Chapter II. Well-Ordered Charity

THE law of charity is not fulfilled by a general and equal esteem for all mankind. Such a vague and general regard for others would probably he inoperative, and charity is above all things active. Charity, then, to be genuine must be well ordered and discriminating. It must look at the claims which others have on our charity; it must appreciate things at their true value, otherwise in wishing to confer a favour it will do harm to the object of love; it must assist others wisely according to their necessity, otherwise it will foster hypocrisy and produce professional and able-bodied beggars. In other words, as theologians teach, the order of charity has reference to the persons who claim our love, to the advantages which we desire to procure for them, and to the necessity in which they are placed,

God, the fountain and reason of charity, the infinite source of all good, has the first and highest claim on our love. “ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”¹ Next to God we must love ourselves with that genuine charity which makes one’s own salvation the first great duty of every man—‘‘ For what doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul ?”² We are never justified, then, in committing the slightest sin for the love of anyone or anything whatsoever.

Neither must we without good cause expose ourselves to the proximate occasions of sin. If duty demands it and if proper precautions be taken, we may confidently trust in the protection of God, and expose ourselves to risk for the sake of our neighbour. We may, too, forego a small spiritual advantage which is not matter of precept for the sake of our neighbour. Moreover, we are sometimes called upon to sacrifice our own good of a lower order for the higher good of our neighbour. In this connection we may distinguish a triple order of goods, those which pertain to the salvation of the soul; the intrinsic and natural goods of soul and body, consisting in life, health, knowledge, liberty, etc.; and extrinsic goods consisting in reputation, wealth, etc. Theologians also distinguish three degrees of necessity in which one in need of charity, spiritual or temporal, may be placed. If he is in danger of damnation or of loss of life, or of other good of almost equal importance, and can do nothing to help himself, he is said to be in extreme necessity. If he is in similar danger but can do something to help himself, though not without grave difficulty, he is in grave necessity. Ordinary sinners and beggars who can help themselves without grave difficulty are in common necessity.

¹ Matt. x 37

² Matt. xvi 26.

Every man, as far as he can, is bound to help his neighbour in extreme spiritual necessity even at the cost of his own life: ‘‘ In this we have known the charity of God, because he hath laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”¹ However, we do not lie under so serious an obligation unless the spiritual necessity of our neighbour is certain, the prospect of our being able to render effective help is equally certain, and no help is forthcoming from elsewhere. Neither should we be bound to risk our lives in order to help another in extreme spiritual need if greater harm would follow from our making the attempt. So that it is not often that ordinary people are bound to expose their lives to fulfil this obligation of charity; the obligation more frequently presses on Bishops and priests who have the cure of souls, and who are bound to execute their charge in justice as well as in charity. These are bound to expose their lives for their flock not only in extreme but also in grave necessity.

Except in the case of extreme spiritual necessity, we are not bound by the precept of charity to risk life or limb or expose ourselves to any serious inconvenience. The reason is because we are not bound to use extraordinary means and suffer serious inconvenience in order to preserve our own lives, and we cannot as a rule be bound to do more for our neighbour than we are bound to do for ourselves, especially as in grave or common necessity he can help himself. We might be obliged to do more for one whose welfare was of public importance. However, when our neighbour is in grave or even in common necessity, we must be prepared to undergo some inconvenience and trouble in order to help him. More precise rules on the subject will be given below.

It is a disputed question among theologians whether one is allowed to sacrifice his own life in order to save the life of another whose welfare is not of public importance. Many deny that it is lawful, for we should love ourselves in the first place when there is question of equal good; charity begins at home. Others, however, more probably teach that it may lawfully be done, and that it is an act of heroic virtue; so that in yielding a plank to another in a shipwreck and permitting himself to be drowned, a man does not prefer the life of another to his own, but he sacrifices his life for the sake of virtue.

¹ 1 John iii 16,

The more important spiritual goods of the soul should be the first objects of our solicitude, then the intrinsic goods of the soul and body, finally the extrinsic goods of reputation and wealth.

With the love of complacency which inclines us to show reverence, honour, and respect to others, we should give the preference to those who are more worthy of it on account of their closer union with God. The love of benevolence, on the other hand, leads us to prefer those who are nearer to us in sharing with them the goods which are specially due to them on account of their union with us. Although no absolute and universal rule can be laid down to guide us as to whom the preference should be given when we cannot help all, yet there is general agreement among theologians that the claims of our neighbour rank somewhat in the following order: wife, children, parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, friends, domestics, those who live in the same place, country, and finally all others.