On the Virtue of Charity

Among the theological virtues charity stands out, as Paul bears witness: "Now there remain faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greater of these is charity."¹ But because charity is a certain kind of love,² a few things concerning love must be noted beforehand.

¹ 1 Cor. 13:13.

² St. Thomas declares this thus (I-II, q. 26, a. 3): "For every dilection or charity is love, but not conversely; for dilection adds to love a preceding election, as the very name sounds; whence dilection is not in the concupiscible, but only in the will, and exists only in a rational nature. But charity adds to love a certain perfection of love, insofar as that which is loved is esteemed of great price, as the very name designates." - In reality the word carus etymologically signifies something of great price (Breal and Bailly, Dict. etymol., p. 36).

730. (A) Notion and species of love. Love in general is a movement toward good, or the complacency of the appetite in good. A threefold love is usually distinguished: natural, sensible, and rational.

³ St. Thomas, I-II, q. 26-29; St. Francis de Sales, Tr. de l'Am. de Dieu (ed. Annecy, 1894), l. I, ch. 1-13; Barre, De virtutibus, t. I, n. 12-20.

(a) Natural love is a certain propensity of any being toward its own proper end: for each thing seeks its own end, and is borne toward it by a certain natural instinct. This exists even in beings lacking liberty, and is not properly a moral act; accordingly we shall not treat it here. (b) Sensible, or sensitive, love is one of the eleven passions described above, n. 100, and can be defined as the complacency of the sensitive appetite in a sensibly apprehended good. It is therefore concerned with qualities which please the senses, and is not borne toward intelligible good except insofar as this kind of good is presented sensibly to the appetite by the imagination. But because these qualities are frivolous and mutable, the love which is born from them is vain and inconstant.⁴ - If it exists between persons of different sex, in order to carnal delights, it is called sexual love, and often passes into a vehement passion.⁵

⁴ "Love founded upon the communication of sensual pleasures is altogether gross, and unworthy of the name of friendship, as also that which glories in certain vain and frivolous endowments perceived by the senses. But I call sensual pleasures those which immediately and principally are concerned with the external senses, such as that pleasure which arises from the sight of bodily beauty, from the hearing of a sweet voice, from soft touch, and others of this kind. But I call frivolous endowments certain vain habits of nature, which the inexperienced and futile call by the name of virtues and perfections... Thus he is judged to be endowed with great virtue who dances elegantly, is most skilled in every kind of game, dresses elegantly, sings, jokes, or converses, and has elegant gestures." (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction, p. III, c. 17).

⁵ Descuret, op. cit., t. II, p. 151-180; Vieux Moraliste, apud Ami du Clerge, t. XXI, 1899, p. 129-137 and 241-248; Ribot, Psychologie des sentiments, Paris, 1896, p. 244-255.

731. (c) Rational love, or dilection, is the complacency of the will in good intellectually apprehended; it arises from endowments not external and frivolous, but intellectual and moral, for example, knowledge, prudence, kindness, fortitude, and other virtues of this kind. Wherefore it is more constant, because it rests upon endowments which are less mutable; it is worthy of man and honorable, as being founded upon truly human qualities. This likewise is twofold: when we love someone chiefly on account of our advantage, namely because he is good and useful to us, this love is called love of concupiscence; but if, on the contrary, we love him especially because we will good to him, it is called love of benevolence. Usually both motives are joined together, and we love others on account of both our own and their advantage. - Moreover, since man is at once rational and sensible, intellectual love is often found mixed with sensible love.

732. But love is called friendship when it is mutual, known as such to each lover, and therefore imports a certain communication of goods: "Not every love is friendship: for we can love and yet not be loved, and then there is love, but not friendship, since friendship is a certain mutual and reciprocal love. Secondly, it is not enough that it be mutual, but it is moreover necessary that the friends loving one another know their reciprocal affection; for if they are ignorant of this, they will indeed have love, but not friendship. Thirdly, it is required that there be between them some communication, which is the basis and foundation of friendship. Now, according to the diversity of communications, friendship also is diverse... if the things communicated are false and vain, friendship is false and vain; if they are true and solid, friendship also is true; and the more excellent goods of this kind are, the more excellent is friendship."⁶

⁶ St. Francis de Sales, Introduction, p. III, c. 17. - Cicero wrote an excellent treatise concerning friendship, Laelius sive de Amicitia.

Ambrose writes splendidly concerning true friendship:⁷ "For it is a solace of this life that you have one to whom you may open your breast, with whom you may share hidden things, to whom you may commit the secret of your heart; that you may place for yourself a faithful man, who may rejoice with you in prosperous things, suffer with you in sad things, encourage you in persecutions... Friendship is the guardian of piety and the mistress of equality, so that the superior shows himself equal to the inferior, and the inferior to the superior... For friendship is not venal, but full of beauty, full of grace. For friendship is a virtue, not gain, because it is not produced by money, but by grace; not by the bidding of prices, but by the contest of benevolence." - Scripture had gone before Ambrose:⁸ "A faithful friend is a strong protection; and he that has found him has found a treasure; nothing can be compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of gold and silver is worthy to be put in balance against the goodness of his fidelity; a faithful friend is the medicine of life and immortality."

⁷ St. Ambrose, De officiis, lib. III, c. 22, P. L., XVI, 181-182.

⁸ Ecclus. 6:14-16.

733. (B) Causes of love.⁹ There are especially three things which induce or increase love: good, likeness, familiar association.

⁹ St. Thomas, I-II, q. 27; St. Francis de Sales, Traite de l'Am. de Dieu, l. I, ch. 8; M. d'Hulst, Careme 1892, 6th Conf., p. 217-220.

(a) Good indeed is the principal cause of love, since the appetite, whether sensitive or rational, is naturally borne toward sensible or intellectual good; and generally love is more intense the more perfect the beloved object appears. If evil is sometimes loved, this happens only because it appears under the aspect of good; thus iniquity is not loved except because it offers delight or advantage. - To this cause is referred the beautiful, which is nothing other than the good insofar as it pleases sight.

(b) Likeness between lovers induces love secondarily, according to that saying:¹⁰ "Every living creature loves its like; so also every man loves his neighbor." In reality man naturally loves himself primarily, and therefore, among men, by force of a certain affinity and sympathy, he loves those who are more like himself, for example, those who belong to the same nation or family, or who enjoy similar endowments. Hence friendship either receives equals or makes them. - Yet this likeness, which is the cause of love, does not exclude certain differences; indeed, usually those who, while they are similar in many things, nevertheless differ in a few things, love one another more intensely, so that one seeks in the other a complement of himself; thus one who is gentle but weak is more easily joined in friendship to him who is irascible indeed, but strong and energetic.¹¹ Hence not perfect equality, but a certain proportion between lovers is required.

¹⁰ Ecclus. 13:19.

¹¹ "In this sort the melancholy and the joyful, the sharp and the gentle, sometimes love one another reciprocally, on account of the mutual impressions which they receive from one another, by means of which their humors are mutually moderated. But when this mutual correspondence is joined with likeness, love without doubt is begotten much more powerfully." (St. Francis de Sales, op. cit., l. I, ch. 8).

(c) Familiar association increases love not a little; for nothing is willed unless it is first known, and therefore goodness, beauty, and likeness do not move to friendship except insofar as they are known. Therefore intimate and frequent conversation and colloquies greatly foster friendship: for thus friends know one another better, thus they are delighted by the presence of the beloved object, and from this double source love grows. To this cause is referred the manifestation of love and being loved in return; for, as Seneca says,¹² "if you wish to be loved, love"; and according to Augustine,¹³ "there is no greater invitation to love than to anticipate by loving, and too hard is the soul which, if it was unwilling to bestow love, is unwilling to repay it."

¹² Epist. IX to Lucilius.

¹³ De catechiz. rudibus, c. 4, P. L., XL, 314.

734. (C) Effects of love.¹⁴ The principal ones are union, ecstasy, zeal, and the ordering of actions toward the beloved object.

¹⁴ St. Thomas, I-II, q. 28.

(a) Union indeed; for every love tends to this, that it may join lovers and morally make one out of two or more, according to that saying: "And the multitude of believers had one heart and one soul."¹⁵ It effects a twofold union: one affective, by force of which friends strive to will the same things and not to will the same things, and the lover is in the beloved, as considering the goods of his friend his own; thus it is read in Scripture:¹⁶ "The soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul"; - the other real, which consists in the presence and possession of the thing loved;¹⁷ and this, although desired by lovers, is sometimes impeded or delayed by obstacles.

¹⁵ Acts 4:32.

¹⁶ 1 Kings 18:1.

¹⁷ This St. Francis de Sales vividly describes, Tr. de l'amour de Dieu, l. I, ch. 9.

(b) Ecstasy (ekstasis, departure), by which the lover is as it were placed outside himself; this happens by a twofold act, of the intellect and of the will. According to the intellect, the lover, forgetful of himself, frequently thinks of the beloved; according to affection he is borne outside himself: through love of concupiscence, not content with the good which he has, he seeks another good outside himself by which he may enjoy; through love of friendship, he acts not for himself alone, but wills and works good for his friend, and takes care of him. Wherefore it is of the greatest importance to love only honorable and holy things, since the lover as it were goes out from himself and becomes like the beloved object.¹⁸

¹⁸ St. Thomas, I-II, q. 28, a. 3; St. Francis de Sales, op. cit., l. I, ch. 10.

735. (c) Zeal likewise comes from the intensity of love: for the more vehemently we tend toward something, the more strongly we repel whatever is opposed to this propensity. Thus, in love of concupiscence, he who intensely desires something is by that very fact borne against everything which stands in the way of obtaining it or peacefully enjoying it; in love of friendship, he who sincerely wills the good of a friend is by that very fact vehemently moved against everything which is repugnant to his good.¹⁹

¹⁹ St. Thomas, loc. cit., a. 4.

(d) Besides, he who vehemently loves someone orders his actions toward him, namely toward pleasing him and obtaining his friendship; and, since the other passions proceed from love, all movements of the soul are more or less ruled by the predominant love. From this it follows that nothing is more important than rightly ordering one's affections, so that life itself may be rightly established. Therefore they are truly wise who love God from their whole heart; for, as Augustine says, "two loves therefore made two cities: the earthly, namely, love of self even to contempt of God; but the heavenly, love of God even to contempt of self."²⁰

²⁰ De Civitate Dei, lib. XIV, c. 28, P. L., XLI, 436.

736. Charity, as a habit, is a theological virtue by which we are inclined to love God above all things in the manner in which He loves Himself, and all things which God loves and as He loves them.

This definition is equivalent to that which is usually handed down, namely, it is a theological virtue by which we are inclined to love God above all things for His own sake, and ourselves and our neighbor for God's sake. In order that this may be understood better, it must be explained what the object, motive, and subject of charity are.

737. (A) The primary and principal object of charity is God Himself, to be loved above all things: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind."¹ But the secondary object is all creatures insofar as they are capable of divine grace and glory: "And the second (commandment) is like to this: thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."² For, since love essentially tends toward good, the primary object of dilection cannot be anything except the supreme and infinite good; but the secondary object is all beings which in some way participate in divine goodness.

¹ Luke 10:27; cf. Matt. 22:37.

² Matt. 22:38.

738. (B) The proper motive of charity is the absolute goodness of God, in itself and for its own sake infinitely lovable. Thus it is distinguished from the love of hope, whose motive is the relative goodness of God, namely that God is good toward us. For He can be loved in a twofold way: insofar as He is good for us, indeed our supreme good, by the enjoyment of whom we shall sometime be blessed, and this is the love of hope, or of chaste concupiscence; He can besides be loved as good in Himself, or because He is infinitely lovable for His own sake: this is the love of charity.

739. (a) A few theologians indeed, such as Bolgeni and Ballerini,³ have contended that the love of concupiscence is referred also to charity, and suffices for justification before the actual reception of the sacraments. For, they say, in Sacred Scripture the love of God loved solely for His own sake is never proposed to us, but God is often shown as to be loved insofar as He is our supreme good, the source of all our joy, etc. Besides, the single motive which excites man to acting is self-love, and therefore we do not love God except insofar as we conceive Him as the source of our beatitude. - But theologians commonly reject this opinion as erroneous. (a) For although Scripture does not directly and explicitly teach that God is to be loved for His own sake, nevertheless it insinuates this when it asserts that He is to be loved from the whole mind, from the whole heart, from all the powers, - or when it teaches that charity itself is more excellent than hope,⁴ - or proposes for imitation the charity by which someone lays down his life for his friends.⁵ (b) Otherwise, although man often acts from self-love, nevertheless he does not always act so, nor exclusively; but little by little he rises from the love of God, insofar as He is good to us, to the love of God as lovable in Himself and for His own sake, because he understands that He who is infinitely good in Himself is to be loved in Himself and for His own sake.⁶

³ Bolgeni, Della carita o amor di Dio, Rome, 1788; Ballerini-Palmieri, t. II, n. 135-139; - whom Muzzarelli refuted, Del motivo formale dell'atto di carita, Foligno, 1791; Perrone, op. cit., concerning Charity, n. 29-62; Pesch, n. 537-564; Mangenot, Dict. de Theol., t. II, p. 2220.

⁴ 1 Cor. 13:13.

⁵ John 15:13.

⁶ From this opinion the doctrine of St. Francis de Sales differs greatly (op. cit., l. X, ch. 10), asserting that we cannot love God except insofar as we can be joined to Him: "But if, by imagination of an impossible thing, there were an infinite goodness to which we had no sort of belonging, and with which we could have no communication, we would certainly esteem it more than ourselves... but, properly speaking, we would not love it, since love regards union; and much less could we have charity toward it, since charity is a friendship, and friendship can only be reciprocal, having communication for its foundation and union for its end."

740. (b) But both motives are often found united in one and the same act, and the love of hope in no way impedes the exercise of charity. For, on the one hand, God is supremely good in Himself, and therefore to be loved with love of benevolence, and supremely good to us, and therefore to be loved with the love of chaste concupiscence; but on the other hand, our ultimate end is both the glory of God, which we desire with love of benevolence, and our eternal beatitude, which we pursue with love of concupiscence. Indeed the love of concupiscence rightly ordered leads us to the love of benevolence: for the more we desire to possess God, the more we breathe after His honor.⁷

⁷ Thus St. Bonaventure, in lib. III Sentent., dist. 27, a. 2, q. 2.

Wherefore the proposition by which Fenelon asserted that there is given a habitual state⁸ of the love of God without admixture of a motive of one's own interest was condemned (above, n. 710). For it is psychologically evident that we cannot for a long time, or at least through a whole life, exclude the consideration and desire of heavenly beatitude (above, n. 717). This the pious Bernard lucidly declares, distinguishing four degrees in love:⁹ "First, therefore, man loves himself for his own sake. For he is flesh, and can relish nothing except himself. And when he sees that he cannot subsist by himself, he begins to seek and love God by faith, as necessary to himself. Thus in the second degree he loves God, but for his own sake, not for God's. But truly, when he has begun to cultivate and frequent Him by occasion of his own necessity, by thinking, reading, praying, obeying, by a certain familiarity of this kind God little by little and insensibly becomes known, and consequently grows sweet; and thus, having tasted how sweet the Lord is, he passes to the third degree, so that he loves God, no longer for his own sake, but for God's. Assuredly one stands in this degree, and I do not know whether the fourth is apprehended by any man in this life, namely, that man should love himself only for God's sake. Let those assert this who have experienced it: to me, I confess, it seems impossible."

⁸ According to the common doctrine, however, acts of pure benevolence, or of pure love toward God, can be elicited without any regard of one's own advantage: for if we sometimes love men without any hope of reward, why can we not sometimes love God without any appetite for reward? Wherefore Bossuet went further (Instr. sur les Etats d'oraison) when he contended that there is no act of love of God which excludes every regard for one's own good. (Gosselin, op. cit., p. CXLVI-CLXXXIII).

⁹ St. Bernard, Epist. XI, n. 8, P. L., CLXXXII, 113-114.

741. (c) The goodness of God, which is the proper motive of charity, must be known not only from natural light, but also and especially from the light of faith; for charity is a supernatural virtue, and accordingly its object and motive must be perceived supernaturally. This divine goodness in itself embraces all the perfections of God. - Yet many theologians think that any divine perfection accepted separately, for example, wisdom, kindness, mercy, is a sufficient motive of charity;¹⁰ and deservedly, as we think, for in God the various perfections are not really distinguished from the divine essence, and any perfection, as infinite, can provoke us to supreme love. In practice, there is no difficulty; for men are not accustomed to establish a distinction between God and His perfections, but love God Himself as infinitely wise, kind, merciful: and this certainly suffices for charity.

¹⁰ Ripalda, disp. XXV, concerning Charity, sect. 1-2; Wirceburgenses, n. 287; Lehmkuhl, n. 315.

The same divine goodness is the motive of charity toward ourselves and our neighbor: "And this commandment we have from God, that he who loves God love also his brother."¹¹ For, through charity, we love our neighbor because he is a son of God, destined to His glory, because he bears His image and likeness, and therefore on account of the goodness of God manifested in him.

¹¹ 1 John 4:21.

742. (d) The love of gratitude, by which namely we show God a grateful mind for benefits received, is often said to pertain to the perfect love of charity. At least it is certain that benevolent love toward the benefactor himself most easily arises from gratitude; and this love can be held as an act of charity, since it rests upon one of the divine attributes, namely beneficence. Therefore it is often expedient to excite men to gratitude toward God from benefits received - as in reality is usually done in the Scriptures - and then to love of the benefactor Himself: for when He is loved as good to us, He is easily loved as good in Himself.

743. (e) Likewise love toward Christ, who suffered and was crucified for us, most easily passes into the love of charity: for the faithful believe that Christ is God, and when they love Christ, by that very fact they love God; otherwise, if moved by gratitude they love the divine Redeemer as good to themselves, soon they love the same as simply good and infinitely lovable.¹² Since this way is very easy and accommodated to human nature, preachers and confessors, by excellent counsel, will make the same known to the faithful, so that these may more easily elicit acts of charity and of perfect contrition.

¹² The Apostle used this motive to excite the faithful to the practice of charity: "And walk in love, as Christ also loved us, and delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness." (Eph. 5:2).

744. (C) The subject of charity is all and only those who possess habitual grace: for charity is indivisibly connected with sanctifying grace (above, n. 604). - This virtue inheres properly in the will, since the love of the divine good, which is perceived only by intellect and faith, is elicited by the will;¹³ nevertheless, because nothing is willed unless first known, knowledge and faith contribute much to charity, by providing motives by which the will is enticed to loving; besides, divine love sometimes redounds into the sensitive faculties, and begets in them pious emotions.

