What is Charity?

I was asked by my student journalist – Mark Francis S. Basan II, to write a short article about the virtue of charity or love. This is for the welovecharity.blogspot.com that he created for the intention of raising funds for the benefit of the Home for the Aged here in Iligan City. I commend him and his team for coming up and making this plans a reality. 

So, what is charity?

In the American Heritage Dictionary, the term “charity” is defined as help or relief given to the poor; an organization or fund that helps the needy; benevolence toward others and forbearance in judging others [page 179]. 

For me these four statements are one of the many ways that we can express our love of God and for our brothers and sisters. For those who are involved in this blog they would like to show their love for the elderly in a concrete way. This is their response to Jesus greatest commandments. As Jesus said in the Gospel, the first and greatest commandment is you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and the second commandment is love your neighbor as yourself. By helping the elderly, it also their expressions of thier love for God. 

In the “A Consice Dictionary of Theology”, often charity is refered to the third theological virtue, which presupposes the other two (faith and hope) and gives life to all the virtues. Its primary object is God; secondarily it is directed towards ourselves and other human beings [page 40]. 

For those who are involved in We Love Charity blog, they have deep faith to God and they put this into action by loving the elderly and they are hoping that they can helped them in their own little ways. 

May God bless you always.