THERE is no
doubt about it. If we truly live the virtue of
charity that reflects, echoes and replicates the love of
God for us,
we should be ready to fall into some madness. We have to
be ready to
be some kind of madmen.
This charity
will surely overwhelm all our ideas of
rationality, common sense, justice, etc. It would require
us to go
beyond our human powers and to allow the supernatural
power of grace
to take hold of us, leading us to where we rather would
not go.
This phenomenon
should not surprise us, because the
charity that we talking about here is something
supernatural. It will
always involve some mysteries, some truths and ways that
are beyond
our comprehension. It will make possible what is
impossible to us.
This charity
cannot develop in us by using our human
powers alone. But we have to be clear about a certain
point. The
supernatural character of charity does not do away with
its natural
and human aspect. In fact, it demands the full
cooperation of our
natural and human powers. What it does is to purify the
natural and
human, and to expand and elevate it to the level of God’s
love.
Just consider
again the description St. Paul made of this
virtue. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,
it does not
boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it
is not
self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the
truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres.” (1 Cor
13,4-7)
I wonder if we
do not get some goose-bumps just going
through those words. Are they practicable, we are likely
to ask? Is
this not some kind of madness? Who can really observe
them?
Well, Christ
did all this. He put these words into action,
especially in his passion, death and resurrection. He
even taught us
to love our enemies, to offer the other cheek is we are
slapped in
one, and to go two miles if we are challenged to walk one
mile.
We are taught
to be magnanimous and merciful, always
offering forgiveness to those who may have offended us.
We are taught
to be generous without counting the cost, since every
good thing we
have is freely given to us by God and therefore we ought
to also
freely give good things to others. We are taught not to
be afraid to
lose all our earthly treasures so we can gain the one
that never
fades.
This is the
madness of love. Even in our human love
affairs, we already show traces of these signs of
madness. We are
willing to make sacrifices for our loved ones. Mothers
will never
hesitate to clean up the mess of their babies. Fathers
are willing to
work long hours just to support the family. Lovers are
willing to go
to far distances just to be near their beloved.
limitations to enable us to identify with our beloved who
is
ultimately God. But along the way, we have to learn how
to live
charity with the others who, in a manner of speaking, are
our way of
reaching God. As St. John said: “If we do not love people
whom we see,
how can we love God whom we cannot see?” (1 Jn 4,20)
There are times
when we find loving God easier than loving
people. We should bridge that gap. For loving God in
theory, in
intention and in some other spiritual operations would be
proven false
if it is not supported by loving people—and all kinds of
people,
including those who consider themselves our enemies.
The test of
real charity is when we can manage to echo
from our heart, one of Christ’s last words: “Forgive
them, Father, for
they know not what they are doing.”
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