¹³ "The object of the sensitive appetite is good apprehended by sense; but the object of the intellective appetite, or of the will, is good under the common aspect of good, insofar as it is apprehensible by the intellect. But the object of charity is not some sensible good, but the divine good, which is known by intellect alone. And therefore the subject of charity is not the sensitive appetite, but the intellective appetite, that is, the will." (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 24, a. 1).

Division. Since the object of charity is twofold, namely God and neighbor, we shall speak: 1. concerning charity toward God; 2. concerning charity toward neighbor.

We shall speak: 1. concerning its nature; 2. necessity; 3. sins opposed to it.

¹ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 23-27; Suarez, concerning Charity, disp. I-VI; St. Francis de Sales, Tr. de l'Amour de Dieu, entire; Muller, § 19-23.

Charity embraces a twofold species of love, namely love of benevolence, which intends the good of the beloved, and love of friendship, which besides imports mutual love in return.

745. This love consists in this, that, insofar as we can, we will good to God. It embraces three acts, namely joy concerning the divine goods, desire of increasing the same, insofar as this can be done, and zeal for promoting the glory of God.

1. Joy, or complacency, concerning the goods which God possesses; for when we truly love someone, we have his goods as our own, and therefore we rejoice concerning his goods and take complacency in them, as if they were our own. Christ insinuates this in these words:² "If you loved Me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father," namely because I leave this valley of misery, that I may obtain divine felicity.

² John 14:28.

(a) Wherefore the just rejoice concerning the infinite perfections of God considered in themselves, concerning His power, wisdom, kindness, etc.; indeed they rejoice more concerning the glory of God than concerning their own beatitude. Thus Augustine is reported to have said:³ "Lord God, I love Thee so, that if I were God and Thou Augustine, I would will myself to be Augustine, that Thou mightest be God." Thus likewise St. Francis de Sales:⁴ "O most beloved of my heart, I do not indeed desire that I could wish anything good to Thy majesty, but with my whole heart I take complacency in that supreme degree of goodness which Thou hast, to which neither by desire nor even by thought can anything be added; but, if such a desire were possible, O infinite Deity and divine Infinity, my soul would wish to be this very desire and nothing else." (b) They rejoice likewise concerning the external manifestation of the attributes of God, and therefore concerning divine providence, which disposes all things sweetly and strongly, concerning the extension of the kingdom of God, concerning the external glory which He receives from the Angels, the Saints reigning in heaven, and also the just on earth fighting for His honor. (c) From this complacency there spontaneously arises praise of God, by which we congratulate Him concerning all things which contribute to His glory: "Glory to God in the highest... We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we glorify Thee... Thee, O God, we praise, Thee, O Lord, we confess."⁵

³ St. Francis de Sales, op. cit., l. V, ch. 6.

⁴ Ibid.

⁵ In the psalms and liturgical prayers of the Church the divine praises are continually celebrated.

746. 2. The desire of increasing divine goods, insofar as this can be done, or benevolence properly so called.

(a) If there is question of the intrinsic perfections of God, we cannot indeed desire an increase of them absolutely, since nothing good can accrue to the Infinite; but conditionally, as is read in St. Francis de Sales:⁶ "I said to the Lord, Thou art my God, full of immense goodness, who needest neither my goods nor those of anyone else; nevertheless, if it were possible that Thou shouldst need some good, I would never cease to desire it for Thee, and, to procure it for Thee, I would gladly spend my life and all things most dear to me."

⁶ Ibid.

(b) If there is question of the extrinsic glory of God, by love we are induced to promote it both in ourselves and in others: in ourselves indeed, insofar as we are prepared to suffer and do all things in order to make progress in divine love; thus St. John of the Cross, when asked by Christ what he desired for so many and such great labors undertaken for God, answered: "Lord, to suffer and to be contemned for Thee."⁷ But as to others, we sincerely desire that they, who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, may be illumined, and may know, love, and glorify God: "Let the peoples confess to Thee, O God, let all the peoples give praise to Thee... Praise the Lord from the heavens... Praise the Lord from the earth... kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all judges of the earth."⁸

⁷ Breviary, Nov. 24, lect. 6.

⁸ Ps. 66:4; 148:1, 7, 11.

(c) Thence arises sorrow concerning sins committed by us or by others, insofar as they offend God, the supreme good; and also filial fear lest God be offended; for when we love someone, we suffer with him and grieve concerning the things by which he is saddened.

747. 3. Zeal for promoting the glory of God, or beneficence. For love does not consist in affection alone, but is manifested by work. This happens in two ways: by vehemently repelling those things which are contrary to the honor of God,⁹ and by positively carrying out those things which promote this honor. Therefore those who truly love God labor strenuously to procure the external glory of God: (a) in themselves, by doing all those things which can increase His honor, by better observing the commandments and counsels, by devoting themselves and their things to Him, and by making all works toward pleasing Him. (b) In others, namely by drawing them to Christ by prayer, word, and example.

⁹ St. Thomas, I-II, q. 28, a. 4; St. Francis de Sales, op. cit., l. X, ch. 12.

748. Friendship, from what has been said, n. 732, imports three things: love of benevolence, mutual love, and the communication of some good between lovers. Now these three can be found in charity toward God. (a) God certainly embraces us with love of benevolence, for He has gratuitously given us many and very great goods: "And I have loved thee with perpetual charity; therefore have I drawn thee, taking pity...¹⁰ For God so loved the world, as to give His only-begotten Son...¹¹ Who also spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how has He not also, with Him, given us all things?"¹² And truly this love is benevolent, since God is plainly sufficient to Himself and does not need our goods. Otherwise, we too can love God with love of benevolence, in the sense set forth above, n. 745.

¹⁰ Jer. 31:3.

¹¹ John 3:16.

¹² Rom. 8:32.

(b) That this kind of love is mutual and known as such is no less evidently clear; for the Lord many times declared that He loves those who love Him: "I love them that love Me, and they that in the morning watch for Me shall find Me...¹³ If anyone love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him."¹⁴

¹³ Prov. 8:17.

¹⁴ John 14:23.

(c) That from this mutual love arises a communication of goods is no less clearly evident; for God has bestowed upon us goods both natural and supernatural, indeed a certain participation of His own life: "By whom He has given us most great and precious promises, that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature."¹⁵ On our part, indeed, we are able to add nothing to the divine perfections, but whatever we are and have we can give to God, by carrying out all our actions on account of Him, unto His glory;¹⁶ we can also take complacency in His attributes, and promote His external glory, according to what has been set forth above, n. 746. And thus there comes about a mutual communication of goods, and a mutual friendship, insofar as this can exist between God and men.

¹⁵ 2 Pet. 1:4.

¹⁶ This is expressed very beautifully in this prayer of St. Ignatius (Spiritual Exercises, from the Spanish autograph, Rome, 1854, p. 118-119): "Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my intellect, and all my will, whatever I have and possess: Thou hast given all these things to me; to Thee, Lord, I restore them: all things are Thine, dispose of them according to all Thy will. Give me Thy love and grace, for this is sufficient for me."

Hence Scripture often declares us friends of God; thus Abraham is called the friend of God,¹⁷ and those who cultivate wisdom are sharers in the friendship of God;¹⁸ but especially in the New Testament those who keep His commandments are called friends of God: "You are My friends, if you do the things that I command you";¹⁹ but in a special way the apostles are friends of Christ, because they knew His secrets: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of My Father I have made known to you."²⁰

¹⁷ Isa. 41:8; Judith 8:22.

¹⁸ Wis. 7:14.

¹⁹ John 15:14.

²⁰ John 15:15.

749. That the habit of charity is necessary by necessity of means for salvation is clear from the fact that charity and sanctifying grace are indivisibly joined, n. 597. The question therefore concerns the act of charity. This is not necessary by necessity of means for obtaining justification when the sacraments of baptism and penance are received: for then imperfect contrition, or attrition, suffices, for which the love of charity is not required, as we have explained elsewhere.²¹ But an act of perfect contrition, and therefore of charity, is necessary by necessity of means for adults who are in the state of mortal sin and cannot receive the sacraments.²² Besides, there is a precept of eliciting acts of charity at certain times in life: concerning its existence and extension it remains to speak.

²¹ Synop. Theol. Dogmat., De Baptismo, n. 52, and Syn. Theol. Mor., De Paenitent., n. 85-92.

²² De Paenitent., n. 86-97.

750. 1. Existence: There is a special precept of eliciting acts of perfect charity toward God at certain times in life.

(A) This precept had already been handed down in the Old Law, and indeed as primary, to be inculcated upon all, even little ones, and always to be kept before the eyes: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength. And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thy heart; and thou shalt tell them to thy children, and thou shalt meditate upon them sitting in thy house, and walking on thy journey, sleeping and rising."²³ - In the New Testament, it is shown as essential, and the sum of the whole law:²⁴ "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is the greatest and first commandment." Therefore it is necessary that we elicit acts of divine love at least at certain times, since a precept of this kind is the greatest of all.

²³ Deut. 6:5-7.

²⁴ Matt. 22:37-38. - The difference between the Old and the New Law is in this, that in the former God is shown especially as Lord, while in the latter He is often shown as Father. Cf. Batiffol, L'Enseignement de Jesus, Paris, Bloud, 1905, p. 94-105.

(B) Indeed a precept of this kind is consonant with reason: for since God is our ultimate end, and at the same time infinitely lovable, nature itself demands that we refer to Him the mind, the will, the whole soul, and also our actions, and therefore that we love Him above all things: for love is the gift of oneself, and he who orders his life unto God by that very fact loves Him above all things. But we cannot furnish this unless at certain times in life we elicit a positive act of love.

This precept is special, or distinct from the others, so that it obliges us to distinct acts; this is gathered from the texts cited, and from the documents to be cited below concerning its extension.

751. 2. Concerning the extension of this precept. (A) We ought indeed to love God with our whole heart, with our whole mind, with our whole soul, and with all our powers. St. Thomas declares this thus:²⁵ "It is therefore commanded to us that our whole intention be borne toward God, which is from the whole heart; and that our intellect be subjected to God, which is from the whole mind; and that our appetite be regulated according to God, which is from the whole soul; and that our exterior act obey God, which is to love God from the whole strength, or virtue, or powers."

²⁵ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 44, a. 5.

752. (B) By the precept of charity we are bound to love God above all things with a love appreciatively supreme, but not intensively supreme.

(a) With a love appreciatively supreme, insofar as we ought to value Him in our mind more than any other good, so that we are prepared to suffer the loss of all things rather than of His friendship. This is clear from the texts cited, and from these words of Christ:¹ "He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he that loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me." - In reality God is the supreme good, infinitely lovable, embracing in Himself all and each of the perfections of creatures, and indeed in an infinitely higher mode and without any imperfection; therefore he would inflict injury upon Him who should value some creature more than God. - But appreciatively supreme love, since it resides in the higher part of the soul, can coexist with a more sensible love of creatures; for creatures, since they are visible, often excite sensible love more than the contemplation of the invisible perfections of God. Hence they do not sin who love parents, friends, spouses more sensibly than God Himself, provided that in mind and will they are prepared to lose all things rather than God's friendship.

¹ Matt. 10:37.

753. (b) But not with a love intensively supreme; for no degree of love is prescribed in Scripture, except that which excludes mortal and venial sin. - For the understanding of this, it must be known that a threefold degree is commonly distinguished in the love of God: the first degree indeed consists in this, that a man withdraws from mortal sin, and therefore strenuously resists concupiscences which can tear out charity; the second is in this, that he makes progress in good, by withdrawing from deliberate venial sin and by assiduously cultivating virtues; in the third, he chiefly intends this, that he adhere to God and enjoy Him, by eliciting his principal acts under the influence of charity.²

² St. Thomas, II-II, q. 24, a. 4; St. Bonaventure, De profectu religiosorum, c. 15 (Opera, ed. Vives, t. XII, p. 386); M. d'Hulst, Careme 1892, p. 234-237.

Now, in order to satisfy the precept, it is enough to have the first degree of charity.

754. (C) As regards the time, the precept of charity obliges of itself:

(a) When a man, having now attained the use of reason and having been sufficiently instructed concerning the goodness of God, clearly understands the obligation of loving Him above all things; for then he is bound to turn himself toward God: and this is done by an act of charity. (b) Often in life,³ although the time cannot be mathematically determined: some say once a week, others once a month or a year, others every three years; wherefore in practice the faithful are to be exhorted often to elicit acts of charity, whether explicitly, or implicitly by praying devoutly that God's name be sanctified, that His kingdom come, - by eliciting an act of perfect contrition and avoiding sin because it displeases God, - by exercising good works because they please God, etc. (c) More probably, at the moment of death, because at the departure from life we ought to adhere to the ultimate end through charity. (d) If a temptation against charity presses, which can be overcome only by an act of dilection; but often it can be conquered in another way, for example, by diverting the mind to other things.

³ To this belong the propositions condemned by Innocent XI, March 2, 1679: "Whether he sins mortally who would elicit an act of dilection of God only once in life, we do not dare to condemn. - It is probable that not even rigorously every five years does the precept of charity toward God oblige of itself. - Then only does it oblige, when we are bound to be justified and have no other way by which we can be justified." (Denzing., n. 1022-1024; Viva, on the first proposition of Alexander VII).

It obliges by accident:

(a) When someone is in the state of mortal sin and is bound to recover the state of grace, for example, in order to receive or administer a sacrament, and otherwise cannot receive sacramental absolution: for then he cannot be justified without an act of perfect contrition, and therefore of charity. (b) When a grave temptation presses against some Christian virtue, which cannot be removed without an act of charity.

In practice, those who live as Christians and are accustomed assiduously to recite morning or evening prayers are not to be made anxious about this matter, since by these prayers they fully satisfy the precept of charity.

755. Besides sins of omission, which can easily be understood from what has now been said, there are sins of commission against charity toward God. All mortal sins indeed are in some way against charity, since they destroy it. But there are two which are directly and especially opposed to charity: sloth, or sadness concerning spiritual goods, concerning which above, n. 562; and hatred of God, concerning which it remains to speak.

756. Concerning hatred of God. (A) Hatred in general is an act by which someone turns away from another. It can be twofold: (a) when we turn away from something as evil for us or for our own, there is had that hatred which is called hatred of abomination; this is directly opposed to love of concupiscence; for just as we desire something good for us, so we abominate whatever is evil for us. (b) If we will evil to some person, insofar as it is evil for him, there is had hatred of enmity or malevolence, which is directly opposed to love of friendship or benevolence.

Now hatred of God can be committed in this twofold way: for sometimes men turn away from God and are indignant with Him because He has forbidden such an action, or inflicts punishments upon sinners, or sends adversities:⁴ this is hatred of abomination. - But sometimes they will evil to God, namely with hatred of enmity; for example, they are saddened that He is omniscient, or omnipotent, or just; they wish that God did not exist, or that He were not omnipotent; they strive to diminish His external glory, by persecuting the Church and oppressing the just.

⁴ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 34, a. 1.

That such hatred exists, even in our days, is clear from history and experience. In the Sacred Letters there are mentioned many times enemies of God, who hate God and Christ;⁵ but today there are those who would wish the very name of God to be utterly erased, and therefore teach the young atheism, or monism, or positivism, who proclaim that God is evil, and bitterly blaspheme against Him or curse Him.⁶

⁵ Num. 10:35; Deut. 32:41; Ps. 73:23; John 15:24.

⁶ Thus, in a Masonic convention held in the year 1903, F. Delpech exclaimed: "The gods are dying: the peoples, at last disabused, are constrained to recognize, by the light of certain facts, that the gods, no more Christ than Buddha and Mohammed, have kept the promises made to the human races by the priests." (Apud P. Nourrisson, Les Jacobins, p. 253). In the periodical La Raison, Feb. 28, 1904, E. D., a pedagogue, wrote these things: "Let us make a policy of true apaches; let us crush the infamous thing" (Correspondant, June 25, 1904, p. 1027). And these among many things!

757. (B) Hatred of God is an intrinsically evil sin, and indeed of itself the gravest of all, because it is directly opposed to the most perfect virtue, namely charity, and does injury to the infinite goodness of God. It does not admit smallness of matter, and therefore, provided that it is deliberate, it is a mortal sin of its whole kind.

If the two species distinguished above are compared with one another, the sin of enmity is graver than the sin of abomination, because the former is opposed to the internal goodness of God, while the latter is opposed to an external manifestation of the same.

758. 1. Since disordered love of oneself is contrary to divine love, it is necessary first of all to lessen this disordered love and little by little to root it out, so that we may be able to make secure progress in the love of God.

⁷ St. Bonaventure, Stimulus amoris (Opera, ed. Vives, t. XII, p. 631-703); De Imit. Christi, lib. III, c. 5-6; St. Francis de Sales, op. cit., l. V-X; Scaramelli, Directorium, Tr. IV, art. 3, c. 3-4; Gay, op. cit., Tr. XII, de la Charite envers Dieu; Faber, The Creator and the Creature, rendered in French, Le Createur et la creature, l. II.

Wherefore the nourishment of charity is the diminution of cupidity, and we make as much progress in charity as we depress self-love. Hence he who wishes to be a disciple of Christ must first deny himself, according to that saying:⁸ "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself." These words the pious writer of the book On the Imitation of Christ explains splendidly: "If a man should give all his substance, it is still nothing; and if he should do great penance, it is still little... still much is lacking to him, namely one thing, which is supremely necessary to him. What is that? That, all things being left, he should leave himself, and go out from himself totally, and retain nothing of private love; and when he has done all things which he knows are to be done, let him feel that he has done nothing."⁹ In order to furnish this, let those things be recalled to memory which we said concerning the remedies of pride, nn. 519-521.

⁸ Matt. 16:24.

⁹ De Imit., l. II, c. 11, n. 4.

759. 2. We ought also frequently to consider the motives which can inflame the will to divine love. Psychologically one can proceed thus: God is the lover of us, - God wills to be loved by us, - God is infinitely lovable.

(A) God is the lover of us. From eternity, namely, He loved us, thought of each one of us, and willed to do good to us: among innumerable possibles He chose us that He might bring us to existence. At the opportune time He created us, and whatever being, whatever good is in us, both in the natural and in the supernatural order, He gratuitously and benignly bestowed, "not to increase His own beatitude, nor to acquire it, but to manifest His perfection by the goods which He imparts to creatures."¹⁰

¹⁰ Vatican Council, sess. III, cap. 1.

