Presence of God

Make me understand, O Lord, the preeminence of charity, that I may apply myself to it with all my heart.

Meditation

I. The three theological virtues, having God for their immediate object, are superior to the moral virtues which are directed to the government of our conduct; but among the three theological virtues, charity holds the primacy. It holds the primacy because, being inseparable from grace, it is the constitutive and indispensable element of our supernatural life. Where there is no charity there is neither grace nor life, but only death. He that loveth not, abideth in death, and contrariwise, He that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him (1 Jn 3,14 — 4,16). Faith and hope can subsist in a soul which has lost grace, but charity cannot. It is so vital that it cannot co-exist with the death that is caused by sin. Furthermore, it is so vital that it is imperishable and will remain unchanged for all eternity. In heaven, faith and hope will cease because they bear with them some imperfection : faith makes us know God without giving us the vision of Him, and hope lets us hope in Him without giving us possession of Him. Hence, when that which is perfect is come, that is, the beatific vision, these two virtues will have no further reason for existing. However, it is not the same with charity which implies no imperfection, since by it, we love God either in the obscurity of faith, or in the clarity of vision, and therefore St. Paul says, Charity never falleth away. Here on earth, to adhere to God, these three remain : faith, hope, and charity : but the greatest of these is charity (1Co. 13, 8-13).

Faith and hope are incomplete virtues, because without charity they cannot unite us to God and produce the works of eternal life. The faith and hope of a sinner, one who has lost charity, are inactive and inoperative; they remain in him, it is true, but they are there as if dead. Faith without works is dead (Jas 2,26), and only faith that worketh by charity... availeth anything (Gl. 5, 6), and this to the extent, that if I should have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (1Co. 13, 2). It is charity that gives the warmth and strength of eternal life to faith and hope; it is charity that infuses vigor into these virtues, for only he who loves is capable of abandoning himself to God with eyes closed.

II. The moral virtues can make a man honest and virtuous, and can regulate his actions according to reason, but they can in no way bring him into friendship with God or even give him the possibility of meriting eternal life. Without the life-giving breath of charity, everything is dead, sterile, cold; without charity, man is confined to the natural level; he cannot be a child of God, nor His friend; he cannot live in intimacy with the three divine Persons. Charity is the principle, root, source, and measure of our supernatural life. The more we love, the more the life of grace increases in us and the more we live in God : We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love (1Jo. 3, 14).

It is a truly impressive thought : the greatest and most beautiful works, such as the apostolate, works of beneficence, and even martyrdom, are of no value without charity. If I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing (1Co. 13, 3). But when charity is present, everything changes in appearance, like a landscape under the sun’s caress, and with the change in appearance, the value also changes; even the lowliest works, the most secret acts of virtue, if performed out of love for God, acquire value for eternal life. This is the miracle worked by charity, which St. Thomas calls with good reason, the form and mother of all the virtues. It is love alone which gives value to all things, says St. Teresa, and the most needful thing is that it be so great that nothing can hinder its operation (Ex. 5). All this enables us to understand that charity is truly the greatest and the first commandment, on which the whole law depends (Mt. 22, 38-40). The soul that has understood this great truth, is no longer preoccupied with so many more or less accessory practices and exercises in its spiritual life, but aims straight at the heart, at the center of this life, at charity. This soul’s only concern is to use all its strength in the exercise of love, to increase this love, to live as much as possible in continual, actual love; therefore, it strives in all things to work for the sole purpose of pleasing God and giving Him glory.

Colloquy

Clothe me, O Lord, with the purple garment of charity which not only adds grace to faith and hope, but causes the soul to rise to so lofty a point that it is brought very near You and becomes very beautiful and pleasing in Your eyes. It is the virtue which most attracts Your love, protects the soul against pride and gives value to the other virtues, bestowing on them vigor and strength, grace and beauty so that they may please You, for without charity no virtue has grace before Your eyes.

O sweetest love of God, how little are You known! He who has found Your fountain has found rest. You remove from the affections of the will whatever is not God and set it upon Him alone, and then you prepare this faculty and unite it to God through love.

O God, teach me to use all my powers to love You, so that all the faculties of my soul and body : memory, understanding, and will, inward and outward senses, desires of the sensual part and of the spiritual part, will work in love and for the sake of love. Grant that all that I do I may do with love, and all that I suffer I may suffer with the pleasure of love, and that in this way, my God, I may keep all my strength for You (J-C. DN II, 21,10.11 — SM /, 16 — SC, 28,8).

I resolve, O my God, to have no other purpose but love in all my actions, interior as well as exterior, always saying and asking myself : What am I doing now? Am I loving my God? And if I see that there is any obstacle to pure love, I shall reproach myself, remembering, O Lord, that I must return You love for love. Well do You make me understand that the more I love You, the more diligent I shall be in the observance of all Your holy laws (cf. T.M. Sp).