. Kinds of Love According to the Source: Natural, Emotional and Intellectual Love

Saint Thomas Aquinas distinguished three kinds of human love based on the source of love. In created beings there are three possible sources or inclinations ("appetites") out of which love can ensue:

1. the very NATURE of something, by which something is attracted towards the purpose for which it was made (St Thomas calls this the APPETITUS NATURALIS;
2. the SENSITIVE TENDENCY (which can also be called SENSITIVE INCLINATION or SENSITIVE APPETITE--APPETITUS SENSITIVUS), by which one is attracted to something that is perceived by the senses as good; and
3. the RATIONAL or INTELLECTUAL TENDENCY (or RATIONAL INCLINATION or APPETITE--APPETITUS INTELLECTIVUS), by which one is attracted to something that is not only perceived, but understood by the intellect as good.

From these come three kinds of love

1. NATURAL or PHYSICAL LOVE. Saint Thomas says that natural love "is nothing more than the fundamental inclination which is stamped upon every being by the Author of nature." (Summa Theologiae I q60 a1 ad 3) and "is found in all the faculties of the soul, in all parts of the body, and indeed in all created things." (Summa Theologiae I-II q26 a1 ad 3). It is a built-in kind of love. All created things have it.
2. EMOTIONAL LOVE. When something is perceived as good and pleasing it is loved. It is the highest kind of love that non-rational animals have. It also exists in man. For man to direct this kind of love to a higher level or to something other than self, the intellect and the will have to intervene.
3. INTELLECTUAL OR VOLITIONAL LOVE. Man is not only emotions. The difference between him and the animals is that he has an intellect and a will. Love that arises in this level is capable of loving another for his own sake. Emotional love can be brought to new heights by volitional love.

B. Kinds of Love According to Reason for Loving: Love of Concupiscence and Love of Friendship

St Thomas (Summa Theologiae I q5 a6), following Aristotle, distinguishes three kinds of goods which provide the bases for another classification of love. These goods are:

1. the useful good (BONUM UTILE)--the good that is useful, the good that is seen as a means to another good;
2. the pleasurable good (BONUM DELECTABILIS)--good that gives pleasure and delight;
3. the worthy good (BONUM HONESTUM)--good that is desired for its own sake.

From these three kinds of goods, Aristotle distinguishes three kinds of friendship: friendship based on usefulness, friendship based on pleasure, and friendship for the friends' sake. From these goods, we can also distinguish two kinds of love (see Summa Theologiae I-II q26 a4), which are as follows:

1. Concupiscential love (AMOR CONCUPISCENTIAE): this is the love of something for the sake of someone (this "someone" can be oneself or another). In this kind of love, the object loved is seen as useful or pleasurable.
2. Love of friendship (AMOR AMICITIAE): this is the love of someone for whom we wish some good.

In this regard, Pope John Paul II taught that persons cannot be seen as objects to be used (i.e., loved merely as useful or pleasurable, or loved with only a concupiscential love).

C. Storge, Eros, Philia and Agape

CS Lewis popularised the four kinds of love (cf The Four Loves). These four kinds are as follows:

1. STORGE: natural love, affection or liking; family affection -- the love of parents for children; children for parents.
2. EROS: primarily physical love -- love between the sexes; physical and sexual expression; this is also called by other names: namely, affection, need-love, love-of-desire (amor concupiscentiae), sensate love, selfish or oblative love. CS Lewis (cf Four Loves) warns:
   1. We must be cautious about calling need-love (the emotion of love) 'mere selfishness'. Mere is always a dangerous word. No doubt, need-love, like all our impulses, can be selfishly indulged. . .Where need-love is felt, there may be reasons for denying or totally mortifying it; but not to feel it is in general the mark of the cold egoist. Since we do in reality need one another. . . the failure of this need to appear as need-love in consciousness. . . is a bad spiritual symptom.
3. PHILIA: the love of friendship; and
4. AGAPE: perfect, unconditional and all-giving; other-centered in care and service of the other; the kind of love Christ taught and showed. God makes it possible for us, however, to love in a super-natural, super-human way. In this kind of love, called "charity", we love with the love that God gives us. This is why Saint Therese of Lisieux prayed: "In order to love you as you loved me, I need to borrow your very own love". Pope Benedict XVI, in point no 7 of Deus Caritas Est points out that:
   1. ... man cannot live by oblative, descending love alone. He cannot always give, he must also receive. Anyone who wishes to give love must also receive love as a gift. Certainly, as the Lord tells us, one can become a source from which rivers of living water flow (cf John 7:37-38). Yet to become such a source, one must constantly drink anew from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart flows the love of God (cf John 19:34).

JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS CHARITY?

Charity is the first and most important of all commandments, the summary of them all; the whole Law and the Prophets depend on charity (cf Matthew 22:38; I Corinthians 13:1-13; Matthew 22:40). Charity is the bond of perfection (cf I Corinthians 3:14; Romans 3:10).

Charity is thus necessary as a means (necessitas medii), but is also necessary because we are commanded to love (necessitas praecepti).

GOD: PRIMARY OBJECT OF CHARITY

How should our love of God be like?

Our love for God should be:

• SUPERNATURAL (as described in the table above) and HUMAN at the same time. Saint Josemaría said that we only have one heart with which to love God and others.
• EFFECTIVE, since it is manifested in external deeds (cf John 3:18 ff; John 14:21).
• SUPERIOR to all other loves--it ought to be a love above all things. We must love God in such a way that we are willing to lose anything rather than his friendship. But this does not mean that we must feel his love more than any other (cf Matthew 22:37; Matthew 10:37).

Since charity is true friendship with God, it is incompatible with mortal sin, which is a separation from God and hence enmity with him. Thus, the act of charity--the resolution not to lose the friendship of God for any creature--destroys mortal sin and justifies ("makes just") the sinner. After Christ instituted Baptism and Penance for the sinner's justification, however, the act of charity made with God's help must be united to the resolution to receive Baptism or Penance.

Charity is said to be the form or the soul of all virtues (cf 1 Corinthians 13:4 ff). Just as the soul gives life and unity to the body, charity gives life and unity to the virtues. This is why Fr John Hardon defined charity as "the practice of all the virtues for the sake of love." All virtues must tend towards the proper object of charity: union with God. Charity rules over all the other virtues. St Augustine taught: "In essentials unity, in non-essentials freedom, in all things charity."

Is love of God pure agape?

Man is both body and soul. Physical love falls under eros, an eros which has been purified and disciplined. As Pope Benedict says in the Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est (no 5):

An intoxicated and undisciplined eros, then, is not an ascent in "ecstasy" towards the Divine, but a fall, a degradation of man. Evidently, eros needs to be disciplined and purified if it is to provide not just fleeting pleasure, but a certain foretaste of the pinnacle of our existence, of that beatitude for which our whole being yearns.

This is due first and foremost to the fact that man is a being made up of body and soul. Man is truly himself when his body and soul are intimately united; the challenge of eros can be said to be truly overcome when this unification is achieved. Should he aspire to be pure spirit and to reject the flesh as pertaining to his animal nature alone, then spirit and body would both lose their dignity. On the other hand, should he deny the spirit and consider matter, the body, as the only reality, he would likewise lose his greatness. ... Yet it is neither the spirit alone nor the body alone that loves: it is man, the person, a unified creature composed of body and soul, who loves. Only when both dimensions are truly united, does man attain his full stature. Only thus is love--eros--able to mature and attain its authentic grandeur.

Nonetheless, as Pope Benedict XVI points out, eros, seen as love that receives, is needed for our relationship with God.

Because love of God is mutual and there is a communication of goods between God and man, it includes philia. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in Deus Caritas Est (no 3), reminds us that the term "philia"

is used with added depth of meaning in Saint John's Gospel in order to express the relationship between Jesus and his disciples.