But when, through original sin, supernatural goods had been lost, God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him, with that faith which works through charity, may be saved through Him. He loved us at that time when through sin we were children of wrath and His enemies, and indeed while certainly foreseeing that many would contemn Him. Now, who would not love in return One so loving us? - Besides, one can consider the labors and sorrows of Christ patiently endured for us, but especially all those things which He lovingly suffered in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross; for when we contemplate Christ crucified, can we not cry out with the Church:¹¹ "For His whole figure breathes love and provokes to loving in return: the head inclined, the hands extended, the breast opened?" From the love of Christ, however, we easily ascend to the love of God.

¹¹ Breviary, on the feast of the Seven Sorrows, response at the first lesson.

By these and other thoughts of this kind the love of gratitude is fostered, which, if it is not the love of charity, easily leads to it (above, n. 742).

760. (B) God wills to be loved by us: (a) for to this tends the precept set forth above, n. 750, by which we are commanded to love God from the whole mind, from the whole heart, from all the powers: for by such a precept, which is the first and greatest, He clearly shows how much He values our love, and how ardently He desires to be loved by us. Hence Augustine exclaims:¹² "What am I to Thee, that Thou commandest me to love Thee, and, unless I do it, art angry with me, and threatenest great miseries?" (b) The same is gathered from the promises, threats, benefits, and punishments by which God endeavors to allure His people to love of Himself: thus, among the Prophets, He compares Himself to a benefactor, who, for the innumerable benefits which he has conferred, earnestly demands gratitude and dilection; to a father, who wills to be loved by his children; to a spouse, who demands the love of his bride. To those loving Him He promises remission of sins and temporal and spiritual goods; but, on the contrary, He threatens dire punishments to those who contemn His love.¹³

¹² St. Augustine, Confess., lib. I, c. 5, P. L. XXXII, 663.

¹³ Thus, for example, Isa. 1:2-31; 5:3-30; Jer. 2:2-37; 3:1-5; 31:1-39; Ezek. 20:1-44; Joel 2:1-29, etc.

(c) He expressed that desire still more vividly by sending His own Son to earth, who, veiling His majesty and putting on the infirmities of our humanity, by His kindness allures us to divine love: "The benignity and humanity of our Savior appeared."¹⁴ John, the apostle of dilection, splendidly urges this motive:¹⁵ "In this has the charity of God appeared in us, because God sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that we may live through Him... Let us therefore love God, because God first loved us." (d) In reality Christ Himself provokes us to divine love, asserting that God loves those who love Him, and pleasantly remains in their heart:¹⁶ "If anyone love Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him." He sweetly exhorts the disciples that they remain joined to Him by intimate affection, as a branch remains grafted into the vine:¹⁷ "I am the vine, you the branches... Remain in My love."

¹⁴ Tit. 3:4.

¹⁵ 1 John 4:9, 19.

¹⁶ John 14:23.

¹⁷ John 15:5, 9; the whole passage should be read attentively.

Thence there is an easy transition to the love of God, not only of gratitude, but also of friendship: "Who would not love in return One so loving us?"

761. (C) From these things it is easily understood that God is in Himself infinitely lovable. For by faith we know that whatever of beauty and whatever of good is in creatures is only an imperfect vestige of divine beauty and goodness. Wherefore, if we admire anything holy, anything heroic, anything powerful and kind in some man, all this is found in God, without any admixture of imperfection, and indeed in an infinitely more perfect degree. Therefore if we are allured to love by the beauty or goodness of creatures, how much more by divine perfection? Likewise, if love ought to be proportioned to the endowments of the beloved object, is not the mode of loving the supreme good to love it without mode? - And this is properly love of complacency, which soon is followed by love of benevolence, and afterward by love of beneficence, or zeal for promoting the glory of God.

Augustine declares this splendidly; he had sought pleasure and felicity in creatures; but having at last returned to better things, he addresses God thus:¹ "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee... What then art Thou, my God? what, I ask, except the Lord God... Highest, best, most powerful, most omnipotent, most merciful and most just, most hidden and most present, most beautiful and most strong, stable and incomprehensible; immutable, changing all things; never new, never old; renewing all things and bringing the proud into old age, and they know it not; always acting, always at rest; gathering, and not needing; bearing, and filling, and protecting; creating, and nourishing, and perfecting; seeking, though nothing is lacking to Thee. Thou lovest, and art not inflamed; Thou art zealous, and art secure; Thou repentest, and dost not grieve; Thou art angry, and art tranquil; Thou changest works, and dost not change counsel; Thou receivest what Thou findest, and hast never lost... My God, my life, my holy sweetness... Late have I loved Thee, beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved Thee!"

¹ St. Augustine, Confess., lib. I, cc. 1, 4; lib. X, c. 27, P. L., XXXII, 661, 662-663, 795.

762. 3. But charity is especially increased by the frequent exercise of acts of love: (A) Explicitly, namely by eliciting acts of gratitude toward God, an outstanding benefactor, and toward Christ, who loved us and delivered Himself for us; acts of complacency, by rejoicing over the divine attributes and praising them; acts of benevolence, namely by desiring that the name of God be sanctified, that His kingdom come, and that His will be done as in heaven and on earth; acts of beneficence, by promoting the glory of God with all one's powers; acts of perfect contrition, by detesting sins because they offend God, infinitely good.²

² These acts we have already described above, n. 745. Cf. St. Francis de Sales, op. cit., l. V and VI.

763. (B) Implicitly, by eliciting acts of the other virtues, which are informed by charity; for example, acts of obedience, which, according to the testimony of Scripture, are deservedly held to be truly acts of dilection: "If you love Me, keep My commandments... He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me."³ - The same can be said of any Christian action; prayer, labor, study, self-denial, mortifications of whatever kind, carried out on account of the love of God, obtain the merit of dilection (above, n. 149), and therefore increase charity.

³ John 14:15, 21; cf. 1 John 2:4; 5:3.

Indeed, since by the divine will we are bound to fulfill the duties of our state, it is necessary that we devote ourselves to the active life, and show our love by works from the deeds of charity.⁴ - Thus even common works become more pleasant, if they are performed from love, according to Augustine himself:⁵ "For in no way are the labors of those who love burdensome, but they even delight, as those of hunters, bird-catchers, fishermen, vine-dressers, merchants, and those delighting themselves with some game. Therefore what is loved matters. For in that which is loved, either labor is not felt, or even labor itself is loved."

⁴ To the point St. Vincent de Paul: "Let us love God, but let it be at the expense of our arms; let it be by the sweat of our faces; for very often so many acts of love of God, of complacency, of benevolence, and other similar affections of a tender heart, although very good and very desirable, are nevertheless very suspect when one does not come to effective love... Several flatter themselves with their heated imagination; they are content with the sweet conversations which they have with God in prayer; they even speak of them like angels: but, on leaving there, if there is question of working for God, of suffering, of mortifying oneself, of instructing the poor, of going to seek the lost sheep, of loving that something be lacking to them, of accepting illnesses or some other disgrace, alas! there is no one any more." (Apud Abelly, La vie de S. Vincent, Paris, 1891, t. I, ch. 19, p. 124-125.)

⁵ St. Augustine, De bono viduitatis, c. 21, P. L., XL, 448.

Among these works the works of charity toward neighbor stand out, which contribute very greatly to the love of God itself.

764. We cannot rightly love God unless we love His works, especially those in which divine goodness shines forth more perfectly, namely intellectual creatures, which were made to the image and likeness of God, angels and men. Passing over angels and the blessed, concerning whom there is treatment where the communion of saints is discussed, it remains to treat men who are wayfarers. Now we ought to love ourselves and our neighbor.

765. Concerning love of oneself there is no explicit precept, because, as Augustine notes, man does not need a precept in order to love himself:¹ "Therefore, since there is no need of a precept that each one should love himself and his body... it remained that we should receive precepts both concerning that which is above us and concerning that which is beside us." Nevertheless Christ implicitly commanded this dilection, saying:² "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Naturally indeed man loves himself; this love is not properly friendship, but something greater: for friendship imports a certain union; "but to each one toward himself there is unity, which is more powerful than union toward another; whence just as unity is the principle of union, so the love by which someone loves himself is the form and root of friendship: for in this we have friendship toward others, that we conduct ourselves toward them as toward ourselves."³

¹ St. Augustine, De doctrina christiana, c. 26, P. L., XXXIV, 29.

² Matt. 22:39.

³ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 25, a. 4.

766. But by force of the divine precept, man ought to love himself supernaturally, for God's sake: (A) first of all his soul, which was created by God, made through grace a sharer in the divine nature, - and also redeemed by the blood of Christ, - the temple of the Holy Spirit, - capable of eternal beatitude.

Hence St. Thomas says:⁴ "And according to this the good love themselves, as to the interior man, because they will that he be preserved in his integrity; and they desire for him the goods which are spiritual, and also spend effort in order to attain them, and delightfully return to their own heart, because there they find both good thoughts in the present, and the memory of past goods, and the hope of future goods, from which delight is caused." Wherefore we ought to put the salvation of our soul and its sanctification before all things: "Seek therefore first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added to you."⁵ Therefore we ought to cultivate Christian virtues, and rather die than be defiled; and therefore do good and meritorious works rather than heap up money: "Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up to yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither rust nor moth consumes, and where thieves do not break through nor steal."⁶ Accordingly we ought to esteem grace, and the means for preserving and increasing it, more than temporal helps. - We ought to fear one thing, sin, as we reported concerning Chrysostom, n. 471.

⁴ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 25, a. 7.

⁵ Matt. 6:33.

⁶ Matt. 6:19-20.

767. (B) We ought likewise to love the body for God's sake; for it is the instrument of the soul for rendering honor to God and carrying out good works: "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of iniquity unto sin, but present yourselves to God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of justice unto God";⁷ - and also the temple of God, sanctified through redemption, and capable of some beatitude, which from the glorious soul will redound into the risen body: "Do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you? For you are bought with a great price; glorify and bear God in your body."⁸ - "It is sown in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it shall rise in glory. It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power. It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body."⁹

⁷ Rom. 6:13; cf. 19.

⁸ 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

⁹ 1 Cor. 15:42-43.

But, in order that the matter may be so, we ought to mortify the concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires, lest otherwise we be drawn to unlawful things and incur damnation: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness."¹⁰ Wherefore the Apostle chastised his own body, lest he be allured to sin:¹¹ "But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become reprobate."

¹⁰ Col. 3:5.

¹¹ 1 Cor. 9:27.

768. They sin against love of self: (a) by excess, who indulge egotism, inordinately seeking private advantage, by passing over the good of God and neighbor: "For all seek the things that are their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's."¹² We can indeed seek our own things, but not exclusively:¹³ "Let no one seek what is his own (that is, only), but what belongs to another."

¹² Phil. 2:21.

¹³ 1 Cor. 10:24.

(b) By defect, by loving exterior goods in such a way that spiritual goods are contemned: for thus the good of the body is preferred to the good of the soul, contrary to right reason and the divine precept: "And fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell";¹⁴ - or even by esteeming the goods of fortune in such a way that they are preferred to the salvation and life of the body; - or a fortiori by taking bodily life away by one's own hands, through suicide.¹⁵

¹⁴ Matt. 10:28.

¹⁵ Concerning suicide, concerning care of one's own body, etc., we spoke in De Justitia, n. 288-310.

Concerning all these things we speak only briefly, because they are developed more fully in the course of Moral Theology.

Concerning charity toward neighbor we shall examine three things: 1. the precept of charity; 2. the works of charity, especially those which are called social; 3. sins against charity.

769. Thesis: There is a special and grave precept of loving one's neighbor with supernatural love, both affective and effective.

It is explained. (A) Here there is question not of sensual love, by which a neighbor is loved on account of external endowments which please the senses, - nor of merely intellectual love, by which he is loved on account of the endowments of soul with which he is furnished; - but of supernatural love, by which he is loved for God's sake, namely insofar as divine perfection shines forth in a rational creature. Thus divine goodness is truly the motive why we love our neighbor; thus it appears how the love of God and of neighbor is referred to the same virtue: for the motive of both is the same. From this it also follows that love of neighbor necessarily flows from love of God: for wherever divine goodness is found, there it ought to be loved; but all men are called to the beatific vision, and therefore to supernatural participation in the divine nature; the just indeed already possess this inchoatively through sanctifying grace; but if they are in the state of sin, they remain capable of justification as long as they live, and as such can and ought to be loved.

In order that this may be understood better, it must be known that neighbor can be loved for God's sake in a threefold way: (a) insofar as he is the work of God, both natural and supernatural, pertaining to His glory, just as a painting contributes to the glory of the painter; (b) insofar as divine goodness is participated by the neighbor, shines forth in him, and renders him lovable; in this way we love sinners also, because they are sons of God, not indeed in act, but in potency; (c) insofar as the neighbor is loved by God: for friendship makes friends so unanimous, or of one will, that whatever one loves, the other also loves.

770. But it is controverted whether participation in the divine nature, insofar as it inheres in an intellectual creature, is a sufficient motive of charity. Some indeed, such as Vasquez,¹ contend that love resting only upon this created participation does not properly pertain to the virtue of charity, but to a certain lower supernatural love, by which the neighbor is loved on account of the supernatural goods with which he is adorned. But, with Suarez and others,² we think that this love pertains to the virtue of charity; for even that goodness which inheres in the just through grace is divine goodness, proceeding from God and tending toward Him, and therefore can be loved for God's sake.

¹ Vasquez, in 3 part. St. Thomas, disp. 98, c. 2; Lessius, de Justitia, l. II, c. 36, n. 23.

² Suarez, concerning Charity, disp. I, sect. 3; Salmanticenses, disp. II, dub. 4; Bouquillon, n. 411.

771. (B) That supernatural love ought to be not only affective, but also effective: (a) affective, namely consisting in those acts of complacency and benevolence by which we rejoice concerning the endowments of our neighbor and sincerely desire supernatural goods for him; (b) but also effective, inclining us to beneficence, that is, to all acts of mercy by which we are able to help our neighbor.

772. (C) By the name of neighbor are to be understood all rational creatures³ capable of eternal beatitude, namely: (a) those who are inseparably united to God through the beatific vision, the angels and saints reigning in heaven; (b) those who are indefectibly friends of God, although they have not yet obtained eternal beatitude, such as are souls detained in purgatory; (c) those who are truly friends of God, although defectibly, as the just on earth; (d) those who are able to obtain divine friendship, although they lack the same, as sinners, heretics, infidels, as long as they live. - Excluded from this supernatural friendship are those who are irreparably enemies of God, such as demons and the damned.⁴

³ In irrational creatures the natural endowments which shine forth in them and proceed from God can indeed be loved; but this love does not pertain to supernatural charity. Nevertheless, by the ladder of creatures, we are able to ascend to God Himself. Cf. Bellarmine, De ascensione mentis in Deum per scalas rerum creatarum.

⁴ Yet it is by no means prohibited to love in them whatever good God naturally bestowed and left.

773. It is proved. 1. From Scripture. Yet it must be noted that the law of charity was not fully promulgated in the Old Testament, but attained its perfection only in the New.

(A) In the Mosaic Law (a) not only are hatred and vengeance reproved, but love of neighbor is commanded, and indeed for God's sake, with however some distinction between fellow citizens and foreigners. "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but openly rebuke him, lest thou have sin upon him. Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord."⁵ Here there is no question of all men, but of brothers, fellow citizens, and friends, that is, of members of Hebrew society; for at that time a great distinction was established between fellow citizens and foreigners. Yet a certain benevolence is commended toward strangers who dwell within the borders of the Jews: they ought to be loved not as brothers, but as if they were fellow citizens: "If a stranger has dwelt in your land and has stayed among you, do not reproach him; but let him be among you as one born in the land, and you shall love him as yourselves; for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God."⁶

⁵ Lev. 19:17-18.

⁶ Lev. 19:33-34; cf. Exod. 22:21; 23:9.

(b) Beneficence toward the poor, and all who are in some necessity, is often commanded: "The poor shall not be wanting in the land of thy habitation; therefore I command thee that thou open thy hand to thy needy and poor brother, who dwells with thee in the land."⁷ The Jews ought to furnish mutual help to themselves as regards things lost: "Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep going astray, and pass by; but thou shalt bring them back to thy brother, even if thy brother is not near, nor dost thou know him; thou shalt bring them into thy house, and they shall be with thee until thy brother seeks them and receives them."⁸

⁷ Deut. 15:11.

⁸ Deut. 22:1-2; cf. Exod. 22:4-5.

(c) Among works of beneficence is counted a loan without increase: "Thou shalt not lend to thy brother money at usury, nor grain, nor any other thing, but to a foreigner. But to thy brother thou shalt lend without usury that which he needs, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in every work of thine."⁹ There note also the distinction between brothers and foreigners.

⁹ Deut. 23:19-20; cf. Exod. 22:25.

(d) Widows, orphans, the blind, the lame, and others of this kind are worthy of special mercy: "You shall not hurt a widow or an orphan. If you hurt them, they shall cry out to Me, and I will hear their cry; and My fury shall be indignant";¹⁰ - "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind."¹¹

¹⁰ Exod. 22:22-23.

¹¹ Lev. 19:14; cf. Deut. 27:18.

(e) Besides, certain legal privileges were granted to the needy.¹² Thus a small part of the crops in any field was preserved for the poor, who besides had the right of gathering the remaining ears: "When thou shalt reap the crops of thy land, thou shalt not shear the surface of the land down to the ground (in Hebrew, thou shalt not reap the whole field, but shalt reserve a certain corner for the poor); nor shalt thou gather the remaining ears."¹³ - Likewise, in the sabbatical year, which occurred every seventh year, the land remained uncultivated, and the fruits growing spontaneously were common,¹⁴ and chiefly contributed to relieving the poor; the same was observed in the jubilee year, which recurred every fiftieth year.¹⁵ - Moreover, every third year, the tenth part of the fruits was given to widows, orphans, and the other poor.¹⁶

¹² Many, apud Vigouroux, Dict. de la Bible, t. I, 1245-1247; Lallemand, Histoire de la Charite, Paris, Picard, 1902, p. 16-28.

¹³ Lev. 19:9.

¹⁴ Lev. 25:2-7.

¹⁵ Lev. 25:8-12.

¹⁶ Deut. 14:28-29.

774. (B) In the New Testament the law of charity is completed and perfected, insofar as we are commanded to love all, even enemies, without distinction of Jew and Greek; and in a more perfect mode, by loving all as Christ loved us, and because we ought to love Christ Himself in others.

