By DON FIER
As we reflected last week on Pope Benedict XVI’s brilliant critique of the crisis of hope in the modern world as set forth in his 2007 encyclical Spe Salvi (SS), we saw that for many, “hope in the Kingdom of God has been displaced by hope in the kingdom of man, the hope of a better world which would be the real ‘Kingdom of God’” (SS, n. 30).
The former Vicar of Christ shows compellingly the truth of words spoken by St. Paul, that those whose hope is “for this life only…are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). Hope for a secular utopia is always destined to inevitably leave its adherents disillusioned, for even if the false promises of this world could be realized, the aspirations of the human heart would not be satisfied. Man’s real thirst is for unconditional love (cf. SS, n. 26), and it can only be attained in the beatific vision.
The entire encyclical — relatively short in length but packed with many profound insights for meditative reflection — is essentially a response to this crisis of Christian hope, a crisis which leaves those who are outside the Church (including merely nominal Christians) prone to the two extremes contrary to hope, presumption and despair, both which have deadly consequences.
Pope Benedict develops three “settings” that counteract this contemporary phenomenon: “prayer as a school of hope” (SS, nn. 32-34); “action and suffering as settings for learning hope” (SS, nn. 35-40); and “judgment as a setting for learning and practicing hope” (SS, nn. 41-48). Truly, the Christian virtue of hope has the ability to transform “life and the world from within” (SS, n. 4).
As was previously done for faith, let us close our treatment on the second theological virtue by considering sage advice by Fr. Jordan Aumann, OP — as proffered in his work entitled Spiritual Theology (SpT) — on sure ways faithful followers of Christ can develop, cultivate, and intensify this infused supernatural gift.
Beginners, to avoid falling into despair or presumption, should recall often that God is infinitely good and merciful, but that He is also infinitely just (Gal. 6:7). If we cooperate with God’s grace He is disposed to save us (1 Cor. 15:10), but we must work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). It befits beginners to frequently raise their thoughts to Heaven so as to disdain the things of Earth, to be consoled in the midst of labors and sufferings, and to be encouraged toward doing good (cf. SpT, pp. 259-260).
For more advanced souls, Fr. Aumann encourages avoidance of anxious solicitude for what tomorrow will bring (Matt. 6:26-30), simplification of prayer (Matt. 6:7-9), growth in detachment toward all earthly things, and confident advancement along the path of union, knowing that “the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).
Principal characteristics of those who approach perfection include: universal confidence in God; indestructible peace and security; a desire to die in order to reach Heaven; and the realization that their Heaven has already begun on Earth (cf. SpT, pp. 260-262).
With St. Paul, the person who has achieved the perfection of hope is able to say: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) transitions now to the third theological virtue, charity. Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD, masterfully articulates the relation of this “most excellent of all the infused virtues” to faith and hope:
“Faith makes us adhere to God by means of knowledge; hence, it is especially related to our intellect. Hope makes us adhere to God by the conviction that we will one day possess Him in heaven, and therefore, it is related to our desire for happiness. But charity seizes our entire being, and by means of love, casts it into God. Faith tells us who God is, and reveals the mystery of His intimate life which we are called to share; hope tells us that this God wills to be our Good for all eternity, but charity enables us to attain this immediately by the unitive force proper to it” (Divine Intimacy, p. 747).
The Catechism defines charity as “the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God” (CCC, n. 1822).
In similar terms, Fr. Aumann defines charity as “a supernatural habit infused by God into the will, by which we love God for himself above all things, and ourselves and our neighbor for God” (SpT, p. 266).
St. Thomas Aquinas, in comparing hope and charity, teaches that “hope makes us tend to God, as to a good to be obtained finally…whereas charity, properly speaking, makes us tend to God, by uniting our affections to Him, so that we live, not for ourselves, but for God” (Summa Theologiae [STh] II-II, Q. 17, art. 6, ad 3).
As a final definition, let us consider that given by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ: Charity is “the infused supernatural virtue by which a person loves God above all things for his own sake, and loves others for God’s sake. It is a virtue based on divine faith or in belief in God’s revealed truth, and is not acquired by mere human effort. It can be conferred only by divine grace. Because it is infused along with sanctifying grace, it is frequently identified with the state of grace. Therefore, a person who has lost the supernatural virtue of charity has lost the state of grace, although he may still possess the virtues of hope and faith” (Modern Catholic Dictionary, p. 95).
To the surprise of no one, the Angelic Doctor allocates a substantial portion of his Summa to the theological virtue of charity. In fact, he devotes no less than 24 questions and 142 articles (see STh II-II, QQ. 23-46) to his treatment of the greatest of all the supernaturally infused virtues. To begin, he explains that charity is a special kind of friendship, specifically, “the friendship of man for God” (STh II-II, Q. 23, art. 1).
We see scriptural attestation of this in the words of Jesus: “No longer do I call you servants…but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Likewise, St. Paul further affirms this tenet of our faith by proclaiming: “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor. 1:9).
To understand the nature of the theological virtue of charity, it is important to first realize that love has two aspects: we will some good for some one. First, there is a good that is desired; second, there is a person for which the good is desired. If emphasis is placed on the good that is desired, it is called eros (i.e., the love of desire or the love of concupiscence). If emphasis is put on the person for whom the good is willed, it is called agape (i.e., the love of benevolence or the love of friendship).
Love of friendship or agape is a special kind of love of benevolence in that the love is mutual and there is a sharing of life — you cannot have love of friendship without there being mutual benevolence and a life held in common in some way.
The theological virtue of charity, then, is essentially a love of friendship for God and a love of benevolence for neighbor for God’s sake (i.e., fraternal charity). Since charity presupposes a sharing of life, it can readily be seen that one cannot have charity without sanctifying grace, for by definition sanctifying grace is a sharing in the life of God Himself. Charity and sanctifying grace always go together and can never be separated.
Charity is the greatest of the virtues precisely because it is through this supernatural virtue that salvation is realized. Hence, it is our greatest obligation and it is the greatest commandment. Charity has to do with what is most directly the final end for which we were created.
Since our final end is union with God — and charity is the virtue of friendship with God — it follows that it is the greatest virtue and all the other virtues are, as it were, means toward attaining our final end. Faith and hope are ultimately for our benefit: Faith perfects a person by giving him knowledge about God and hope perfects a person because it moves him to desire beatitude.
Charity, however, is love of God for His sake alone; there is no motive of self-interest in authentically charitable acts. Moreover, it is the only virtue that endures forever (i.e., even faith and hope no longer exist in Heaven).
The Mother Of Virtues
Charity, teaches St. Thomas, “is the mother of the other virtues, because, by commanding them, it conceives the acts of the other virtues, by the desire of the last end” (STh II-II, Q. 23, art. 8, ad 3). From this it follows that — since charity directs the other virtues — all acts of natural virtue should ultimately be moved by charity. Charity directs obedience, religion, justice, and all other virtues through the aid of prudence, which was described in an earlier installment as the “charioteer” of all the virtues (see volume 150, n. 51; December 21, 2017).
Any act directed by true charity merits an increase in sanctifying grace — even the smallest, most hidden act performed under the direction of charity has an eternal consequence. On the other hand, as St. Paul explains in chapter 13 of his First Letter to the Corinthians, if charity is not present, no act is meritorious of Heaven. Charity is the bond of perfection in which every other virtue must be rooted — in a very real sense, if a person has charity he has all the other virtues.
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is a Consecrated Marian Catechist.)
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