InChristian theology,charity (Latin:caritas) is considered one of theseven virtues and was understood byThomas Aquinas as "the friendship of man for God", which "unites us toGod". He holds it as "the most excellent of thevirtues".[1] Aquinas further holds that "the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor".[2]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines "charity" as "thetheological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God".[3]
The phraseDeus caritas est from1 John 4:8 (1 John 4:8)—orΘεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν (Theos agapē estin) in the original Greek[4] is translated in theKing James Version as: "God is love", and in theDouay-Rheims bible as: "God is charity" (1 John 4:8). Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity with "love", which he holds as a passion, not a virtue.[5] The King James Version uses both the wordscharity andlove to translate the idea ofcaritas/ἀγάπη (agapē): sometimes it uses one, then sometimes the other, for the same concept. Most other English translations, both before and since, do not; instead, throughout they use the same more direct English wordlove. Love can have other meanings in English, but as used in theNew Testament it almost always refers to the virtue ofcaritas.
Many times when charity is mentioned in English-language bibles, it refers to "love of God", which is a spiritual love that is extended from God to man and then reflected by man, who is made in the image of God, back to God. God gives man the power to act as God acts (God is love), man then reflects God's power in his own human actions towards others. One example of this movement is "charity shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8,1 Peter 4:8). "The practice of charity brings us to act toward ourselves and others out of love alone, precisely because each person has the dignity of a beloved child of God."[6]
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Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit because it both glorifies and reflects the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word "love". As with other theological virtues, charity is divinely infused into the soul; it resides in thewill.[7] According to Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as man's last goal.
Charity has two parts: love of God and love of man, which includes both love of one's neighbor and one's self.[7]
In1 Corinthians 13,Paul places the greatest emphasis on charity (love). "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." He describes it this way:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am becomeas sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I havethe gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feedthe poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.Charity never faileth: but whetherthere be prophecies, they shall fail; whetherthere be tongues, they shall cease; whetherthere be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.... And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of theseis charity.
The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy.[3]
In December 2005,Pope Benedict XVI issued the encyclicalDeus caritas est, in which he discussed "... the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others."[8]
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Based on theMatthew 25's Parable ofThe Sheep and the Goats, the early Church saw the love of the poor (periptochias) as the crown jewel of the virtues. Cappadocian father St.Gregory of Nazianzus wrote that
It is not at all an easy task to discover the one virtue that surpasses all others and to give it the scepter and palm, just as it is not easy in a meadow fragrant with many blossoms to find the mostfragrant and beautiful.
After considering many of the Christian virtues, he concludes that
following Paul and Christ himself, we must regard charity as the first and greatest of the commandments since it is the very sum of the Law and the Prophets, [and] its most vital part I find is the love of the poor...[9]
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| Four cardinal virtues |
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| Three theological virtues |
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| Seven lively virtues versus Seven deadly sins | ||
| Related concepts | ||