(a) This indeed is clear from the sermon on the mount, where Christ says: "You have heard that it has been said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you not to resist evil; but if anyone strikes thee on thy right cheek, offer him also the other."¹⁷ Namely, among the Jews¹⁸ and many Gentiles, the law of retaliation was in force, not indeed to be applied by private men, but by magistrates; Christ teaches us to tolerate injuries patiently, without vengeance being sought through judges.

¹⁷ Matt. 5:38-39.

¹⁸ Exod. 21:24-25; Lev. 24:19-22.

The Lord continues: "You have heard that it has been said: thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thy enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for those persecuting and calumniating you; that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, who makes His sun to rise upon the good and the evil, and rains upon the just and the unjust."¹⁹ Scripture nowhere commended hatred of enemies; but from the fact that certain foreign tribes had been exterminated by the Jews,²⁰ and because the sacred writers sometimes rejoiced concerning the fall and confusion of the impious,²¹ not a few rabbis approved hatred toward enemies as legitimate. But the Lord commands us to love all, even enemies, and to do good to them, so that thus we may imitate our heavenly Father. Nor must love be extended to fellow citizens alone, but also to Greeks and barbarians: "For there is no distinction of Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is over all, rich unto all who call upon Him."²² From the same texts it is clear that the motive on account of which we ought to love brothers is because God is the heavenly Father of all.

¹⁹ Matt. 5:43-45.

²⁰ Deut. 7:1-11; 20:12-18.

²¹ Ps. 7:5-7; 53:7.

²² Rom. 10:12; cf. Gal. 5:6; 6:15.

775. (b) We are bound to love them in a more perfect mode than before, namely as Christ Himself loved us: "A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all know that you are My disciples, if you shall have love for one another."²³ But Christ loved us so that He delivered His soul for us; wherefore, if we wish to cultivate perfect charity, "we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren,"²⁴ that is, to deny ourselves so that we may be able to procure the good of our neighbor, especially spiritual good. That so perfect a charity may become easier, Christ declares that whatever is bestowed upon the least of the brethren is held as bestowed upon Christ Himself: "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me."²⁵

²³ John 13:34-35.

²⁴ 1 John 3:16.

²⁵ Matt. 25:40.

776. (c) But this charity must be shown not only by affection and words, but by work.

This indeed is clear from the very words by which the supreme judge addresses the elect and the reprobate: the former possess the kingdom of God because they gave to the poor food, drink, clothing, and other things of this kind; but the reprobate, on the contrary, are damned because they did not perform these works of charity.²⁶ From this it also appears that certain works of charity were commanded under grave obligation. Wherefore James deservedly says: "Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their tribulation."²⁷ Nor otherwise John:²⁸ "He that has the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall close his bowels from him, how does the charity of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth." - The first Christians understood the matter thus, concerning whom it is said:²⁹ "And the multitude of believers had one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but all things were common to them." This community of goods was not indeed of precept,³⁰ but it shows how perfectly charity was cultivated in the church of Jerusalem.

²⁶ Matt. 25:34-46.

²⁷ James 1:27; cf. 2:2-8 and 14-19.

²⁸ 1 John 3:17-18.

²⁹ Acts 4:32.

³⁰ Acts 5:4.

(d) All these things the Apostle splendidly condenses, describing the excellent endowments of charity thus:³¹ "Charity is patient, is kind; charity envies not, deals not perversely, is not puffed up; is not ambitious, seeks not her own, is not provoked to anger, thinks no evil; rejoices not over iniquity, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

³¹ 1 Cor. 13:4-7.

777. The Fathers confirm and develop the doctrine of Scripture, commending fraternal charity, often inculcating the precept of almsgiving, and promoting other works of beneficence.

(a) Thus St. Cyprian praises fraternal charity:¹ "The charity of brotherhood is a bond, the foundation of peace, the tenacity and firmness of unity, which is greater than both hope and faith, which precedes even the works of martyrdom, which will always remain with us eternally before God in the heavenly kingdoms." To the point also Augustine:² "Wherefore, brethren, pursue charity, the sweet and salutary bond of minds, without which the rich man is poor, and with which the poor man is rich. This bears in adversities, tempers in prosperities; in hard sufferings it is strong, in good works cheerful; in temptation most secure, in hospitality most spacious; among true brothers most joyful, among false ones most patient." A little later he explains the words of the Apostle cited above concerning the excellence and endowments of charity.

¹ St. Cyprian, De bono patient., c. 15, P. L., IV, 632.

² St. Augustine, sermo CCCL, P. L., XXXIX, 1534.

778. (b) The Fathers often speak concerning almsgiving. St. Cyprian has an entire treatise concerning work and alms.³ St. Ambrose also relates that sacred vessels were broken and sold in order to redeem captives, and he altogether approves this against the envy of the Arians: "The Church has gold, not that she may preserve it, but that she may spend it and come to aid in necessities. Will not the Lord say: why did you suffer so many needy persons to die of hunger? And surely you had gold; you should have supplied food. Why were so many captives led away for sale, and, not redeemed, were killed by the enemy? It would have been better that you preserve vessels of the living than of metals." He likewise narrates how the holy martyr Lawrence distributed the treasures of the Church to the poor, and, when the judge asked where the treasures were which he had promised to hand over, showed the poor, saying: These are the treasures of the Church. This he declares in these words:⁴ "These are the treasures of the Church. And truly treasures, in whom Christ is, in whom faith is... What better treasures has Christ than those in whom He said that He is?" - Fortunatus splendidly declares that Christ Himself, hidden in the poor, is to be loved and helped:⁵

³ St. Cyprian, lib. de opere et eleemosynis, P. L., IV, 601-622.

⁴ St. Ambrose, De officiis, l. II, c. 28, n. 140, P. L., XVI, 141.

⁵ Apud Le Blant, Inscript. chretiennes, t. II, n. 645.

"Believing that he was feeding Christ under the form of the poor,
before all others with him the needy man received help,
and not only refreshing, but secretly ministering gifts,
he is more pleasing from this, that he gave without a witness."

The poor were also held as sons; for Jerome, speaking of Paula, who relieved many poor and had left them to her husband Pammachius, writes to him: "As many poor as there are in Rome, so many sons have you suddenly begotten."⁶

⁶ Jerome, ep. 66 to Pammachius, n. 4, P. L., XXII, 641.

But to urge the precept of almsgiving, the Fathers rather often teach that the rich are, as it were, stewards and dispensers of the riches of God, so that if they refuse to hand over necessary things to the poor, they are guilty of theft and robbery: "The bread which you detain belongs to the hungry; the cloak which you keep in the chest belongs to the naked; the shoe which rots with you belongs to the barefoot; the silver which you have buried belongs to the needy. Wherefore, to as many men as you can give, to so many do you inflict injury."⁷

⁷ St. Basil, homil. on that text of Luke: Destruam, etc., P. G., XXXI, 278; cf. St. Ambrose, De Nabuthe lib. unus, P. L., XIV, 747; St. Augustine, in Ps. 147, P. L., XXXVII, 1922; St. Gregory of Nyssa, De pauperibus amandis, P. G., XLVI, 466; St. Chrysostom, in ep. I to the Corinthians, homil. 10, c. 3, P. G., LXI, 86. C. Guignebert condenses the doctrine of the Fathers on this matter, Tertullien (thesis), Paris, Leroux, 1901, p. 508-350. - Yet we proved that these Fathers are not favorers of socialism, De Justitia, n. 84-86.

Yet alms are not to be bestowed indiscriminately upon all, but upon those who are truly needy and use well the things given. Thus, in the Constitutions called Apostolic, alms are not to be bestowed upon those who are evil, envious, drunken, or lazy, lest a reward be given to vice.⁸

⁸ Constit. apostol., II, 1-63; III, 4-6.

Likewise Chrysostom forbids widows who have been caught acting basely in thefts, taverns, and other similar things to be supported at the expense of the Church: "For who would ever wish to bestow the money which he was commanded to give to Christ upon those who bring calumny upon the name of Christ? And therefore much and careful scrutiny is needed, that neither they nor others, for whom their household property can suffice, consume the table of the poorer."⁹ - But those who belong to another nation or religion are not excluded from charity: "For whatever is God's is common in our use, and no one is kept away from His benefits and gifts; much less is the whole human race prevented from enjoying His goodness and largess equally."¹⁰

⁹ St. Chrysostom, De sacerdotio, l. III, c. 16, P. G., XLVIII, 655.

¹⁰ St. Cyprian, De opere et eleemos., c. 25, P. L., IV, 620.

(c) Likewise other works of charity are promoted, such as visitation of the sick and imprisoned, redemption of captives, emancipation of slaves, care of widows and orphans, etc.¹¹ Wherefore deacons and deaconesses (or widows not less than sixty years old) were instituted in every church, that they might take care of the poor, orphans, widows, girls, etc. Collections were made on every Sunday, that the necessities of all might be more abundantly relieved.

¹¹ Concerning these see L. Lallemand, Histoire de la charite, t. II, Paris, 1903, with many authors cited there. These works of charity even rationalists themselves could not fail to admire, as Lecky, History of European Morals, London and New York, ch. IV, where he confesses that nothing similar was ever found among the pagans: "The high conception that has been formed of the sanctity of human life, the protection of infancy, the elevation and final emancipation of the slave classes, the suppression of barbarous games, the creation of a vast and multifarious organisation of charity, and the education of the imagination by the christian type, constitute together a movement of philanthropy which has never been paralleled or approached in the pagan world." (T. II, p. 100, 3rd ed., New York, 1891).

779. The doctrine of Scripture and of the Fathers Leo XIII splendidly condenses, proposing the motives of fraternal charity to masters and workers thus: "For all will feel and understand that all men alike have been begotten by God, the common parent; that all tend to the same end of goods, which is God Himself, who alone can affect both men and angels with perfect and absolute beatitude; that each likewise has equally been redeemed by the benefit of Jesus Christ and restored to the dignity of sons of God, so that they are plainly contained in a fraternal relationship both with one another and also with Christ the Lord, the firstborn among many brethren."

And these things are sufficient concerning charity in general; but how far the precept of loving enemies and of bestowing alms extends will be clear from the following things.

The question can be examined as regards the dilection of enemies, almsgiving, fraternal correction, and the order to be observed in charity.

780. State of the question. From the general precept of charity, n. 769, we are bound to love enemies with common dilection. But those are called enemies who pursue us with hatred, or have inflicted some offense or injury upon us, or even those whom, on account of some antipathy or other motive, we naturally turn away from. To love them seems very arduous to human infirmity, but by grace it becomes possible. We are not indeed commanded to love them because they are enemies, but although they are enemies; nor to love their vices or defects, but, notwithstanding these vices, to love them on account of the endowments which God has conferred upon them and intends to confer, and therefore for the sake of God and Christ. Nor is there question of sensible affection, which does not depend upon the will, but of true love by which we will good to them.

But the precept chiefly embraces three things: that hatred and vengeance be avoided, that injuries be forgiven and therefore common signs of dilection be shown, and that reconciliation be sought.

781. (A) Concerning hatred to be avoided. (a) Hatred of abomination, which is concerned not with the person himself, but with his endowments, is not always and of itself evil; but it is good or evil according as the quality itself which is hated is evil or good.

Thus it is licit to hate sin in a neighbor, for example, his pride, or envy, or lust. On the other hand, it is gravely illicit of itself to hate natural or supernatural endowments which are in the neighbor, for example, his wisdom, humility, chastity. For, as St. Thomas says,¹ "love is owed to the neighbor according to that which he has from God, that is, according to nature and grace; but love is not owed to him according to that which he has from himself and the devil, namely according to sin and defect of justice."

¹ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 34, a. 3.

782. (b) Hatred of enmity toward the neighbor himself is a sin mortal from its kind; nevertheless it can be light, not only because of imperfect deliberation or volition, but also because of smallness of matter, for example, if someone wills only a slight evil to the neighbor.

John thus reproves hatred of this kind: "But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and knows not where he goes, because the darkness has blinded his eyes...² He that loves not abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in himself."³ Indeed he establishes that it is impossible to love God unless the neighbor is loved:⁴ "If any man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see?"

² 1 John 2:11.

³ 1 John 3:14-15.

⁴ Ibid., 4:20.

The reason is that our enemies do not cease to be sons of God, called to heavenly beatitude, redeemed by the blood of Christ, and therefore members of the same body,⁵ and, even if perhaps they have sinned, they can be converted by grace and numbered among the saints. Therefore if we hate them, we not only fail to imitate our Father, who makes His sun rise upon the good and the evil, but we openly contradict Him, pursuing with hatred those whom He loves, and wishing evil to those to whom He does not cease to do good.

⁵ "We, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another." (Rom. 12:5). Cf. Bossuet, Serm. sur la charite fraternelle, t. III, p. 181, ed. Lelarcq.

783. Corollaries. (a) Therefore it is not licit to wish some evil to a neighbor, even an enemy, except that a greater evil be avoided; for to wish an evil which is not compensated by a greater good is nothing other than to will evil to someone. But if the evil is wished only in order to avoid a greater evil, by that very fact we will good to someone.

Thus we cannot wish eternal damnation to anyone, not even to a persecutor of the Church, because this evil cannot be sufficiently compensated by any good. Nor can the death of some person be desired in order to seize his inheritance;⁶ for the order of charity demands that the life of the neighbor be preferred to one's own or another's temporal advantage. - But it is licit to wish some temporal evil to a wicked man, for example, tribulation, illness, loss of some goods, so that his spiritual good, or conversion, may be more easily promoted. Likewise we can rejoice concerning the death of a scandalous sinner, not insofar as it is an evil for him, but lest he further be a cause of the spiritual ruin of others. It is commonly also said that the death of a heresiarch or persecutor can licitly be desired on account of the common good, lest he lead others into error or sin. But it is better to ask for conversion, according to that saying:⁷ "I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live." Wherefore the death of the impious can be sought only conditionally, namely with the supposition that, according to God's knowledge, there is no other means of removing scandal.

⁶ To this belong propositions 12, 13, 14 condemned by Innocent XI, March 2, 1679 (Denzing., n. 1030-1032; Viva, on these propositions): "If you do it with due moderation, you can without mortal sin be saddened concerning the life of someone, and rejoice concerning his natural death, seek and desire it with inefficacious affection, not indeed from displeasure with the person, but on account of some temporal advantage. - It is licit with an absolute desire to desire the death of a father, not indeed as an evil of the father, but as a good of the one desiring, because namely a rich inheritance is going to come to him. - It is licit for a son to rejoice concerning the parricide of a parent perpetrated by himself in drunkenness, on account of the great riches thereafter obtained from the inheritance."

⁷ Ezek. 33:11.

Therefore the desire of private vengeance is illicit where civil authority has already been orderly constituted; but it is licit, from zeal for justice and public security, to wish that a punishment proportioned to the offense be inflicted upon the guilty by legitimate authority, after diligent and equitable judgment: for this is nothing other than to will that order be preserved in society.

784. (b) Cursing, by which we imprecate evil upon someone, is against the order of charity and is a grave sin from its kind; for it is nothing other than an external manifestation of some internal hatred. - Besides, cursing which is done before others can put on the malice of detraction; if it is done in the presence of the enemy himself, it is contumely (De Justitia, nn. 374, 397).

785. To be noted for practice. Although hatred is of itself a grave sin, nevertheless often penitents who accuse sins of hatred are not guilty of grave sin: for sometimes there is question of natural antipathy or aversion of mind, which is not fully voluntary; sometimes defects or depraved actions are hated, but not the person himself. If they consent to pray for the conversion or progress of those from whom they thus turn away, they are not to be made anxious. - Likewise curses, even those grave of themselves, are often excused from mortal sin, because they are uttered from vehement anger, without sufficient advertence or perfect consent, more for casting terror than with serious desire that evils of this kind truly happen.

786. (B) Concerning forgiveness of injuries and signs of dilection. (a) Regularly we are bound to forgive, from internal affection, injuries inflicted upon us by the neighbor, even an enemy, that we ourselves may be able to obtain pardon for our own offenses, according to that saying: "Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors."

(b) Therefore we are bound to show enemies common signs and benefits of dilection, namely such as a Christian is accustomed to give to a Christian, a citizen to a fellow citizen, a priest to a priest, a blood-relation to a blood-relation; for to deny these would be a sign of hatred and vengeance. - Except, however, if there is a reasonable cause for denying these for a time, for example, for the correction of children or subjects, or on account of a founded fear lest the enemy become more obstinate in his malice, provided that the affection of charity is not lacking internally. - Denial of common signs of charity is of itself a grave sin when it proceeds from internal hatred, or is the cause of grave scandal; often, however, it is excused from mortal sin because of good faith, since many think that they are not bound to these signs when they have suffered injury.

But we can, as a sign of just sorrow, deny special signs of dilection to an enemy: for since these are not owed to all, we are by no means bound to show them to an enemy, who is not of better condition than the rest.

Yet they are worthy of all praise who, adhering to the footsteps of Christ and the saints, show special signs of dilection and benevolence to enemies: "But if thy enemy is hungry, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink. For doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head (that is, burning groans of penance, according to Augustine). Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good."⁸

⁸ Rom. 12:20-21.

Likewise it is licit to exact satisfaction for an injury inflicted, and restitution for damage caused, provided this is done not from hatred or vengeance, but from sincere love of justice. Litigants are to be warned concerning this prudently and opportunely; and if the matter can be composed peacefully through arbitrators, without recourse to a tribunal, this is much more consonant with Christian charity.⁹

⁹ "Does any one of you, having a matter against another, dare to be judged before the unjust, and not before the saints?... So is there not any wise man among you, who can judge between his brother?" (1 Cor. 6:1-5).

787. Practical conclusions. (a) Since we ought to pray in a general way for all, it is not licit to exclude enemies from common prayers. For Christ, in the Lord's prayer, taught us to pray for all, and, far from wishing enemies to be excluded, said elsewhere:¹⁰ "Pray for those persecuting and calumniating you." Although we are not bound to pray specifically for them, this is opportunely to be counseled whenever hatred otherwise cannot be laid aside.

¹⁰ Matt. 5:44.

(b) It is not licit to exclude enemies from common alms, - from the sale of goods exposed for sale, - or from other contracts which are entered into indiscriminately with all.

(c) We are not bound to greet an enemy unless perhaps in a place where the custom obtains of greeting all indiscriminately; but if he greets first, we ought to return his greeting: otherwise we are judged to contemn him. Nor are we strictly bound to visit a sick enemy, to console him when sad, or to receive him in hospitality, since these are special signs of love; but the true disciple of Christ will seize this opportunity of acting kindly with an enemy, that he may reconcile him to himself.

