September – Charity and Not for Profit Welfare
(extracts from the Transforming Sydney 2013 Prayer Calendar)
Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word love. The love that is caritas is distinguished by its origin, being divinely infused into the soul, and by its residing in the will rather than emotions, regardless of what emotions it stirs up. According to St. Thomas 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 neighbour and of one’s self.
The Apostle Paul describes it in his first letter to the Church at Corinth:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
(1 Corinthians 13:1-7 NKJV)
A story of “Sacred Place”:
In Rio a group of Christians was working with street children, of whom there are twenty-five million in Brazil. Everyday boys from the street got together at one spot to chat, to discuss their problems and to share their fears and anger with one another. Many came regularly. The church people consisted of a Catholic priest, a Methodist, a priest of the Umbanda cult, a Presbyterian and a young Lutheran pastor.
One day one of the boys said: “I would like to be baptized.”
“In which church, then?” asked the Catholic priest.
“Which church? In ours here of course.”
“But to which church building would you like to go?”
“Building? No, to our church here on the street. I want to be baptized here among us.”
The Methodist said he couldn’t issue a certificate.
The Catholic priest thought it wouldn’t be possible to perform jointly with the man from Umbanda cult.
The boy stuck by his wish. Finally the Lutheran pastor organised the necessary things. He laid a board over two crates and filled an old boot with water for flowers, which the children provided. The Catholic brought along a candle.
The baptism took place on the street, in the name of Jesus Christ.
(From “The Way of the Cross in Latin America”, Joice Irwin, Mowbray 1993, p.78)
God, as the source of all life and all goodness, deserves our love, and that love is not something that we can confine to attending Mass or Service on Sundays. We exercise the theological virtue of charity whenever we express our love for God, but that expression does not have to take the form of a verbal declaration of love.
Sacrifice for God’s sake, the curbing of our passions in order to draw closer to Him; the practice of the spiritual works of mercy in order to bring other souls to God, and the corporal works of mercy to show the proper love and respect for God’s creatures. These, along with prayer and worship, fulfil our duty to “love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind” (Matthew 22:37, consider also Matthew 6:1-4 and 25:34-40).
Charity fulfils this duty, but also transforms it; through this virtue, we desire to love God not simply because we must but because we recognise that (in the words of the Act of Contrition) He is “all good and deserving of all of my love.” The exercise of the virtue of charity increases that desire within our souls, drawing us further into the inner life of God, which is characterised by the love of the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Thus, St. Paul rightly refers to charity as “the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14), because the more perfect our charity, the closer our souls are to the inner life of God.
Reflections
“For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” (Deuteronomy 15:11 ESV)
“A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”
(Proverbs 11:25 NIV)
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:37-38 ESV)
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:14-17 NIV)
A Prayer
Lord, we ask you that you provide provision for these organisations
so they will be able to continue the serve You in a mighty way.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we pray and confess
that the Spirit of the Lord,
the spirit of Wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge
shall rest upon all people who work for not-for-profit and charitable organisations.
Lord, You have anointed them and qualified them to serve and preach the Gospel,
You have opened doors for them to provide their services for the welfare of our societies;
we ask Your blessings upon them,
Your provision upon them,
Your safety upon them, upon all the properties, the people, the transactions, the funding.
We pray for more donations to come in for the services that they provide.
Lord we uphold our government to provide more support and favour for them.
Lord we pray that a river of blessing will flow over all these organisations in our nation,
so they provide support for international works also.
Lord we pray that many people will provide monthly donations for charitable organisations
and we believe that You are the provider and the reward will be double and triple.
Amen.