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Living Charity During Advent
We have listened to the reading from 1 Cor 13. Verse 13 of this chapter says: "So now these three remain: faith, hope, and charity; but the greatest of these is charity." In the Church, a distinction is made between the cardinal virtues (prudence, fortitude, justice, temperance) and the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity); the greatest being the theological virtues, for their object is God. We are invited to practice all these virtues. Nevertheless, anyone can indeed observe the cardinal virtues; one does not need to be a Christian for that. It is otherwise for the theological virtues, for we have faith in God, our hope is founded in God, and as for charity, we must begin by loving God so that he may help us better love those around us.
The Lord sums up the commandments in that of love: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Advent is offered to me first of all to help me better love the Lord and grow in my love for God and for others; it is a time when I must apply myself to living my faith and my love for the Lord in the present, and not on the basis of my past achievements. What is the state of my love for Jesus? Do I love him enough? To make an examination of conscience about my love for God and for all those around me, and then to make resolutions so as to begin the new spiritual year better with the season of Advent.
So now these three remain: faith, hope, and charity; but the greatest of these is charity. The season of Advent is also offered to us to help us grow in charity, in love for our brothers and sisters, through various acts of love (visits, gifts, calls…). We must make a particular effort with those with whom we are on cold terms, for otherwise we are no different from the pagans. The first step in love is prayer: to pray for the people we love and those we would like to love, and to let this prayer be transformed into action.
Richard Saah