Charity is a "love of benevolence" in the sense that we love God for his own sake and not for the benefits his love may bring us. But it is also a "love of friendship" because, besides being disinterested, it is mutual and there is a communication of goods between both parties.

In what way do we sin against love of God?

Any venial sin lessens our love for God. Hence, it is an offense against God. And as has been said above, mortal or grave sin makes one lose his love for God completely. Hatred for God is always a mortal sin (ex toto genere suo), whether he is hated because he can punish or because he commands something unpleasant, or--even worse--he is hated in himself.

The sins of omission against charity towards God include indifference, ingratitude, and lukewarmness. Sloth, or acedia, is a disgust for the spiritual goods because they are difficult to obtain and exercise, which leads to spiritual stagnation.

THE OTHERS: SECONDARY OBJECT OF CHARITY

How should our love for others be?

Brotherly charity, or charity towards our neighbor, should have the following properties:

• Charity must be AFFECTIVE--with internal acts of love--and EFFECTIVE--shown in external works of charity.
• It must be UNIVERSAL, extending to all creatures capable of eternal happiness. It only excludes the devils and the damned. (See explanation below.)
• Charity has to be ORDERLY, both as regards the persons loved and the goods wanted for them. (See explanation below.)

Love is universal. The commandment of love extends to those who have offended us and have not done any reparation yet, those who hate us, and those we simply dislike through no fault of theirs or ours (cf Proverbs 25:21 ff; Matthew 5:43 ff; 1 John 3:14 ff). One can love someone he does not like. Thus:

• One has to put aside all ill will (hatred, or desiring evil for the enemy) and thirst of revenge. One cannot curse an enemy either.
• The enemy has to be shown all common signs of good will. There is no need to show extraordinary appreciation, as we do with friends.
• One has to seek reconciliation. The offender is bound to take the initiative in this regard. But, since it often happens that parties blame each other, it is advisable that both take the first step towards reconciliation.

Some persons or things should be loved more than others. Love observes priorities. Love is orderly.

• With regard to PERSONS, provided the necessity and the quality of the goods is the same, the order of preference is as follows: (i) Love of self comes before love of others, since this is the standard to imitate: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (cf Matthew 22:39). It would not be reasonable to risk one's own eternal salvation in order to save another. For example, one should not attempt to convince a heretic if there is danger of being convinced and losing one's faith instead. (ii) Other persons must be loved according to their closeness to God and to ourselves. As regards the latter, the usual order of precedence is: spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, other close relatives, friends, benefactors.
• With regard to THINGS, there is also an order in the benefits we must wish for our neighbor: first, supernatural spiritual goods, such as grace and salvation; second, corporal goods, such as life, health, bodily integrity; and third, external goods, such as good reputation, honor, wealth. Some principles can be established: (i) A person in extreme spiritual need must be helped even at the risk of one's life, provided there is reasonable hope of succeeding and it does not conflict with the common good (cf 1 John 3:16). (ii) If the spiritual need is not extreme, there is no obligation to risk one's life or even some great personal damage in order to help, unless it is required by the common good or by the special obligations of one's position. (iii) When our neighbor is in serious spiritual or corporal need, one is bound to help only if it can be done without great inconvenience (cum mediocri incommodo), unless justice, mercy, or one's position demand a greater effort. (iv) A person in ordinary or slight need must be helped if it only causes a small inconvenience (cum levi incommodo).

What are external acts of charity?

These are summarised in the works of mercy. Mercy is the moral virtue inclining the will to feel due compassion for our neighbor's distress and to alleviate it. There is a traditional, non-exhaustive listing that names seven spiritual and seven corporal works of mercy (cf Matthew 25:31-46). The spiritual works of mercy are:

1. to admonish the sinner;
2. to instruct the ignorant;
3. to counsel the doubtful;
4. to comfort the sorrowful;
5. to bear wrongs patiently;
6. to forgive all injuries; and
7. to pray for the living and the dead.