788. (C) Concerning reconciliation to be made. When friendship has been broken by hatred or by injury, reconciliation is to be sought, according to these words of the Savior: "If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there remember that thy brother has anything against thee (that is, a just complaint), leave there thy gift before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother: and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift."¹¹

¹¹ Matt. 5:23-24. Note the word there, at the very altar, at the time of the sacrifice begun; moreover "to leave a sacrifice imperfect was held to be a great sin," says Maldonatus on this place.

(a) As regards the order to be observed in reconciliation, regularly he who offended the other is bound to seek reconciliation first, either by himself or through a friend. If an offense has intervened on both sides, he ought first to seek reconciliation who offended the other more gravely, and, if the mutual offense is almost equal, he who offended first. But in practice, since not rarely each one is persuaded that he was offended first or more gravely, both are to be advised to begin reconciliation; and indeed as soon as morally possible, lest otherwise hatred grow; yet sometimes it is expedient to defer the matter a little while, so that anger may more easily be laid aside.

789. (b) Otherwise he who was injured is bound to forgive the injury to an enemy seeking reconciliation: "For if you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your offenses; but if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your sins."¹²

¹² Matt. 6:14-15.

(c) Reconciliation can be made by asking pardon, or by friendly conversation,¹³ by various duties or benefits mutually furnished, or by gradually restoring the former friendship. Yet it must be noted that a full reintegration of the old friendship is not strictly required: for familiar friendship is owed to no one, and, when it exists, it can be dissolved for a legitimate cause. - The mediation of a friend who is acceptable to both parties greatly conduces to true reconciliation; this office especially belongs to the priest, who, by force of his office, ought to be acceptable to all the faithful committed to him.

¹³ Often enmities arise from a false interpretation of words or deeds, which usually vanishes from an honorable and sincere conversation.

The dilection of enemies and the forgiveness of injuries seem to many something arduous, indeed even impossible. Let them think of blessed Stephen, who prayed for the enemies stoning him, and thus led Paul to the true faith; but especially of Christ hanging on the cross and praying for His persecutors: "Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do."¹⁴ And, if they have sinned, let them recall to memory that they say daily: "And forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors"; therefore unless they wish to be condemned, let them kindly forgive injuries to others.

¹⁴ Luke 23:34.

790. Notion and obligation. (A) It is not enough to love all with affection, even enemies, but we ought to show dilection by effect and work through beneficence. This beneficence indeed, when exercised toward the wretched, is called mercy. Since the misery of the neighbor can be bodily and spiritual, some works of mercy are corporal, but others spiritual.

¹ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 32; Suarez, concerning Charity, disp. VII; Billuart, disp. V; St. Alphonsus, n. 31-33; Bouquillon, n. 481-496; Ballerini-Palmieri, n. 193-215; Bourdaloue, Sermon for the First Friday of Lent, on Almsgiving.

Here there is treatment of the former, while we shall soon speak concerning spiritual works, where we treat fraternal correction. Among the corporal works of mercy is counted especially almsgiving, concerning which there is a special precept, as has already been said; we must now treat it, in order to define how far it is commanded: concerning social works of charity we shall speak below. By the name of almsgiving, however, we understand any bodily benefit furnished to one in need from compassion, in order to relieve his want.

(B) That there is a precept of giving alms is clear from the preceding thesis; but how far it extends must now be determined. Now, in a general way, the precept obliges whenever these two things concur at the same time: true necessity on the part of the needy person, and moral possibility on the part of the giver, insofar as he possesses goods concerning which he can dispose: "There is some time in which he sins mortally if he omits giving alms; on the part of the receiver indeed, when evident and urgent necessity appears, and it does not appear that someone is at hand who may help him; but on the part of the giver, when he has superfluous things, which according to the present state are not necessary to him, as can probably be estimated."²

² St. Thomas, II-II, q. 32, a. 5, ad 3.

791. In order that this may be understood better, a threefold necessity is usually distinguished: (a) extreme necessity, in which the necessities of life are lacking, or certain danger is imminent of losing goods more precious than goods of fortune, for example, danger of losing the integrity of members, health, liberty, chastity. To this approaches quasi-extreme necessity, when someone is in a very probable danger of losing life or one of the aforesaid goods. (b) Necessity is called grave in which the neighbor will very probably suffer notable loss of goods, or loss of state, unless he is helped by the aid of another. (c) Finally, that necessity is called common in which ordinary poor persons are found, who, unless they are helped, live a rather troublesome life, although they are able to provide the necessaries for themselves. - These things being posited, the following seem to be established.

792. Practical rules. (A) A neighbor constituted in extreme or quasi-extreme necessity is to be aided under grave obligation, provided it can be done without truly great damage. For if charity at some time obliges under grave obligation, surely it does when the neighbor is in the aforesaid necessity. - Moreover, according to the order of divine Providence, the goods of the earth are primarily ordained to supplying the necessities of man; and therefore if the neighbor is in extreme necessity, he has a right to obtain whatever is necessary for his own support (De Justitia, n. 446).

Yet no one is bound to help his neighbor from goods necessary for his own life or that of his family: for there is no obligation of loving others more than oneself or one's own family.

Nor is there a strict obligation of using extraordinary means to help the neighbor; thus we are not bound, at our own expense, to send a sick man, who would die shortly in his homeland, into a far-off region, that he may find there a healthier air: for this is an extraordinary means to which generally no one is bound, even for the sake of saving his own life. - Nor is there an obligation of spending a great sum of money upon a poor man so that by an extraordinary surgical operation his life can be saved, both on account of the same motive and because today there are hospitals where these operations are performed gratuitously, or at least for a lesser price.

For those who are in the aforesaid necessity, strictly speaking, it suffices to give as much as is required to relieve their necessity here and now; hence if the use of a thing suffices, it is enough to lend it, without the thing itself being given: thus if the use of some vehicle or horse is necessary, there is no obligation of giving the things themselves. - When some family is found for a long time in quasi-extreme necessity, one and the same rich man is not bound to provide all necessaries to it, when there are others who can help the same; it suffices that he contribute a part proportioned to his resources. In reality, in present societies, there are many charitable institutions for alleviating these necessities.

793. (B) A neighbor constituted in grave or common necessity is sometimes to be aided from superfluous goods; and indeed under mortal sin when there is question of grave necessity.

The rich are not indeed bound to help all who are in grave or common necessity, but only some; nor to provide totally for their want when there are other rich persons who can help them; but they ought to bestow upon the poor, especially those constituted in grave necessity, a part of superfluous goods. "No one certainly," says Leo XIII,³ "is commanded to aid others from that which pertains to the necessary uses both of himself and of his own; indeed, not even to hand over to others that by which he himself needs to preserve what befits and what becomes his person: for no one ought to live unbecomingly.⁴ But when necessity and decorum have been satisfied, it is a duty to give to the needy from that which remains over: 'that which remains, give as alms.'"⁵

³ Encyclical Rerum Novarum, May 16, 1891.

⁴ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 32, a. 6.

⁵ Luke 11:41.

This obligation indeed is grave, since, according to the testimony of Christ, those are guilty of eternal damnation who refuse to give food, drink, clothing, and hospitality to the poor.⁶ - Therefore they sin mortally who never provide alms, or repel all poor indiscriminately.

⁶ Matt. 25:41-46.

794. But what comes under the name of superfluous things, and what part of the superfluous it is necessary to give, cannot easily be determined. Superfluous goods can be called those which are not necessary for the decent support of oneself and one's own.⁷ But everyone sees that these cannot be defined by a common rule: for many things are to be attended to in this matter: necessities not only present, but future, namely those which will probably occur, for example, from old age or incapacity for labor, from diminution of income, from increase of family, education and dowering of children, etc. He would indeed be imprudent who, for providing for future necessities, neglected moderately to increase his resources.

⁷ Theologians commonly distinguish goods necessary for life and necessary for state: the former are required for protecting oneself and one's own against extreme necessity, and what remains are called superfluous for life; the latter are called those without which someone cannot live decently and support his family according to his state, and what remains are called superfluous for state, or simply superfluous.

Besides, not all superfluous things are to be bestowed upon the poor; a certain part must be set aside so that industry, commerce, and agriculture may be promoted: for thus the progress of the whole nation is fostered, and the resources of the community are increased, and the poor are more easily relieved. Thus from the multiplication of railways famine becomes almost impossible in cultivated nations, because grain is easily transported from one region to another. - Today, moreover, there are many public works of beneficence instituted by private persons, the State, and the Church, in which provision is made for the necessities of the poor, orphans, the aged, and the sick; therefore those who pay taxes or contribute something in collections for pious works in some way fulfill the office of charity.

795. Practical conclusion. Therefore the faithful are altogether to be exhorted to bestow liberally a part of their superfluous goods upon the poor or upon pious works, without this part being mathematically defined: for exhortations of this kind, resting upon the words of Christ and the Fathers,⁸ have more force than a strict determination of a gravely incumbent duty, which often is impossible.

⁸ Besides the works of the Fathers cited above, cf. Bossuet, Sermon sur l'eminente dignite des pauvres, t. III, p. 117-136, ed. Lebarcq; Msgr. Pie, Inst. pastorales sur l'urgente necessite de l'aumone (Works, t. II and IV).

Moreover charity ought to be: (a) prudent, namely that it be done for one truly poor, but not for an idle man who simulates poverty,⁹ and that it tend to render the poor man capable, insofar as it can be done, of working and soon sufficing for himself; (b) and therefore sufficiently abundant that the poor may truly be relieved, and may be able to obtain not only the necessities for supporting themselves for the present day, but also the instruments of labor by which afterward they may be able to nourish themselves and their own; (c) swift, or prompt, that it may be opportune, lest otherwise the poor fall into abject misery and desperation: "Say not to thy friend: go, and return; tomorrow I will give to thee; when thou canst give immediately";¹⁰ (d) as to intention, secret, humble, supernatural: "When therefore thou dost alms, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand does, that thy alms may be in secret; and thy Father, who sees in secret, will repay thee."¹¹

⁹ Today, in many regions, societies have been instituted to detect false poor, especially those who feign poverty in order to become rich; thus in France the society called Office central des Oeuvres de bienfaisance, 175 boulevard St-Germain, Paris.

¹⁰ Prov. 3:28.

¹¹ Matt. 6:2-4.

796. The precept of charity extends not only to corporal works of mercy, but also to spiritual ones, which are commonly counted as seven:¹³ to teach the ignorant, especially as regards things necessary for salvation; to give counsel to the doubtful; to console the sad; to forgive an injury received; to tolerate the troublesome patiently; to pray for the living and the dead; to correct those who offend. Here only fraternal correction must be treated, since it alone carries before itself a special difficulty.

¹² St. Thomas, II-II, q. 33; Suarez, disp. VIII; Billuart, diss. VI; St. Alphonsus, n. 34-42; Bouquillon, n. 462-477; Ballerini-Palmieri, n. 216-239.

¹³ "Counsel, reprove, teach, console, forgive, bear, pray."

This is usually defined as a warning made privately to an offending neighbor, for his correction. - It therefore differs from judicial correction, which proceeds from a judge, in order to punish the offender on account of the common good.

797. (A) Concerning the obligation of fraternal correction. There is a natural and divine precept, grave of itself, of making fraternal correction to a neighbor gravely offending, when certain conditions have been posited.

(a) This precept Ecclesiasticus already inculcates:¹⁴ "Reprove a friend, lest perhaps he has not understood, and says: I did not do it; or, if he did it, lest he add to do it again; reprove thy neighbor, lest perhaps he has not spoken; and if he has spoken, lest perhaps he repeat it." But Christ prescribes not only the correction itself, but also the order to be followed in it thus:¹⁵ "But if thy brother shall sin (against thee), go and reprove him between thee and him alone; if he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother; but if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them, tell the Church; but if he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and the publican."

¹⁴ Ecclus. 19:13-14.

¹⁵ Matt. 18:15-17. - The words against thee are lacking in the Vatican and Sinaitic codices. - Cf. 2 Thess. 3:14-15.

Augustine lucidly explains these words:¹⁶ "Therefore we ought to correct by loving, not with eagerness of doing harm, but with zeal for correcting... If you have neglected (to correct), you are worse. He has done an injury, and by doing the injury has struck himself with a grave wound: do you contemn the wound of your brother? You see him perishing, or having perished, and you neglect him? You are worse by being silent than he by reviling."

¹⁶ St. Augustine, Sermo LXXXII, P. L., XXXVIII, 506-514.

798. (b) Natural reason persuades the same. For, if by the law of charity we are bound to aid the bodily misery of the neighbor, a fortiori his spiritual infirmity, since wounds of the soul are much worse than wounds of the body. Wherefore, if we see a brother gravely wounded by sin and lying in the way, ought we not, adhering to the footsteps of the good Samaritan, to heal his spiritual wounds, and to exhort him with gentle admonition, so that, the blindness of the intellect having been driven away and depraved passions overcome, he may turn aside from the mire of vices and return to the path of virtue?

Hence certain persons among the pagans had recognized the necessity of a spiritual guardian, especially for conquering the corruption which is born from depraved examples and conversations. Hear Seneca:¹ "And therefore in individuals there are the vices of peoples, because the people gave them. While each one makes another worse, he has been made worse: he learned worse things, then he taught them; and that immense wickedness was effected, by gathering into one what is known to be worst in each. Therefore let there be some guardian, and let him from time to time pull the ear, and drive away rumor, and cry out against peoples praising. For you err if you think vices are born with us: they have come upon us, they have been brought in. Therefore by frequent admonitions let the insults which resound around us be repelled." Plautus likewise poetically teaches the same:²

¹ Seneca, ep. to Lucilius, XCIV; cf. ep. XXII, LII.

² Plautus, in Trinummus, Act 1, sc. 2, v. 95-97.

"But you, from certain friends, are most certain to me;
if you know that I have done anything foolishly or basely,
if you do not accuse me of it, you yourself are to be rebuked."

799. (B) Concerning the conditions required for correction. The precept of correction does not oblige under grave obligation unless certain conditions have been posited, namely:

(a) That it be morally certain concerning a grave sin committed, or concerning the will of committing it. For if there is question of a sin light in itself and in relation to the person, there is no grave obligation of warning the neighbor, unless it is certainly foreseen that grave fault will follow from it; for if it were necessary to correct light offenses, the whole life would be consumed in admonitions. - Likewise, if the sin is not certain, there is no strict obligation of diligently inquiring concerning it, unless there is question of superiors, who have care of the community and ought to watch over the morals of subjects.

800. (b) That there be truly probable hope of correction for the offender, or at least for others, whether immediately or after some time; for no one is bound to what is useless.

Correction therefore does not oblige when it is foreseen that it will be harmful, by driving the offender to new and graver sins, or at least will be useful to no one. Hence generally it is not expedient to correct an unknown person, because scarcely in this case can correction be hoped for. If it is foreseen as useless as regards the sinner himself, but useful to others, who otherwise would be induced to grave sin by depraved examples or counsels, it is not licit to neglect it. - But if it remains uncertain whether it will be useful or harmful, one must abstain from it.

Therefore, if the sinner has already been corrected, or is about to be corrected shortly, it is not necessary to correct him.

801. (c) That it can be done without great inconvenience of the one correcting; for if, for example, a servant or inferior seriously fears that from the admonition some grave damage will happen to himself, he is not bound to make it: for the law does not oblige with so great an inconvenience.

Wherefore inferiors are very rarely bound to it; equals, however, only when superiors or friends are lacking: for these furnish it more opportunely and efficaciously, and also with less inconvenience. Otherwise, although all are bound of themselves to make correction, nevertheless primarily superiors,³ who from office have spiritual care of inferiors, such as pastors, rectors of communities, magistrates, etc.

³ "For to this end watchmen, that is, prelates of peoples, have been constituted in churches, that they should not spare, by rebuking sins." (St. Augustine, De Civit. Dei, l. I, c. 9, P. L., XLI, 23).

The scrupulous are generally exempted from this office, both because they easily exaggerate their obligation in this matter, and because they seem less fit for this office: for, on account of anxiety and disturbance of mind, they usually lack the necessary discretion.

802. (C) Concerning the order to be observed in correction. Fraternal correction must be made with kindness and sincere humility, since we too remain liable to temptations and sins: "Brethren, and if a man be overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual instruct such a one in the spirit of mildness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."⁴ This indeed is more necessary if in fact we have fallen into the same sins: for then the admonition will not profit unless before God we acknowledge our own fault, and at the same time sincerely will our correction.

⁴ Gal. 6:1.

Therefore the reputation of the neighbor is to be spared when the sin is hidden, and therefore in making correction the order prescribed by Christ must be followed (n. 797). (a) One must begin from a secret admonition: "Go and reprove him between thee and him alone"; for perhaps, if you accuse him publicly, "through shame he begins to defend his sin, and him whom you wish to make more corrected you make worse."⁵ (b) But if private correction has not profited, let two or three witnesses be taken, so that they too may exhort the offender to repentance, and, moved by the authority of several, the sinner, shame or salutary fear having been cast in, may betake himself to better fruit. (c) If he is not yet willing to be corrected, let him be denounced to the Church or superior, so that the latter, with greater authority, may gravely reprove the sinner, inflict a moderate punishment, remove him from a place or office, or watch over him especially. Yet the superior will not furnish this unless after he has given the accused an opportunity of knowing the facts alleged against him and of defending himself: for experience shows that offenses are sometimes greatly amplified by informers. (d) If the guilty party has not been sufficiently corrected by paternal and secret correction, and, on account of the public good, it is necessary that the offense be publicly punished, the legitimate superior will be able to proceed judicially, and, the order of law having been observed, pronounce a public sentence and public punishment: this last degree is not fraternal, but judicial correction.

⁵ St. Augustine, Sermo LXXXII, P. L., XXXVIII, 509.

803. Exceptions. Yet there are cases in which one licitly departs from this order, by immediately denouncing the offender to the superior:

(a) If the offense is public, because in this case the sinner has lost his right to reputation, and otherwise the public good immediately demands correction; (b) if, by reason of the public good, effective correction is immediately required, and cannot be obtained without recourse to the superior, for example, if there is question of grave damage to be incurred by the community as regards faith or good morals;⁶ (c) if, all things considered, correction is foreseen to be ineffective unless it is made by a superior; (d) if the offender has renounced his right in this matter, for example, freely entering a religious order in which, according to the rule, denunciation of offenses is to be made directly to the superior. Yet, even in this case, if it is certain that the brother has perfectly corrected his offense, and danger of relapse is not to be feared, charity demands that the matter not be denounced to the superior: for then, from the principles set forth above, n. 800, there is no place for correction; charity always obliges us to aid the neighbor with the least damage to him.⁷

⁶ To the point Lehmkuhl, n. 614: "In communities, when there is question of a harmful offense, especially if there is danger of perverting several, or there is question of grave common damage: private admonition is generally dangerous and ineffective, but immediate report of the matter to the Superior is required, who will see whether he should rather avert the evil by paternal admonition or by punishment." Cf. Muller, § 31, n. 6.

