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The theological virtue of charity, which we also call love, is the highest of all, as
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it is the essence of God's friendship with us.
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While the virtues of faith and hope have God the first truth, and God as merciful, omnipotent
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and faithful as their objects, the object of the virtue of charity is God's goodness
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and loveability, for God is love, as St. John says.
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It is the grace by which we love God for His own sake and our neighbor for God's sake.
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By loving God for His own sake, we mean we love Him because He is the most lovable
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of all things, if we can put it like that, and not because of mere duty or the desire
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for good things for ourselves, even our desire for salvation.
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And loving our neighbor for God's sake means loving them not out of any mere natural
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affection or friendship, but because God loves them, and they are reflections of God and
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share in His goodness.
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We is also infinitely above the natural love one might acquire for the creator as known
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By the virtue of charity, we are elevated to love God as He is in Himself, in all the fullness
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which He has revealed to us.
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We are unable to do what we are totally incapable of doing naturally, loving, with the love
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that surpasses our power, an object which infinitely exceeds our natural knowledge.
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This is why St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans that, the charity of God is poured
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forth into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
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It is only by the Holy Spirit that we can be raised to the dignity of being able to
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call God our friend and father.
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It is higher than faith and hope also in the sense that, as St. Paul says, neither faith
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nor hope will remain in heaven, but only charity, and charity is required to enliven the other
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virtues, and without charity they are dead.
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In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says that you could give away all your
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goods and even your life, but if this is done without supernatural charity, it is completely
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empty and pointless.
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Being done without charity has any merit.
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Two external actions could look identical, but the one done with charity is infinitely
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greater than the one done out of natural duty or affection, and it is meritorious where
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To give food to the poor out of a sense of duty or pity or even natural love, still falls
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infinitely short of giving food to the poor out of divine charity, out of love for the
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other as one who shares in God's goodness, reflects His image, and is created for eternal
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The extent to which we are commanded to love God does not have any upper limit.
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Of course by sinning we are shown to be deficient in our charity, and when we sin gravely we
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lose charity and the entire life of grace in our soul, which is restored in the sacrament
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So there is a lower limit below which we can objectively say that we do not love God.
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But we can always love God more because He is infinitely lovable.
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We are commanded to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.
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But who of us could say that they had reached that point in their earthly life?
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And even if we were to love God with all the power we think we have, God is always
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capable of expanding us further to receive more grace and charity.
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Even in heaven where the saints love God with all their capacity, they still do not love
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God as much as He ought to be loved, because the love due to Him is infinite.
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St. Thomas Aquinas divides our growth and charity into three general stages.
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The first, the beginning of our conversion, is when we resolve to avoid all grave sin
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and fight hard against temptation.
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The second, when we are generally free from the tendency toward mortal sin, we strive
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to avoid even venial sins and imperfections.
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And the third, in which we are always united to God by charity and always growing in it
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by frequent acts of charity, both interior and exterior.
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To love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength can become in our minds a mere
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trite saying, since we hear it so much.
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But consider what it actually means.
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The love of God should encompass and influence everything in us, from our reason to our will,
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to even our emotions and affections and down to our bodily senses.
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But how often do we invoke God's aid during the day when we act, or when we are at leisure,
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or when troubled, or joyful?
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Charity should imbue everything we think, say, and do.
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While we contend to forget to make explicit acts of charity when caught up in the busyness
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of the day, we should try to set aside times to dedicate everything we do to God, at least
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in making a morning offering when we wake up, offering all the day's prayers, works,
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joys, and sorrows to Him.
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We love our neighbor as ourselves as something else more worthy of contemplation.
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You work so hard to not only survive, but thrive and succeed in life, and hopefully
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to do everything necessary for salvation.
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God commands us to desire these things as much for our neighbor as we do for ourselves.
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How many of us can say that we have ever had that desire, really and deeply, for our
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neighbor, that we want His flourishing and salvation as much as our own?
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But that is what we are commanded and enabled to do with divine charity.
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Again, all of these things infinitely surpass our capabilities, so it shouldn't be a cause
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of sorrow or despair that we can't stir up these feelings in our souls, because the power
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doesn't come from us.
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We need only ask, and God will gradually and continually fill us with this most important
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We can be sure that He is doing so if we frequent the sacraments, and often receive the
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Eucharist not only worthily, but with great devotion, because it is called the sacrament
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of charity, since it contains God Himself, who is love.