The corporal works of mercy are:

1. to feed the hungry;
2. to give drink to the thirsty;
3. to clothe the naked;
4. to visit the imprisoned;
5. to shelter the homeless;
6. to visit the sick; and
7. to bury the dead.

Many of these acts of mercy can be reduced to two: fraternal correction and almsgiving.

Finally, let us quote something from CS Lewis in his book Four Loves

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

What is "scandal" and "cooperation in evil"?

There are two sins against charity that not many people are aware of. These two sins affect the spiritual life of our neighbour. They are called "scandal" and "cooperation in evil".

Scandal

The term scandal originally meant something placed in the path of somone that could make him stumble and fall. It can be defined as any evil saying, deed, or omission that constitutes an occasion for others or causes them to fall into sin (cf Matthew 18:6 ff). There are different classifications of scandal: namely,

• DIRECT-INDIRECT. DIRECT scandal intentionally seeks to make others sin. Formal or diabolic scandal is a direct scandal aimed at corrupting and harming, rather than at the benefit one may get from another's sin. Direct scandal is a mortal sin ex genere suo, and thus admits slight matter. It is a double sin: against charity and against the specific virtue violated by the other person's sin. The seriousness of the scandal is proportional to its intentionality, its influence over the other person's sin, and the seriousness of that sin.
• INDIRECT scandal, on the other hand, is that scandal in which the other person's sin is foreseen but not directly intended. Indirect scandal is a sin against charity, but not against the virtue violated by the other person's sin.
• SCANDAL OF THE WEAK and PHARISAIC SCANDAL. If the scandal is suffered because of the victim's ignorance, without any objective reason, we have the SCANDAL OF THE WEAK or scandalum pusillorum ("scandal of little ones"). Such is the case of someone scandalized because a "mature" person likes hard rock music. The scandal of the weak must be avoided whenever possible without great inconvenience (sine gravi incommodo) (cf Rom 14:13-23). Furthermore, one must consider whether an action involving a potential occasion of sin for others is lawful or not.
• If the scandal is due to the victim's own evil intention, without any objective reason, we have a PHARISAIC SCANDAL. This was the case of the Pharisees, who thought Jesus sinned by curing on the Sabbath (cf Matthew 15:12-14). There is no obligation of avoiding a pharisaic scandal if there is a reasonable cause for the action.

A scandal demands REPARATION, since it violates fraternal charity and, at times, even justice and the common good. Public scandal must be repaired in public. The reparation of private scandal need extend only to the victims.

Cooperation in Evil

By cooperation in evil we usually mean any assistance or collaboration in another person's evil deed. While scandal provides the occasion for another person to commit sin, cooperation in evil implies that the other person already as an intention to commit sin. In cooperation in evil, there is no direct influence over the evil intention of the other: one's cooperation just makes the other's action possible or easier. Cooperation in evil covers a wide gamut of actions, from the different types of complicity and incitation to material cooperation. The latter would be the case, for example, of those selling the instrument used to commit a sin.

There are different types of cooperation.

• The main distinction is between FORMAL and MATERIAL cooperation. In FORMAL cooperation one wants or consents to the other's sin, with or without external manifestation. In MATERIAL cooperation the other's evil act is neither wanted nor consented to. There is collaboration as to the performance of the physical action, but the will neither wants to offend God nor wants the other to offend him.
• Depending on how close the collaboration in the evil deed is, we can speak of MEDIATE or IMMEDIATE cooperation. IMMEDIATE or DIRECT cooperation assists in the performance of the sinful act itself, as the anesthetist in an unlawful surgical operation. MEDIATE or INDIRECT cooperation only involves supplying the instrument to be used in another's sin. It does not have any direct connection with the sin. For example, selling a drug or a weapon the buyer will later use for a crime.
• We can still make another distinction between PROXIMATE and REMOTE cooperation, based on the degree of physical or moral closeness between the help that is given and the sin itself. This division is related to the preceding one, since direct cooperation is always proximate; indirect cooperation, however, may be proximate or remote. If a bank finances an abortion campaign, for example, its directors cooperate in a proximate and mediate way. The depositors and stockholders, on the other hand, cooperate in a remote and mediate way by making it possible with their money.