⁷ Ballerini-Palmieri, n. 233-234.

804. Corollary. When a neighbor, from invincible ignorance, commits some material sin, charity sometimes demands that he be warned, namely:

(a) If such a sin gravely harms the offender himself, or another, for example, by giving scandal, by retaining another's thing; (b) or if it dishonors God, for example, if someone utters blasphemous words whose meaning he does not know. Yet this must be done opportunely and prudently, that is, with the conditions set forth above being posited, where warning was discussed, especially provided there is hope of correction: otherwise the merely material sin would become formal.

805. Charity prescribes not only the works to be furnished, but also the order to be observed in dilection, whether as regards persons or as regards goods.

St. Augustine explains that a certain order is to be established among things to be loved: "But he lives justly and holily who is an uncorrupted appraiser of things: and he is the one who has ordered dilection, lest he either love what is not to be loved, or not love what is to be loved, or love more what is to be loved less, or love equally what is to be loved either less or more, or love less or more what is to be loved equally. Every sinner, insofar as he is a sinner, is not to be loved; and every man, insofar as he is a man, is to be loved for God's sake, but God for His own sake. And if God is to be loved more than every man, each one ought to love God more than himself. Likewise another man is to be loved more than our body: because all these things are to be loved for God's sake, and another man can enjoy God with us, which the body cannot; because the body lives through the soul by which we enjoy God. But all are to be loved equally: yet since you cannot benefit all, you must especially consult for those who, according to opportunities of places and times or of any things whatever, are joined more closely to you by a certain lot."⁹ These words, which embrace the sum of Catholic doctrine, we shall explain by setting forth the order to be followed as regards the persons and goods to be loved.

⁹ St. Augustine, De doctrina christiana, lib. I, c. 27-28, P. L., XXXIV, 35-36.

That God is to be loved in the first place is clear from what has been said above, nn. 752-753; but the question concerns the order of dilection to be observed among men. Now the general principle is that each one is generally bound to love himself more than his neighbor, but other men more or less according as they are nearer to God and to himself.

⁸ St. Thomas, II-II, q. 26; Suarez, disp. IX; Billuart, diss. IV; St. Alphonsus, n. 25-27; Bouquillon, n. 415-435; Ballerini-Palmieri, n. 152-168.

806. (A) Concerning the order between love of self and of neighbor: Each one is ordinarily bound, other things being equal, to love himself more than his neighbor. - I say other things being equal, that is, in the same order of goods and in the same necessity, as will be clear from what is to be said.

For (a) the precept of fraternal charity is contained in these words:¹ "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"; and thus dilection of oneself is established as the rule of dilection toward neighbor; but this supposes love of self to be something more known and more powerful than love of neighbor: for the rule is prior and more powerful than the thing ruled. (b) Otherwise, psychologically man is inclined to love himself more than others: for he is nearer to himself than another is (above, n. 765); hence he loves God as the principle of every good, himself as a participant of the divine good, but the neighbor as a sharer of this participation. Hence the axiom was born: well-ordered charity begins from oneself.

¹ Matt. 22:39.

Yet we are also commanded to love the neighbor as Christ loved us, and therefore in certain cases we ought to prefer the spiritual good of the neighbor to our own temporal good. In order to understand this rightly, certain rules are handed down.

807. Practical rules. (a) As regards spiritual goods, it is not licit to sin, even lightly, in order to procure the temporal or spiritual good of the neighbor: for evils are not to be done that goods may come. - Nor is it licit to expose oneself to a proximate and certain danger of sinning in order to help the neighbor, unless the danger can morally be removed by prayer, serious effort of the will, or other spiritual remedies; for he who exposes himself to a danger of this kind already sins, from what has been said in the Treatise on Penance, n. 458. Yet it must be noted that those who by office are engaged in the temporal or eternal salvation of others, such as priests and physicians, are helped by special grace for resisting temptations occurring in the exercise of their office, provided that they themselves have recourse to God by frequent prayer: therefore these can, and often ought, approach occasions proximate of themselves, provided that by spiritual remedies they render the danger of sinning remote.

But someone can, and sometimes ought, to omit or at least defer useful spiritual goods, but not necessary ones, for the salvation or sanctification of the neighbor, for example, to defer meditation in order to hear confessions; for then he is not truly deprived of a spiritual good, but, by laboring for the salvation of souls for God's sake, exercises charity and does not cease to pray; otherwise, after the confessions have been heard, he will be able to return to meditation.

Nor is it illicit to desire the delay of heavenly beatitude, in order to devote oneself longer to the salvation of souls; for thus many saints thought, who with the Apostle said: "I am straitened between two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better; but to abide still in the flesh is needful for you."² - Likewise we can desire greater spiritual goods for others than for ourselves, hoping that in the neighbor they will conduce to the greater glory of God: for this proceeds from charity toward God and from humility.

² Phil. 1:23-24. Thus St. Martin: "Lord, if I am necessary to Thy people, I do not refuse labor"; of St. Ignatius (Breviary, July 31, lect. 6) it is read: "He was heard once to say: if a choice were given, he would prefer to live uncertain of beatitude and meanwhile to serve God and the salvation of neighbors, than, certain of the same glory, to die at once."

808. (b) As regards temporal goods, regularly each one is bound to prefer his own temporal life to the life of another; for each one is commanded to preserve his own life, and therefore to care for it before he provides for others.

Yet not rarely it is licit to place the life of others before our own: on account of the public good, for example, if there is question of protecting the life of a man who is very useful to the Church or the State, or of a community or multitude in danger: for the public good is to be set before the private. - Likewise it is licit to expose one's own life in order to save the life of the neighbor, on account of the exercise of virtue, especially charity, because an act of heroic charity is of greater worth than temporal life; therefore it is laudable to serve those infected by plague, to leap into the sea to snatch another from the waves, even with danger to one's own life.

809. (B) Concerning the order to be observed among different neighbors. Other things being equal, we ought to love more those neighbors who are nearer to God or to ourselves.

(a) If there is question of love of complacency, we ought to love more those who are nearer to God, or holier; thus a holy man should be loved more than an impious parent; for love of complacency, which rests upon qualities already possessed, ought to be proportioned to the virtues of those whom we love.

(b) But if there is question of affective and effective love, or of benevolence and beneficence, those who are nearer to us are to be loved more; for here there is question of goods not yet possessed, and it is consonant with reason that we desire or confer them upon those whose necessities, on account of a special bond of piety or gratitude, we are bound to provide for more strictly.

810. But the nearness by which men are joined among themselves can be threefold: carnal, by which by reason of blood they are connected to one another, as parents and children, husband and wife, blood-relations, relatives by marriage; - civil, by which those who are members of the same society are joined among themselves, for example, fellow citizens, fellow soldiers, friends, associates, etc.; - spiritual, when by force of some spiritual office they are united among themselves, such as superiors and inferiors, pastors and their subjects, confessors and penitents. - Now, in any kind of conjunction, those are to be preferred who are nearer in the same kind; thus, in those things which pertain to nature, blood-relations are to be preferred to strangers;³ in civil matters we ought to love fellow citizens more than foreigners; in spiritual matters, those who are joined by a more intimate bond are to be loved more.

³ Among blood-relations themselves a diverse order is assigned, according to diverse respects. Thus, outside the case of extreme necessity, or in ordinary necessities, the following are to be helped: wife, children, parents, brothers and sisters, other blood-relations according to the degree of blood-relationship. - In extreme necessity, parents of themselves are to be preferred to wife and children. (St. Thomas, II-II, q. 26, a. 9-11). But in practice, before the fact, there is scarcely room for deliberation, and, after the fact, the matter is to be judged from the dispositions of the subject.

Yet it must be noted that not rarely special and extraordinary circumstances intervene, which permit some inversion of order; thus, by reason of a special friendship otherwise legitimate, friends are loved more than blood-relations; likewise, among blood-relations, sometimes those who have conferred greater benefits are loved more, although less near. But those who feel thus are not to be made anxious, provided that they render due love to those nearer.

811. In ordering charity, attention must be paid not only to persons, but also to the goods which are to be procured for these persons. The first place is held by supernatural, or spiritual, goods, such as eternal beatitude and the means necessary for obtaining it, as grace and virtues; the second by natural goods, whether of the mind, as the faculties of the soul, or bodily, as life, health, etc.; the third by external goods, as honor, reputation, riches, etc. - How, in the different necessities which occur, the neighbor is to be helped as regards these different goods must now be established.

812. (A) Man is bound to love the supernatural good of the neighbor more than his own natural good; for the eternal beatitude of the soul far surpasses bodily life and external goods, and therefore ought to be set before them. This must be explained more fully: -

(a) When the neighbor is in extreme spiritual necessity, so that without another's aid he cannot morally escape eternal damnation, regularly anyone is bound to help him, even with danger of life. Thus commonly. For from what has been said we ought to love brothers as Christ loved us; but He loved us so that He laid down His soul for His brothers; therefore, according to the testimony of John, "we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."⁴ For the loss of temporal life, compared with the loss of eternal beatitude, is a light evil.

⁴ 1 John 3:16.

Sometimes, although rarely, cases of this kind occur; for example, an infant not yet baptized and about to die shortly; an adult who is certainly known to be in mortal sin and is about to die before he can morally elicit an act of contrition: for if he can easily elicit such an act, he can now help himself.

But, in order that this precept urge, it is necessary that there shine forth a very probable hope of helping him before he dies; - that graver spiritual damage not arise thence, for example, scandal, or impossibility of finding another priest to care for other sheep; - and that there be no other who can and will help him. - But let no one be delayed from this by the thought that he himself is in the state of sin: for by a heroic act of charity all sins are blotted out.

813. (b) If the neighbor is in grave spiritual necessity, that is, if without another's aid he can be saved only with great difficulty, one is not bound to help him with very grave temporal damage, unless he is obliged to this by reason of office or the public good.

For since the neighbor in this case absolutely can, if he wills, free himself from the danger of damnation without another's help, no one is strictly bound to expose himself to death or to very grave damage, when otherwise he has not undertaken special care of him; this would indeed be an exercise of heroic virtue, but by no means is it commanded.

Otherwise it must be said concerning those who by office, by force of their duty, have care of souls, such as pastors: for these, by accepting such an office, by force of a quasi-contract, have undertaken the obligation of ministering to subjects, even with danger of life, when these are in grave necessity: "The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep."⁵ And indeed if soldiers, physicians, and various administrators undergo danger of death even for furnishing temporal aid to others, how much more ought the ministers of God to be prepared to give life for the sheep committed to them! - Hence, in time of plague or public calamity, it is not licit for a pastor to desert his flock, even if he substitutes another suitable priest.⁶

⁵ John 10:11.

⁶ Benedict XIV, De Synodo, lib. XIII, c. 19, n. 2; cf. De Sacramentis in genere, n. 105; De Paenitentia (moral part), n. 365-366.

Say the same in grave public necessity, for example, if some parish or community lacks a priest, or if errors against faith are spread in some place: for when such a public danger occurs, we are bound to undergo danger of life in order to protect the faith or morals of the people; for the spiritual public good must be preferred to temporal life; otherwise in the grave necessity of a community, it can scarcely happen that there is not extreme necessity with respect to some.

814. (c) In common spiritual necessity, from which namely anyone can free himself without another's aid and without great difficulty, no one is bound to help him with great damage; but only the principles handed down above concerning fraternal correction are to be applied.

815. (B) We are bound to love the neighbor as regards bodily goods more than ourselves as regards external goods; for the life or health of the body is to be valued more than money. - Yet, in order to save the life of the neighbor, we are not bound to use extraordinary means, or to make great expenses, as has already been explained, n. 792.

816. Corollary. All these things can be briefly condensed thus: (a) our own necessary spiritual good is to be preferred to every good of the neighbor; (b) the necessary spiritual good of the neighbor is to be set before our bodily good, even our own life; (c) regularly we ought to prefer our bodily good to the bodily good of the neighbor; (d) among different neighbors, we are bound, other things being equal, to prefer the good of the neighbor more closely joined to us.

817. Necessity of these works. Besides almsgiving, concerning which there has been treatment above, there are many other works of charity, which are usually comprehended in this verse:

¹ C. S. Loch, Charity Organization, London, 1890; A. G. Warner, American Charities, New York, 1895; Lefebure, L'organisation de la charite privee en France, Paris, 1900; id., Paris charitable et prevoyant, Paris, Plon, 1900; M. du Camp, La Charite privee a Paris, Hachette, 1886; id., Paris bienfaisant, ibid., 1888; E. Rostand, L'Action sociale par l'initiative privee, Paris, 3 vols., 1892, 1897, 1902; V. Brants, Les grandes lignes de l'Economie polit., 4th ed. 1904, Louvain and Paris, t. II, p. 266-317; Millot, Que faut-il faire pour le peuple? Paris, Lecoffre, 1901.

I visit, I give drink, I feed, I redeem, I clothe, I gather, I bury.

Seven are counted: to visit the sick, to give drink to the thirsty and food to the hungry, to redeem captives, to clothe the naked, to receive strangers in hospitality, to bury the dead. And these indeed are laudable. But today, on account of the social dissensions which exist between masters and workers, and on account of the miserable condition of many workers, certain social works of charity are opportune, indeed necessary, by which dissensions between the rich and proletarians may more easily be composed, and the condition of workers made better.

Leo XIII wrote excellently concerning this matter; after describing the duties of justice which oblige masters and workers alike,² he also sets forth the duties of charity which masters ought to exercise toward workers, and the rich toward the poor. (a) He proposes these things after the manner of a general principle: "Whoever has received a greater abundance of goods by the gift of God, whether they are of the body and external, or of the soul, has received them for this cause, that he may employ them for the perfection of himself and likewise, as a minister of divine providence, for the advantages of others." (b) Afterward he treats especially of the miserable condition of workers, which we are bound to render better: "Concerning proletarians in particular she wills and contends that they emerge from a most miserable state and obtain a better fortune." This indeed the Church furnishes first by restraining "the twin plagues of life, which too often make man miserable in the very abundance of wealth, excessive appetite for things and thirst for pleasures." The Pontiff continues: "But besides, that proletarians may fare well, she rightly provides by instituting and fostering those things which she understands to be conducive to relieving their want." - What institutions today are more conducive to this relief of proletarians we shall explain in the following things.

² Encyclical Rerum Novarum, May 16, 1891; cf. Graves de Communi, Jan. 18, 1901; Letter Notre charge apostolique (Pius X, Aug. 25, 1910).

818. General principles concerning these works. But first it is helpful to set forth certain general principles concerning these works: (a) It is much more expedient to prevent want than to cure it. Wherefore well-ordered charity ought to tend to this, that it render the poor capable of sustaining themselves and their own, namely by a manly, Christian, and professional education, by providing means and opportunities of labor rather than alms; for thus not only is want more efficaciously prevented, but also love of labor and consciousness of personal dignity are promoted. Likewise one must beware lest, while help is given to orphans, workers are harmed by accepting the lowest wage for labor.³

³ To the point Count d'Haussonville, Salaires et miseres de femmes, Paris, 1900, p. 42-43: "If the ten or twelve congregations which hold, in Paris, all the orphanages, workrooms, patronages, agreed among themselves... and if, instead of disputing among themselves, as they too often do, for orders by means of discounts, they settled by common agreement, for all articles, prices below which they would not work, as, on the other hand, they work under conditions of regularity, care, and cleanliness which are very much appreciated, the large stores would end by passing through where they wished, provided however that their demands were reasonable. A union of congregations could therefore render great services by raising the prices of female labor."

(b) It must be altogether cared for that the truly needy be helped, yet without a reward being given to the lazy and vagabonds,⁴ who do not wish to work. Wherefore, before alms are bestowed, inquiry must be made concerning the true state of beggars, and, since it is very difficult for any private person to inquire seriously concerning individuals, societies are to be promoted everywhere whose special office is to investigate these things especially; but those societies ought to be joined together by a certain federation, so that beggars who falsely call themselves needy may more easily be detected and denounced.⁵

⁴ Concerning beggars and vagabonds, and the means instituted in various regions for correcting or punishing them, L. Riviere wrote wisely, Mendiants et Vagabonds, Paris, Lecoffre, 1902.

⁵ In many regions societies of this kind have already been instituted; for Great Britain, see C. S. Loch, Charity Organization, London, 1890; for America, A. G. Warner, American Charities, New York, 1895; for France, Lefebure, L'organisation de la charite privee en France, Paris, 1900.

819. (c) True charity provides not only for the temporal necessities of the poor, but also induces them to the practice of virtues. Therefore generally private beneficence profits more than public, because, while the latter thinks in an official manner only of bodily relief, the former, by fraternal visitation and care of the poor, promotes their moral and religious education.

To the point Leo XIII (loc. cit.): "Today indeed many, as once the heathen did in the same way, pass over to accusing the Church even of this so excellent charity: in place of which it has seemed good to substitute beneficence constituted by public laws. But no human arts will be found which can supply for Christian charity, extending itself wholly to the advantages of others. To the Church alone belongs that virtue, because unless it is drawn from the most sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, it is nowhere; but whoever departs from the Church wanders far from Christ."

Now among social works, these especially are to be commended: 1. those which promote good education; 2. associations among the workers themselves, for protecting their rights; 3. associations of the rich, for helping workers or the poor, whether corporally or spiritually.

820. It must always be kept before the mind that the best education is that which is provided at home by the parents themselves, when they are honorable and Christian. But it not rarely happens that there are many young persons of both sexes who in fact are not rightly instructed by their parents; for often husband and wife must labor outside the home, in order to sustain themselves and their own, and they cannot care for the education of the children; sometimes resources are lacking for feeding them; sometimes also the parents, addicted to vices, abandon their offspring or educate them depravedly.⁶ - Everyone knows that many orphanages were instituted in ancient and more recent times in order to help these little ones.⁷

⁶ G. Bonjean, Enfants revoltes et parents coupables, Paris, Colin, 1895; H. Joly, L'Enfance coupable, Paris, Lecoffre, 1904.

