Of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, it is Charity that the saved will possess for all eternity. “Charity never falleth away…” (Cor 13:8). Of these virtues it is charity that is the greatest. “And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity”. (Cor 13:13). What does it mean to possess Christian charity? It means to love God above all things for His own sake and to love others out of love for God. Christian charity is selfless love. It is a supernatural love that would have been unknown, except that it had been revealed to us through the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Put another way, God is Love, and for us to know what love is and how to love, Love had to become man.
It would be easy to say that we can love someone enough to save their life. It would not be so easy to say we can love someone enough to save their life, if they had taken the life of someone we love. The first way is the way we love, with a natural love. The second way is the way Christ loves, with a supernatural love. It is this supernatural love that we call Christian charity. It is a love that we could not possess nor practice, except through God’s supernatural grace.
Jesus said “I am come to cast fire on the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?” (Luke 12:49). In our prayer to the Holy Spirit we pray “Come Holy Spirit and enkindle in us the fire of thy love…” In fire we can see represented in it’s warmth, the love of God. In fire we can see represented in it’s light, the truth of God. In these two symbols can be seen that in charity there is always union with the truth. For the Christian, that truth is the person of Jesus Himself. It is only in the supernatural love of Christian charity that this truth can be communicated to others. We spread the Gospel in love. It is only through the fire of the supernatural love of Christian charity that God permits the light of the Gospel to pass through us so to penetrate the hearts and minds of others. Let us all pray that God will give us the grace to be transformed into incendiaries of the the fire of God’s love.