Charity and Love – Great Lenten Retreat Week Seven
Welcome to Holy Week, where we will focus on the greatest of all virtues: Love/Charity. God made us to know Him, to LOVE Him, to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next (Baltimore Catechism). When we receive this theological virtue as a gift from God, God puts into us some of His own Divine love. As Christ our Pascua reminds us “the virtue of love is not only the human capacity to love; it is the love by which God Himself loves” (844).
By the way, if you missed any of the weeks in our Lenten virtues retreat, you can find them in the schedule at the bottom of this article.
Understanding the Virtues
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. – 1 John 4: 7-8
What is Love?
Faith, Hope, and Love, and the greatest of these is Love. (1 Cor 13:15).
In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1822, the greatest theological virtue is defined: “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbour as ourselves for the love of God.” We love God because God deserves our love and wills for us to love Him. And we have charity towards our neighbours not because it is deserved, but because we love God, and a love for all that is made in the image and likeness of God follows from this.
Christian Love
There are three fruits of love. The first is joy. When we are filled with the gift of love, we cannot help but be joyful. It is by this virtue that we have the opportunity to suffer… and be happy about it. Peace is another fruit of love. When God’s love fills our hearts, nothing in the world can shake our peace. Finally, mercy is a fruit of the virtue of love.
Christ our Pascua 849 expresses how love is at the centre of all Christian action:
The substance and motivation for all of a Christian’s moral actions is love. Jesus Christ teaches us that the entire Law is contained in the commandment to love God and neighbour (see Mt 22:40; Dt 6:5; Lv19:18). Through the gift of divine love the Christian obtains “the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Rom 8:21) and fulfils the entire Law “for the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law” (Rom13:10).
Charity in Lent
“A true devotion to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit leads to one end, the cross: the true and supreme glorification of the Father, the highest expression of love on earth, the central point of the will of God” The Sanctifier, part one, chapter 17, the first sentence.
Really there is no better virtue to focus on during this last week before Easter, than charity. For charity is the supreme motive for the cross, and there is no greater act of love than that of Christ’s crucifixion. And although Christ died for us, it is not even just an act of love for us. It is an act of love for God the Father. And it is God the Father whom Christ glorifies on the cross. It is His will that Christ fulfills. And so it is out of love for God the Father first and foremost, that Christ wills to be crucified.
And yet, Christ’s love for us remains. It has been revealed to the mystics that, had any one of us been the only sinner on Earth, Christ would gladly undergo crucifixion to save a single soul. That is how much He loves each and every one of us.
As you pray this week, contemplate the eternal love of God.
Acts of Charity
Remember that all the things you do are for the glory of God. Offer the effort you put into even small moments this week, through Jesus, to the glory of the Father.
Love keeps the commandments of God and His Christ (John 15:10). Pick another commandment this week and focus on keeping it through the virtue of Charity.
Think of someone who annoys you or bothers you in some way. Imagine how God sees that person, remembering that they are made in the image and likeness of God. If you are struggling to feel any charity toward your neighbour, also consider how God sees you. Remember that God loved us and died for us even when we were His enemies, so that He could restore us and make us His children. And how sad it is when we reject this great gift from Him.
Consider the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Find a way to do one of each this week, remembering that mercy is a fruit of love.
The Byzantine Life
If you enjoyed this week’s article, you might want to check out our article about Holy Week: A Guide to What Happens During Holy Week. Or in preparation for Easter, read about Easter Sunday. And then about Bright Week. Prepare for a lasting and memorable Easter by checking out our article about being mindful of the whole Easter season!
Great Lent Virtues Retreat Schedule
28 February – Week One – Humility and Justice – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-humility-justice/
7 March – Week Two – Living in the Moment and Temperance – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-temperance/
14 March – Week Three – Fortitude: Patience + Perseverance – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-fortitude/
21 March – Week Four – Diligence + Prudence – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-diligence-prudence/
28 March Week Five – Faith – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-faith/
4 April – Week Six – Hope – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-hope/
11 April – Week Seven – Love and Charity – https://thebyzantinelife.com/great-lent-love/
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