International Day of Charity

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘charity’? For Christians it is something more than philanthropy or giving to worthy causes. Nor is it an alternative to justice for those made poor or pushed to the margins. It is about the fullness of love, of which justice is the bare minimum.

“Love – caritas – will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love… There will always be suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will always be loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love of neighbour is indispensable.”

Benedict XVI, Caritas Deus Est, n 30.

Find out more about the United Nations’ observance of the International Day of Charity here.