What criteria will allow us to judge the morality of cooperation in evil in specific cases?

• FORMAL cooperation is always illicit. It implies wanting or consenting to another's sin, which is in itself a sin. St Paul decries it after listing the sins of those who rejected God: "Those who practice such things deserve to die. And not only do they do these things, but they applaud others doing them" (Romans 1:32).
• Generally speaking, mere MATERIAL cooperation is also illicit. Charity binds us to prevent inasmuch as possible our neighbor's sins--cooperation is, of course, out of the question.
• In some particular circumstances, MATERIAL cooperation may be lawful in order to obtain a necessary good or avoid a great damage. Charity does not bind us to avoid another person's sin when this would cause us a great inconvenience, or require a disproportionate effort. Obviously, cooperation is not lawful if there are other ways to obtain the good or avoid the damage.
• Nevertheless, the above condition is not sufficient to make material cooperation lawful. The rules governing the MORALITY OF DOUBLE EFFECT (or INDIRECTLY VOLUNTARY) acts also must be followed.

The principle of DOUBLE EFFECT or INDIRECTLY VOLUNTARY is as follows:

• The ACTION of the collaborator must be in itself good or indifferent.
• The INTENTION of the collaborator must be good: all formal cooperation and illicit intention must be excluded.
• There must be a PROPORTIONATE CAUSE to justify the cooperation. In assessing the proportionate or reasonable cause mentioned, one must consider the seriousness of the sin involved, the certainty that it will actually be committed, the closeness of the cooperation sought, and the consequences for third parties. Great rectitude is required to decide whether the cause is proportionate to the evil results of one's cooperation. This is the most delicate factor to evaluate, at times posing great difficulties. The good to be obtained--or evil to be avoided--must be carefully balanced against the evil caused by one's cooperation.
• The GOOD EFFECT SOUGHT should not be a consequence of the evil action to which one cooperates. Rectitude of intention is needed in applying these principles to a possible cooperation in evil. As regards the intention of the collaborator, the fact that if one does not help, someone else will, does not make cooperation lawful. Neither is the moral certitude that the sin will be committed just the same without our help enough to make it lawful.
• SCANDAL must be avoided. Others--especially persons with poor formation--may think one is consenting to the sin committed.
• PROXIMATE OCCASIONS OF SIN must be avoided. Cooperating in other's sins through good or indifferent actions often entails the danger of eventually consenting to those sins. Therefore, one must apply the proper means to remove the occasion of sin. Cases raising the possibility of cooperation in evil pose complex moral problems. These must be studied in the presence of God. One must be humble enough to ask for advice. Besides, a good Christian should have a positive outlook: cooperation in good, seeking and spreading the good, helping others to find Christ.

SHOULD I LOVE MYSELF?

Charity leads us to love ourselves insofar as we are creatures and children of God, destined for eternal salvation. The commandment of loving ourselves is implicitly contained in that of loving our neighbor as ourselves (cf Matthew 22:39).

We must love ourselves, body and soul, because we belong to God. The true and perfect love for oneself consists in following Christ, perfect man, who invited us to imitate him.

FURTHER READING

• Fr Paul A Duffner, OP, The Virtue of Charity (http://www.copiosa.org/virtue/virtue_charity.htm)
• Peter Kreeft, Love (http://catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0019.html)
• Jordan Aumann, Thomistic Evaluation of Love and Charity (http://www.domcentral.org/study/aumann/charity.htm)
• The Catholic Encyclopedia, Charity (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09397a.htm)
• Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est(http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html)