Burning charity

THAT’S how charity is. If it’s real, it has to burn, it has to be passionate, it simply gives and gives without measure, it is self-perpetuating, etc., etc. It makes us generous, creative, heroic, articulate. It leads us to be patient, merciful, compassionate, eager to serve, willing to suffer, if need be. It’s the very dynamic core of our sense of freedom.

We need to keep the flame of charity burning always, because with our weakened human condition, we also tend to dull the edge of love through routine, complacency, lukewarmness, laziness, etc. If these go uncorrected, in the end, we would frustrate the deepest yearning of our humanity.

And so we should always think of how we can keep it going, much like what a love song, venting out the exploding sentiments inside, expresses: “How do you keep the music playing? / How do you make it last? / How do you keep the song from fading too fast?...”

At least when we ask questions like these, we lead ourselves to look for the answers. Obviously, we can look for the answers everywhere, but we need to realize also that the ultimate answer actually comes from God, whose essence is love precisely, and whose image and likeness we are.

Ergo, if we have to be truly in love, that is, away from its many caricatures, we have to be with God, reflecting his love in our life. It’s him who is the author of love, its giver and maintainer. He is the standard of love, the pattern, the beginning and end, the one that gives meaning and purpose, the beauty and energy of love.

We have to arrive at that fundamental, indispensable conviction of connecting our love with God. Otherwise, we would be cultivating a false love, a love without foundation, one that is superficial, too dependent on things that don’t last.

The love not founded on God would have a terribly limited scope of capabilities. It can hardly contend with difficulties, trials and the sometimes unavoidable mistakes and failures in life. It certainly cannot associate love with the cross of Christ.

To find meaning in suffering would not be part of its armament. It basks only in good times. It’s notoriously rigid and inflexible. And if it has some fire to it, it would usually be the fire of bitter zeal, with intentions, means and goals not entirely right.

I would like to remit here some description of true love by a Father of the Church, St. Gregory of Nyssa, who tells us what the power of love can do.

“The man ruled by this love,” he says, “shows his patience by bearing wrongs with equanimity, his kindness by generously repaying good for evil. Jealousy is foreign to him. It is impossible to envy worldly success when he has no worldly desires. He is not conceited. The prizes he covets lie within. Outward blessings do not elate him.

“His conduct is blameless, for he cannot do wrong in devoting himself entirely to love of God and his neighbor. He is not ambitious. The welfare of his own soul is what he cares about.

“Apart from that he seeks nothing. He is not selfish. Unable to keep anything he has in this world, he is as indifferent to it as if it were another’s. Indeed, in his eyes nothing is his own...

“He is not quick to take offence. Even under provocation, thought of revenge never crosses his mind. The reward he seeks hereafter will be greater in proportion to his endurance. He harbors no evil thoughts...”

We have to cultivate this culture of love around us, starting with ourselves and radiating it to ever-wider ripples in a sea without shores. The goal is to reach the universal inclusiveness of love that includes loving our enemies.

As often as everyday, and even many times during the day, we need to check if our heart is truly filled with this kind of love, and is moved only by the love that comes from God

This means that we have to develop a kind of recollected lifestyle, one that is reflective and contemplative even if we are immersed and dirtied by our daily duties and activities. This is always possible, though we need to train ourselves in it rigorously.

Especially these days when mindless spontaneity and frivolity is stressed, as well as mere dependence on our common sense or the so-called IQ, EQ, some social skills, the sciences and the arts, we need to make conscious effort to ground our love on God.