Charity (virtue) - Wikipedia Charity (virtue) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigation Jump to search Theological virtue One of Christianity's seven theological virtues Part of a series on the Divine Mercy The image by Kazimirowski Forms Divine Mercy Sunday Chaplet of the Divine Mercy Hour of Mercy Divine Mercy image Apostleship People Faustina Kowalska Michał Sopoćko Józef Andrasz Eugeniusz Kazimirowski Adolf Hyła John Paul II Places Kraków–Łagiewniki Vilnius Płock Głogowiec–Świnice Warckie Białystok Rome Stockbridge Manila–Marilao El Salvador Other O Blood and Water Dives in misericordia Misericordiae Vultus Crucifixion of Jesus Atonement in Christianity Mercy Charity Faith Hope Trust World Apostolic Congress on Mercy Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy Works of mercy v t e Part of a series on Love Types of love Affection Bonding Broken heart Compassionate love Conjugal love Courtly love courtship troubadours Falling in love Friendship cross-sex romantic zone Interpersonal relationship Intimacy Limerence Love addiction Love at first sight Love triangle Lovesickness Lovestruck Obsessive love Passion Platonic love Puppy love Relationship Romance Self-love Amour de soi Unconditional love Unrequited love Social views Anarchist Free love Chinese Ren Yuanfen French Amour-propre Greek words for love Agape Eros Ludus Mania Philautia Philia Philos Pragma Storge Xenia Indian Kama Bhakti Maitrī Islamic Ishq Jewish Chesed Latin Amore Charity Portuguese Saudade Yaghan Mamihlapinatapai Concepts Color wheel theory of love Biological basis Love letter Love magic Valentine's Day Philosophy Religious views love deities Mere-exposure effect Similarity Physical attractiveness Triangular theory of love v t e Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck In Christian theology, Charity (Latin Caritas) is considered as one of the seven virtues and is understood by Thomas Aquinas as "the friendship of man for God", which "unites us to God". He holds it as "the most excellent of the virtues".[1] Further, Aquinas holds that "the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor".[2] The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines "charity" as "the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God".[3] Contents 1 Caritas: the altruistic love 2 As a theological virtue 3 See also 4 Sources 5 References 6 External links Caritas: the altruistic love[edit] The phrase Deus caritas est from 1 John 4:8—or Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν (Theos agapē estin) in the original Greek[4] is translated in the King James Version as: "God is love", and in the Douay-Rheims bible as: "God is charity" (1 John 4:8). Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity with "love", which he holds as a passion, not a virtue.[5] The King James Version uses both the words charity and love to translate the idea of caritas/ἀγάπη (agapē): sometimes it uses one, then sometimes the other, for the same concept. Most other English translations, both before and since, do not; instead, throughout they use the same more direct English word love. Love can have other meanings in English, but as used in the New Testament it almost always refers to the virtue of caritas. Many times when charity is mentioned in English-language bibles, it refers to "love of God", which is a spiritual love that is extended from God to man and then reflected by man, who is made in the image of God, back to God. God gives man the power to act as God acts (God is love), man then reflects God's power in his own human actions towards others. One example of this movement is "charity shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). "The practice of charity brings us to act toward ourselves and others out of love alone, precisely because each person has the dignity of a beloved child of God."[6] As a theological virtue[edit] Charity by William-Adolphe Bouguereau 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". As other theological virtues, Charity is divinely infused into the soul; it resides in the will.[7] According to 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 neighbor and one's self.[7] In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul places the greater emphasis on Charity (Love). "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." He describes it as: Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling 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, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away....And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy.[8] In December 2005, Pope Benedict XVI issued the encyclical Deus caritas est, in which he discussed "... the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others."[9] See also[edit] Charity by Jacques Blanchard, 1633 Charity (practice) Great Commandment The six other Heavenly Virtues Chastity Diligence Humility Kindness Patience Temperance Love for enemies Loving-kindness and similar or related concepts: Agape – a Greek word with meanings of "loving-kindness" or "love" Chesed – a similar Hebrew term, given the association of kindness and love Mettā – a Pāli word glossed as "loving-kindness" and "friendliness" Seven Deadly Sins (opposite of the seven virtues) Virtue Altruism Dāna (Hinduism) Sources[edit] John Bossy, Christianity in the West 1400–1700 (Oxford 1985), 168.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Love (Theological Virtue)". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. References[edit] ^ "SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: Charity, considered in itself (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 23)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2 April 2018. ^ "SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: The object of charity (Secunda Secundae Partis, Q.25)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2 April 2018. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". usccb.org. Retrieved 2 April 2018. ^ "1 John 4 Interlinear Bible". biblehub.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018. ^ "SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: The passions of the soul in particular: and first, of love (Prima Secundae Partis, Q. 26)". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2 April 2018. ^ King, Will. "What is Virtue?", Our Sunday Visitor, November 29, 2012 ^ a b Sollier, Joseph. "Love (Theological Virtue)." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 21 Aug. 2017 ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". usccb.org. Retrieved 2 April 2018. ^ Pope Benedict XVI, Deus caritas est, December 25, 2005, Libreria Editrice Vaticana External links[edit] Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Charity and Charities. Summa Theologica "Second Part of the Second Part" See Questions 23-46 v t e Seven virtues in Christian ethics Four cardinal virtues Prudence (Prudentia) Justice (Iustitia) Fortitude (Fortitudo) Temperance (Temperantia) Sources: Plato Republic, Book IV Cicero Ambrose Augustine of Hippo Thomas Aquinas Three theological virtues Faith (Fides) Hope (Spes) Love (Caritas) Sources: Paul the Apostle 1 Corinthians 13 Seven deadly sins Lust (Luxuria) Gluttony (Gula) Greed (Avaritia) Sloth (Acedia) Wrath (Ira) Envy (Invidia) Pride (Superbia) Source: Prudentius, Psychomachia People: Evagrius Ponticus John Cassian Pope Gregory I Dante Alighieri Peter Binsfeld Related concepts Ten Commandments Great Commandment Eschatology Sin Original sin Old Covenant Hamartiology Christian philosophy Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charity_(virtue)&oldid=990688497" Categories: Christian ethics Christian terminology Divine Mercy Love Virtue Seven virtues Fruit of the Holy Spirit Altruism Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Short description is different from Wikidata Pages with numeric Bible version references Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia without Wikisource reference Articles incorporating text from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia without Wikisource reference Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Languages العربية བོད་ཡིག Català Čeština Deutsch Español Esperanto Euskara Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Latina Nederlands 日本語 Occitan Picard Polski Português Русский Slovenščina Suomi Українська Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 25 November 2020, at 23:26 (UTC). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Mobile view Developers Statistics Cookie statement