⁷ Concerning various institutions of this kind, in diverse nations and centuries, L. Lallemand wrote learnedly, Histoire des enfants abandonnes et delaisses, Paris, Picard, 1885.

But these by no means suffice: it is necessary that a Christian education be furnished to those who are kept at home or frequent neutral schools: this happens in pious works which are called patronages.⁸ But when young persons are growing older and soon are to be numbered among workers, it is necessary that they receive a special education, by which they may be able to protect themselves against the errors of socialists, agnostics, or materialists: this can be handed down in those associations which are called study circles (cercles d'etudes, debating clubs) or popular institutes.⁹ There also they are gradually prepared for forming professional unions.

⁸ Max Turmann, Au sortir de l'ecole, les Patronages, 3rd ed., Paris, Lecoffre, 1901; Gatouillat, Patronages de jeunes gens, Troyes, 1899; Schaffer, Comment diriger nos patronages de jeunes filles, Paris, Lecoffre, 1905.

⁹ Max Turmann, L'Education populaire, 2nd ed., Paris, 1904, p. 57-80, 335, etc. - Max Turmann, op. cit., p. 297.

To these institutions, which directly regard moral education, others can be joined which indirectly promote the same, by directly procuring physical education. Thus, since in great cities, during summer time, not a few youths are prone to contract diseases from the unhealthiness of the air, societies have been formed (Oeuvres des saines vacances) by whose aid not a few of them can breathe purer air in the country, and at the same time receive moral and religious education. May all these works, with devoted pupils of seminaries and priests, and also pious laymen favoring and promoting them, be multiplied everywhere!

But, in order that the intended end may be obtained, and a new generation of workers be established, who by only legitimate means may wisely and strenuously vindicate their own rights, the education handed down in these various institutions ought to be Christian, manly, professional.¹⁰

¹⁰ That education of this kind is handed down in certain orphanages G. Bonjean explains, La Protection de l'Enfance abandonnee ou coupable, apud La Nouvelle Revue, Feb. 1, 1896; cf. P. Delay, Les Oeuvres de preservation et de rehabilitation, apud Correspondant, Nov. 25, 1903, p. 723, Dec. 10, 1903, p. 936.

821. (A) Christian, that is, tending to this, that in young persons it opportunely cultivate religious and moral sense, true and solid piety, and also the natural and supernatural virtues which are necessary for living as Christians and attaining the supernatural end. Therefore let no one be forced, but by examples and persuasion let each be sweetly induced to embrace and cultivate religion. Because today errors are spread everywhere, let the principal dogmas of our faith be not only rightly set forth, but also strengthened by solid arguments, such as the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, the divine mission of Christ, the authority of the Church, etc. Let adolescents be taught how, according to their capacity, they may answer the common difficulties of unbelievers, and, in more arduous ones, have recourse to the learned. Among them let certain ones be chosen, endowed with sharper intellect and nobler disposition, who may form a special society imbued with apostolic spirit, and may allure other young people by words and examples to piety and to the practice of virtues: these will be, as it were, so many apostles, who will very greatly help priests in propagating the faith.

822. (B) Manly, that is, tending to this, that it furnish fortitude of soul and unconquered strength of will; and therefore little by little transform boys into men, who are able to suffice for themselves. For workers are exposed to various enticements, whether internally from passions, or externally from vain fear of men and diverse occasions by which they are allured to evil; therefore it is of the greatest importance that they firmly believe, and manifest their faith externally by works, without boasting and without shame; likewise that, strengthened in virtue, they contemn the enticements of pleasures and strenuously resist depraved companions. Wherefore let them gradually be taught how, with the grace of God helping, they can act manfully, by fleeing useless occasions of sin, but by fighting bravely in necessary ones.¹¹ Let it be explained to the same how great is the efficacy of association for overcoming difficulties and multiplying the strength of each individual; and how necessary it is that the upright be united together, that they may crush the boldness of the evil: for thus, amid very grave temptations, they will remain stable in faith and virtue.

¹¹ "Obliged doubtless to preserve the child from certain dangers superior to his age or to his powers, education nevertheless does not have preservation for its end: this would be the substitution of the master's effort for the child's effort. On the contrary it aims to form energies which can suffice for themselves and guard themselves: the weak must be helped, but one must arrive at rendering them robust enough to do without helps... One word sums up all: our moral education wishes to make men." (Ackermann, apud Congres internat. du Patronage de la Jeunesse ouvriere, 1900, Paris, 1901.) Cf. Guibert, Le Caractere, Paris, 1905.

823. (C) Professional, insofar as it forms workers skilled in their own art;¹ for the more skilled and at the same time the more honorable they are, the more they will be esteemed both by companions and by masters; wherefore in opportune time they will obtain a greater wage and nobler offices. But in our days it is altogether expedient that the principal principles of social science be handed down to them, so that they may more easily be able to refute the sophisms of socialists and have very much authority in assemblies of workers; for thus moderately and wisely, by opportune and just means, they will be able to protect their own rights and those of their companions; thus also the way will be prepared for concord between masters and workers.

¹ "Yes, it is necessary to develop professional formation and to prepare the young man for social cooperation. Industrial evolution obliges to the one, social evolution imposes the other: these are two new elements which it is urgent to introduce into the education of the child of the people. Therefore his instruction will be completed, therefore his intelligence and his technical skill will be developed. Then he will be accustomed to foresight, to economy, to the sentiment of solidarity by initiating him into all sorts of institutions of foresight and mutual help."

But to girls let there be given an education not only speculative in letters and arts, but practical, so that they may learn how they can attend to domestic affairs and fulfill the duties proper to themselves.

824. Today, by force of the ineluctable competition which flourishes everywhere, workers who are not united in various associations cannot vindicate their rights, but are soon handed over, alone and defenseless, to the unbridled cupidity of competitors, as Leo XIII says, loc. cit. Therefore it is necessary that, with forces associated, they protect their rights and gradually render their condition better by legitimate means. To this various associations will greatly serve:

1. Workers' associations, or unions (syndicats professionnels, labor-unions), concerning which there has been treatment in the Treatise on Justice, n. 833-843. But in order that these associations may be truly useful, it is necessary that, the prejudices and passions of political parties having been set aside, they intend only, and pursue by just means, the physical, intellectual, and moral good of workers. Therefore upright and Catholic men should not be kept away from these under the vain pretext that by these associations dissensions between masters and workers are fostered. For if only non-Catholics enter these societies, the errors of socialists will easily be spread in them, and thence many dissensions and contests will arise. Therefore let associations or unions of good workers be promoted; let the best Catholics join themselves to these, strengthened in faith, endowed with sincere piety, and skilled in their art, so that by words and examples they may be able to instruct their companions and lead them to the practice of virtues: for just as a little leaven raises the whole mass, so a little flock of Catholics will little by little convert the whole multitude of workers to better things. For if they join perfect honesty and kindness to sincere piety, and at the same time show themselves industrious and modest, they will reconcile to themselves the confidence and benevolence of many, and reverence and honor to the Catholic religion.²

² To the social and Christian instruction of young workers the societies called Le Sillon, or l'Association de la Jeunesse francaise, contribute much; and it is much to be desired indeed that these and other associations of this kind, although distinct and autonomous among themselves, be joined by a friendly league and agree concerning common action. Cf. M. Turmann, Education populaire, p. 216-256.

825. But in order to avoid or compose dissensions which not rarely arise between masters and workers, it is indeed very expedient to institute and promote councils of conciliation and arbitration. These consist of an equal number of masters and workers, who meet on fixed days in order to solve difficulties which often arise concerning matters pertaining to industry, for example, concerning the amount of wages, the duration of labor, the rules to be followed in the workshop: by a sincere exposition of facts and reasons, made on both sides, many prejudices are dismissed, and the way is prepared for concord and social peace.³

³ Concerning this more fully in the Treatise on Justice, n. 849-850, where many authors are cited.

826. 2. Mutual associations (mutuelles) are also very useful, by which workers can furnish help and aid to one another, and increase thrift.⁴ For since workers receive a modest wage, and are liable to many losses from unexpected events or illnesses, or from cessation from labor, they will indeed profit much if by living soberly, chastely, and frugally, at the time when things are succeeding rather prosperously, they set aside some money and deposit it with those societies called mutual, which have been instituted in various regions. Certain ones have been created in schools, so that already from childhood young persons may be able to pursue thrift, and, vain prodigality having been contemned, may become accustomed to providing something for future necessities;⁵ it is altogether expedient to institute these in Catholic schools.

⁴ F. Lepine, La Mutualite, ses principes, ses bases veritables, Paris, Colin, 1903; L. Mabilleau, La Prevoyance sociale en Italie; E. Dede, Les Societes de secours mutuels, Paris, Bonne Presse, 1904.

⁵ Lepine, op. cit., p. 53-67; M. Turmann, Educ. populaire, p. 50-56.

827. 3. To these can be joined cooperative societies, whether for buying merchandise at a lower price, and therefore for diminishing the expenses of members, or also for making certain things, and consequently for increasing the advantages of workers.⁶ The former are easily instituted and managed; but in small towns it is usually expedient to create societies which do not directly buy merchandise in order to sell it to cooperators at a lower price, but enter into an agreement with merchants so that these consent to cede some determined part of their profit to cooperators; otherwise, the hatred and envy of merchants is excited, who, from the founding of a cooperative society, not rarely lose the greatest part of their profit. - It is much more difficult successfully and prosperously to manage societies which are called productive; for to this two things are desired: not a small capital, not only for acquiring instruments, but also for paying the multiple expenses which must necessarily be incurred for several months before any profit is received; and a skilled administrator, who can manage the matter wisely and possesses sufficient authority for commanding the other workers; and these indeed can scarcely be found.⁷

⁶ Ch. Gide, La Cooperation, Paris, 1900; id., L'Economie Sociale a l'Exposition de 1900, Paris, 1902, p. 273-294; id., Les societes cooperatives de consommation, Paris, 1904; Clavel and Soria, Guide pour l'organisation et l'administration des societes cooperatives de consommation, 4th ed. Paris, 1901; Hubert-Valleroux, La Cooperation, Paris, 1904; Congres des Associat. ouvrieres de production, Paris, 1900; Comptes-rendus du Congres de l'Alliance cooperative internationale, Paris, 1902; Bertrand, Histoire de la Cooperation en Belgique, Brussels; Beatrice Potter, The Cooperative Movement in Great Britain, London, 1888.

⁷ Yet bakery societies, or those instituted for making bread, progress better, both because the baker's art is fairly easy, and because in well-organized bakeries (boulangeries) the price of bread is much diminished, as can be seen apud Gide, Coop. de consommation, p. 84. - Socialists successfully manage not a few productive societies; among these that one stands out which is called Vooruit, concerning which read Le Vooruit, la cooperation et l'organisation socialiste en Belgique, apud Musee social, Dec. 20, 1897; - concerning societies of the same kind in France, cf. Une Enquete sur les boulangeries cooperatives rurales, apud Musee social, Dec. 1899. - How necessary it is for Catholics to institute cooperative societies is clear from the fact that socialists use these to spread their errors; for M. Lauzel says, Manuel du Cooperateur socialiste, Paris, 1900, p. 17: "In the hands of socialists, cooperation is only a means of socialist action, a powerful lever, capable of moving the capitalist world upon its bases of individual property and social injustice. We do not wish to be cooperators for the satisfaction of diminishing a little the infinite misery of the proletariat: We wish to be cooperators in order to cooperate more efficaciously in the social revolution."

Whatever the case may be, if a priest has been the promoter of these societies, let him consent to lie hidden in obscurity, and let him commit the matter to be managed to upright and prudent laymen, who at the opportune time will render an account of the whole matter to the members.⁸ Likewise one must beware lest societies of this kind seem to bring any profit to the priests themselves; for if workers were to suspect this, they would soon be turned away from those societies.

⁸ "I call the attention of the pastor-founder very particularly to this important point. Do you wish to have men in your church? Do you wish to form a numerous, lasting, and honorable meeting? Let them administer themselves. Give them a home of their own: they must not be at your place, but at theirs... The changes which have occurred for a century in French society have only made more imperious this need of autonomy, of self-government, as the English say." (L. de la P., Les Associations d'hommes, Marseille, 1903, p. 759.)

828. 4. To these can be numbered those banks first invented by Raiffeisen (caisses Raiffeisen), and also called mutual credit societies (pret mutuel), because they hand over money as a loan with the least increase.⁹ They consist of farmers of the same parish, who possess certain immovable goods; these form a certain civil society, constituted according to the laws of each region; directors are elected, who fulfill their office gratuitously; only the treasurer (tresorier) receives some recompense, though a minimal one. Now poor farmers can borrow money from the society, with the directors approving, if they promise to repay the capital with a modest increase; each year accounts are rendered to the presidents of the society; and if any profit remains, it is not distributed to creditors, but either is guarded or is spent upon a work of public utility, for example, for acquiring those recently invented machines by which the work of sowing and harvesting is carried out much more promptly and easily. - To these societies can be attached insurances against fire, hail, pestilence of animals, etc.¹⁰

⁹ A. Kannengieser, Catholiques allemands, Paris, 1892, p. 138-148; Max Turmann, Associations agricoles, p. 322-374; G. Malherbe, Le Raiffeisenisme, Brussels, 1902; C. Ract, Les Caisses de Famille, Paris, 1896.

¹⁰ Max Turmann, op. cit., p. 375-498; de Rocquigny, Les petites Institutions mutuelles de prevoyance contre la mortalite des animaux, apud Musee social, June 1898.

829. 5. But, that a truly Catholic spirit may pervade these societies, it is necessary that Christian workers among themselves, with priests as leaders, form associations for fulfilling religious duties more perfectly and for living a more intense Christian life. It would profit little to render the temporal lot of workers better, unless at the same time their moral and religious condition becomes more perfect. In vain indeed will the wages paid to workers be doubled, in vain will the price of those things necessary for food or clothing be diminished, or the hours consumed in labor be shorter, unless at the same time proletarians are well-mannered, sober, chaste, honorable, and religious. For if they waste wages and time in feasts, drinking, games of chance, and other things of this kind, their condition will become more miserable than before.¹¹ Therefore it is necessary that societies be entered into for solidly instructing the ignorant, for strenuously strengthening the weak, and for confirming those unstable in faith; for converting those who have been alienated from true religion, and gradually alluring all who already believe to a more perfect practice of virtues and religion; and also for extirpating vices, especially drunkenness and alcoholism (n. 541-555).

¹¹ Leo XIII explains this splendidly in the Encyclical Graves de Communi: "Suppose indeed that wages are doubled for those hiring out their work; suppose also that the price of food is low: yet if the wage-earner hears those doctrines, as he is accustomed, and uses those examples, which allure to casting off reverence for the Divinity and to corrupting morals, his labors and his substance must also fall apart. By trial and use it is evident that many workers live narrowly and miserably who, although they have work for a shorter time and more abundant wages, nevertheless live with corrupted morals and no discipline of religion. Remove from souls the sentiments which Christian wisdom inserts and cultivates; remove providence, modesty, thrift, patience, and the other right habits of nature: you will pursue prosperity in vain, even if you strive much. This plainly is the cause why we have never exhorted Catholic men to enter associations for preparing better things for the people, and similarly to introduce other institutions, without likewise warning that these things should proceed under the auspice of religion, and with it as helper and companion."

In this matter it is necessary today that priests assume as cooperators certain upright and pious laymen who burn with zeal for souls. For everywhere socialists, positivists, and rationalists daily strive with all their powers to spread their errors among the common people; and unless Catholic priests and laymen unite counsels, powers, and efforts, and provoke themselves by fraternal emulation to furnishing better things, it will be impossible successfully to resist the associated powers of adversaries, and to lead those wandering from the way of truth back to the right path.

But what sodalities are to be instituted, by what method, and by what rules they are to be governed, depends on various circumstances: a prudent priest, using the method of observation, will diligently survey and inspect those which have already flourished for some time in the same region, so that, taught by the experience of others, he may avoid rocks and proceed more safely: for rules must be adapted to the mind and traditions of places and persons.

830. Since, in many cases, workers can scarcely sustain and educate themselves and their own by their own strength, especially when the offspring is numerous, or when the father of the family, on account of illness or another cause, cannot work, it is equitable that the master relieve his own workers from his superfluous goods; for, as Cardinal Zigliara said,¹ "the work of the worker yields to the advantage of the master; therefore whenever the latter is driven by the precept of charity in individual cases to exercising the offices of charity, he is also bound to observe the order of charity. This order indeed makes workers carrying out long labor for his utility nearer to the master than other poor persons doing nothing for him. Wherefore a master able to exercise the offices of charity ought to prefer his own workers."

¹ Epistle to the Archbishop of Mechlin, for explaining the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, 1891.

But because it is better to prevent want than to give alms, charity demands that societies be instituted among the wealthier for providing aid to proletarians more wisely and efficaciously. Now, among those which have already been founded in various regions, the following stand out: -

831. 1. Societies for building healthy houses,² which can be rented or sold to workers at a lower price. This indeed is of the greatest importance: for when workers inhabit a decent home, they not only remain in good health, but also think less of entering taverns, and live a domestic life, which greatly favors good morals and social order. Hence among various nations, laws have been enacted by which advantages not to be despised are conferred upon these societies, especially immunity from certain taxes.³ But, in order that houses of this kind may remain healthy, it is very expedient that the wives and daughters of workers learn in schools⁴ the practical art of caring for domestic affairs cleanly and in order.

² Rostand, L'action sociale par l'initiative privee, t. I, p. 147; II, p. 313; Siegfried, Les Habitations a bon marche; Gans and Weber, L'Ouvrier stable et l'Habitation ouvriere, Paris, 1897; H. Barrau, Le Congres internat. des Habitations a bon marche, apud Musee social, July 1900; C. Wright and Gould, The Housing of the Working People, 1895; J. Perez Canto, El Obrero propietario, Santiago de Chile, 1903; Reforme sociale, March 1, 1904, p. 382-395.

³ For France, see P. Pic, op. cit., n. 1368, where the laws of Nov. 30, 1894 and March 31, 1896 are set forth; for other regions, Ann. de legislation etrangere, 1898, p. 546; 1900, p. 26, etc.

⁴ Schools of this kind have been instituted in certain cities, which are called ecoles menageres; concerning which see Van Gehuchten, Guide de la jeune menagere, Lierre (Belgium), 1894; F. de Diesbach, L'enseignement menager, Paris, 1903; Max Turmann, Initiatives feminines, Paris, 1905, p. 87-149.

832. 2. To these can be joined societies which rent gardens to workers gratuitously or sell them at a modest price;⁵ for they can cultivate these by their own hands, and receive fruits from them by which they are helped not a little in domestic affairs. Besides, experience has found that the cultivation of gardens makes relations better between the rich, who rent them gratuitously or for a modest price, and the workers who enjoy the same, - that drunkenness is diminished, - thrift increased, - and the vanity of socialism made apparent, insofar as cultivators of gardens better perceive the utility of private ownership.

⁵ L. Riviere describes the origin, utility, and practical organization of these societies, La Terre et l'Atelier, Jardins ouvriers, Paris, 1904. Cf. D. Lancry, Une visite aux Jardins ouvriers de Sedan, apud Democratie chretienne, Oct. 1897; Lemire, who wrote various things on this matter in the periodical Le Coin de terre et le Foyer.

833. 3. To these can be added various associations of insurance against accidents, old age, or involuntary cessation from labor. For since the workers themselves often cannot pay the whole sum of money for protecting themselves against diverse dangers, it is indeed expedient that they be helped by the wealthier in this matter: this can be done so that when the former provide such a sum of money, benefactors bestow another equal or even twice greater.⁶ - In certain regions, as in Germany, insurance is prescribed by civil law, and a fund is constituted from which pensions can be paid to all workers who labor under illness or old age: to this fund the workers themselves, masters, and the State contribute a determined sum of money. This system indeed has been attacked by many as invading too much the rights of private persons; nevertheless in reality it has had rather happy effects;⁷ whence, in other regions, laws more or less similar to the law which prevailed in Germany are being prepared. Catholics can favor these, watching however that excessive power not be granted to the State, but that their rights be preserved for private societies and individuals.

⁶ L. Lefebure, Le Devoir social, Paris, 1890, p. 217-247; 292-297.

⁷ P. Pic, n. 1388-1391, 1394. - Ibid., n. 1392-1393, what has been established in other regions is set forth; and n. 1396-1397, what has been proposed in France on this matter. Cf. Salaun, Les retraites ouvrieres en Belgique, apud Musee social, June 1901, July 1902; Ghio, Les retraites ouvrieres en Italie, Musee social, Dec. 1902; Lemire, Discours sur les Caisses de retraites ouvrieres; Les Questions actuelles, t. LIX, 1901, pp. 354, 386, 418; t. LX, 1901, p. 2, 72, 107, 112, 130; t. LXVII, 1903, p. 56-63; t. LXXVII, 1905, p. 212, 240.

A remedy cannot be brought so easily to involuntary cessation from labor (chomage force). Yet this brings with it many evils; for it hands over a strong worker to idleness, and to all the vices which follow from it, deprives him of the means of sustaining himself and his own honorably, and not rarely makes the same a beggar, vagabond, and drunkard.⁸ This miserable condition is indeed sometimes alleviated by private charity, especially when not only alms are given, but also labor to be furnished is offered; or also by workers' associations, which provide to their members a modest sum of money until they are hired;⁹ or by those private or public institutions by whose aid workers can more easily be hired (bureaux de placement),¹⁰ without being forced for this reason to undergo useless expenses; and indeed it is very much to be desired that institutions of this kind be multiplied among Catholics. But since, notwithstanding all these means, not a few are forced to be idle from work, in certain regions a new form of insurance has been created, by force of which the fund is increased which workers' associations divide among members hired by no one. Likewise in certain cities subsidies have been granted to these associations; this indeed can be expedient at a time when a special crisis flourishes; but outside this case it is indeed better so to order the production of things that the number of those who involuntarily cease from work is diminished.

⁸ Varlez, Les Formes nouvelles de l'assurance contre le chomage, Paris, 1903, vividly describes these evils, p. 13-15; and also the remedies, p. 23-265; cf. Rostand, t. II, p. 817-897; t. III, p. 609-629; Gide, Econ. sociale, p. 235-244; Crafts, Practical Christian Sociology, New York, 1896, p. 138-146.

⁹ Thus in the periodical Bulletin de l'Office du Travail, June 1903, p. 485-488, it is set forth what the Federation of Typographers furnished in this matter; cf. M. Lecoq, L'Assistance par le Travail en France, Paris, 1900.

¹⁰ Le Bailly, Bureaux Municipaux de Placement gratuit, Paris, 1890.

834. 4. Among workers, women, whether married or unmarried, merit special benevolence. For, on the one hand, other things being equal, they earn less wages than men, so that often they either waste away from hunger or hand themselves over to vice, unless they are helped at an opportune time;¹¹ and, on the other hand, a few weeks before or after childbirth, they ought to cease from labor, if they wish to provide for their own health and that of their offspring. And indeed it is to be desired that mothers can remain at home, for nursing and educating their offspring.¹² - There are certain kinds of labors for which, on account of the weakness of the sex, they are unfit: thus they cannot stand for long hours without undergoing danger of contracting certain illnesses.¹³ - Otherwise, in workshops, women are liable to many temptations, and, unless they are helped, easily fall into vice. Therefore it is necessary that special associations be fostered for bringing remedy to these evils.

¹¹ Concerning this miserable condition of women, among others, these have discussed: J. Simon, L'Ouvriere, Paris, 1861; Ch. Benoist, Les ouvrieres de l'aiguille a Paris, Paris, 1895; d'Haussonville, Miseres et salaires de femmes, Paris, 1900; Bonnevay, Les ouvrieres lyonnaises; Abbe du Lac, Le fil et l'aiguille, Paris, Lecoffre, 1903; M. Turmann, Initiatives feminines, p. 151-250; H. Wadlin, Women in Industry, Boston, 1890; Mary A. C. Reilly, Women Wage Earners; Helen Campbell, Prisoners of Poverty.

¹² Fauquet, La protection legale des femmes avant et apres l'accouchement, Paris, Alcan, 1903; M. Turmann, op. cit., p. 157-165.

¹³ M. Turmann, op. cit., p. 167-193.

In reality, in various regions, societies of wealthier women have been founded for bringing remedy to these evils. First, unions have been instituted in which rich and poor meet together, so that the former may provide the latter with labor, decent habitation, or other helps.¹⁴ There are other unions in which women workers alone meet, for protecting their rights; but to these are often attached societies called mutual, to which wealthier women contribute money and time.¹⁵ - Besides, in order to protect women workers, honorable women have created a league among buyers (ligues d'acheteurs, consumers' league), who promise that they wish to buy nothing except from merchants treating women workers well; thence the condition of women in many workshops has been made not a little better.¹⁶ - To relieve mothers, before or after childbirth, maternal and infant societies have likewise been created, by which care is taken for the health of the mother about to give birth and of infants.¹⁷ Moreover, in order to educate as Christians the children whom the wives of workers are forced to leave at home in order to procure food for themselves and their own, pious women do not disdain to teach catechism.¹⁸

¹⁴ Abbe du Lac, Le fil et l'aiguille; M. Turmann, op. cit., p. 209-222.

¹⁵ Mlle Rochebillard, Synd. d'ouvrieres lyonnaises, Paris, Lecoffre; M. Turmann, op. cit., p. 194-208.

¹⁶ M. Turmann, op. cit., p. 281-324.

¹⁷ M. Turmann, p. 339-335.

¹⁸ M. Turmann, op. cit., p. 256-258: "In the diocese of Paris, nearly three thousand ladies thus contribute to making known the principles of religion to more than thirty-two thousand children." - Concerning another means of alluring the poor to a better life, which in English is called settlement, and in French residence sociale, colonie sociale, see M. Turmann, p. 325-337.

In one word, Christian charity wisely and lovingly accommodates itself to the various necessities of the poor and of workers. But because there are still many women who uselessly spend time in trifles or pleasures, the duty is incumbent upon priests of exhorting Christian girls and wives opportunely and prudently, that they spend not only part of their superfluous goods, but also part of their superfluous time in works of charity: for thus, avoiding the dangers of idleness and luxury, they will show themselves pleasing to God and useful to the neighbor, and in the exercise of charity will experience greater happiness than in earthly pleasures.

835. 5. Even when all these means and others of this kind have been wisely employed, there are certain poor persons who, broken in strength or worn out by old age or illness, cannot suffice for themselves. Therefore various institutions have deservedly been created for helping their necessities. Among these stand out those called Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul, which F. Ozanam happily instituted and propagated;¹⁹ for the members frequently visit the poor, the sick, the aged, and provide them not only temporal food and other things necessary for sustaining life, but also the bread of the divine word and of human consolation. Thus indeed they have profited greatly in soothing the sorrows of many; yet it is very much to be desired that, in our days, they devote themselves more and more to social works, and furnish to strong workers the means by which they may be able honorably to earn daily bread.²⁰

¹⁹ C. A. Ozanam, Vie de Fred. Ozanam, 2nd ed., Paris, Poussielgue, 1882, ch. 4-5, where the beginnings and evolution of these Conferences are described; J. Schatt, Adolphe Baudon, Paris, 1897.

²⁰ In the letter Notre charge apostolique, His Holiness Pius X exhorts bishops to choose priests learned in social matters who are to be placed over works of Catholic action.

Many sins opposed to charity are enumerated: hatred, which is directly opposed to internal love (above, n. 782); envy, which is opposed to complacency in the goods of the neighbor (above, n. 522); discord, which is repugnant to the union of minds and wills; scandal, which is opposed to spiritual beneficence: of these last two it remains to speak.²

¹ St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 31-43; Suarez, disp. VI; Billuart, diss. VII; St. Alphonsus, n. 43-80; Bouquillon, n. 506-576; Ballerini-Palmieri, vol. I, n. 240-302; Noldin, n. 99-129; M. d'Hulst, Careme 1896, 2nd Conference.

² Some also enumerate here duel, war, and sedition, of which we treat in De Justitia, n. 334-363; and also cooperation in the sins of the neighbor, of which we treated above, n. 183-188.

836. 1. Notion. (a) Discord is the dissent of wills concerning a good in which, by charity, we are bound to agree. Therefore two things are required for discord: a dissent of wills, and not of the intellect alone; and a dissent concerning a necessary good, or one about which we are bound to agree. For if it concerns free opinions, and does not exceed the limits of moderation, it is not a sin.³ For the most part it arises from pride, by which we love our own judgment and our own will more than is just.

³ Such was, very probably, the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (Acts 15:35-40).

(b) From discord contention often arises, that is, an inordinate battle of words, or altercation, by which truth is attacked, or is defended with excessive acrimony. This, moreover, is frequently increased from vain glory, by which each of those contending strives to gain victory over the other. Sometimes also it arises from immoderate nationalism, by force of which certain persons, fostering love of their own nation more than is just, despise and pursue with hatred peoples of another stock, after the manner of pagans; for thus contentions are sown between foreigners and citizens, indeed even among citizens themselves who differ in stock.

Sometimes contentions are had in a religious matter, and schism arises, by which certain Catholics of their own accord withdraw from the unity of the Church. But since the unity of the Church consists in two things, namely, in the connection of members with one another, and again in the order of all members to one head, namely Christ and His vicar on earth, those are called schismatics who refuse to be subject to the Supreme Pontiff, or to communicate with the members of the Church subject to him.⁴

⁴ St. Thomas, Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 39, a. 1.

837. 2. Malice. Discord and contention, in those things in which we are bound to agree, are mortal sins from their genus; moreover schism is a most grave sin not only against charity, but also against the obedience due to the Church.

(A) Scripture often reproves discord as altogether contrary to the Christian spirit, and gravely sinful. For Paul, hearing that there were contentions among the Corinthians, beseeches them to put these away, and to live in concord and peace: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no schisms among you; but that you be perfect in the same mind and in the same judgment."⁵ Those who indulge in discords are still carnal:⁶ "For whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man?" For God hates dissensions:⁷ "For God is not of dissension, but of peace." Elsewhere he enumerates contentions and quarrels among lethal sins.⁸ Wherefore he exhorts Timothy to avoid contentions, as useless and harmful:⁹ "Do not contend in words: for it is useful for nothing, except for the subversion of the hearers."

⁵ 1 Cor. 1:10.

⁶ 1 Cor. 3:3.

⁷ 1 Cor. 14:33.

⁸ Gal. 5:20.

⁹ 2 Tim. 2:14.

838. (B) Tradition frequently inculcates the same. Among the Fathers, let Cyprian be heard, who before the rest commends concord, and strictly reproves discords or schisms:¹⁰ "For God commands that men be peaceful and concordant and unanimous in His house, and as He made us by the second birth, so He wills those reborn to persevere; that we who have begun to be sons of God may remain in the peace of God, and that those to whom there is one spirit may also have one mind and sense. Thus God does not receive the sacrifice of one dissenting, and commands the one returning from the altar first to be reconciled to his brother, so that by peaceful prayers God also may be appeased. Our peace and fraternal concord, and a people united from the unity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, is a greater sacrifice to God... But one discordant and dissenting and not having peace with his brethren, according to what the blessed Apostle and sacred Scripture testify, even if he should be killed for the name of Christ, will not be able to escape the crime of fraternal dissension."

¹⁰ St. Cyprian, De oratione Dominica, c. 23-24, P. L., IV, 535-536. He develops the same more fully in the book De Unitate Ecclesiae, P. L., IV, 493-520.

(C) Reason itself dictates that nothing is more contrary to the Christian spirit, nothing more harmful to individuals or to the Church itself, than discords, contentions, or schisms. For Christ wills that His disciples be one as He Himself is one with the Father:¹¹ "Holy Father, keep them in Thy name, whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one as We also are"; but dissensions destroy this moral unity. On the other hand, one of the notes of the Catholic Church, one of the causes which bring strength and consolation to it, is the perfect unity of its members; therefore those who sow discords and contentions among Catholics, by that very fact perform a diabolical work, tearing up the foundations of the Church itself and diminishing its strength; for Christ testifies:¹² "Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand." Therefore those gravely sin who knowingly scatter the seeds of discords and schisms.

¹¹ John 17:11.

¹² Matt. 12:25; cf. Luke 11:17.

839. 3. Remedy. In order to avoid dissensions of this kind, which have introduced so many and so great evils into the Church of God, two things especially are to be done: (a) we ought to pass over those things of slight moment which tend to cause dissensions, and, on the contrary, attentively consider all those things which bind us by a manifold and sweet bond; concerning these hear the Apostle:¹³ "Careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one spirit, as you are called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in us all." And truly, when there are so many motives for loving neighbors as brothers, would it not be foolish to break the bond of charity because of certain slight differences which exist between us and them? (b) Since the chief cause of discords is disordered love of self, we ought to cultivate humility and meekness, and thus root out the very roots of dissensions. To the same point the Apostle says: "I therefore, a prisoner in the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity¹⁴... If therefore there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of charity, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels of commiseration, fulfill my joy, that you be of one mind, having the same charity, being unanimous, thinking the same thing; let nothing be done through contention, nor through vain glory, but in humility, each esteeming others better than themselves; each one not considering the things that are his own, but those that are of others."¹⁵ These words indeed preach charity and humility together so sweetly and strongly that they need no commentary.

¹³ Eph. 4:3-6.

¹⁴ Eph. 4:1-2.

¹⁵ Phil. 2:1-4.

840. 1. Notion and species. (A) Scandal, from the word skandalon, literally designates any obstacle placed in the way, at which, if someone strikes, he must stumble or fall; metaphorically it is someone or something by which a man is induced to err or to sin.² It is defined by St. Thomas as "a saying or deed less right, furnishing occasion of (spiritual) ruin."

¹ Besides the authors cited above, cf. Vieux Moraliste, apud Ami du Clerge, t. XXIII, 1901, p. 1195.

² Grimm, Lexicon graeco-latinum, 4th ed., 1903, p. 401.

Therefore three things are required for scandal: (a) an external act, or the omission of the same; for a merely internal act, since it is unknown to others, cannot induce them into sin. This act can consist in words, deeds, manner of conducting oneself, etc.; or in the omission of some external act, when from this the neighbor can be induced to the omission of some duty. (b) An act less right, whether in itself, or by reason of the person or circumstances; for an act good in every respect does not allure others to evil; yet it suffices that the act have the appearance of evil; thus one who eats meat in the presence of others on a prohibited day can scandalize those who do not know that this is done for a legitimate cause. (c) An act furnishing to another an occasion of ruin, or at least of some spiritual harm. It is not required that the neighbor actually suffer some spiritual harm, but it suffices that, all things considered, an occasion is probably furnished to him for sinning, whether gravely or lightly. It matters little whether the sin to which the neighbor is induced is of the same or of a different species; scandal is truly given whenever it is probably foreseen that, by the less right action which is performed before him, the neighbor will commit some sin which otherwise he would not have committed. Wherefore, if it is morally certain that those before whom the evil action is performed are so confirmed in virtue, or already so determined to sin, that this action has no influence upon them, there is not truly a sin of scandal. Yet it is not licit to ask from the neighbor an evil thing, even if he is habitually disposed to doing it; for it is more grave actually to sin than to be disposed to sin.

Theologians commonly say that scandal properly is not committed by one who draws others back from perfection, without inducing them to sin. Whatever may be the case, by acting thus he sins against charity, which demands that we furnish others a good example: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."³

³ Matt. 5:16.

841. (B) Scandal, on the part of the intention, is direct, when the sin of another is truly intended; indirect, when it is only foreseen, without being intended in itself (above, n. 168). (a) Direct scandal is called diabolical when the sin of the neighbor is intended insofar as it is an offense of God, or the ruin of another, for example, when someone has conversations against the faith directly in order to tear faith out of hearts; it is called simply direct when the sin of the neighbor is intended for another end, for example, for one's own utility or pleasure, as often happens in filthy speech. - To direct scandal can be referred in practice the sin of inducement, by which someone, by command, prayers, counsel, and other modes of this kind, solicits or provokes another to sin: then he is not only the occasion, but also a partial cause of the sin. (b) Indirect scandal happens in many ways, for example, when someone sins before others, foreseeing that they will fall from this into the same sin; when he does those things which, although not evil in themselves, are morally dangerous and probably allure others to sin; when something less right is accomplished, from which it is foreseen that certain persons will abandon the faith or despise religion; when something legitimate in itself is required, from which, however, it is foreseen that others will fall into sins of hatred or blasphemy.

842. 2. Malice of scandal. (A) Scandal directly willed is a grave sin from its genus, both against charity, and against the virtue to which the neighbor is induced to do injury.

(a) Scripture strictly reproves scandal:⁴ "But he that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals! For it must needs be that scandals come. Nevertheless woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh!"

⁴ Matt. 18:6-7; cf. Mark 9:42; Luke 17:1.

(b) Truly, if God so loves men that, for their salvation, He handed over His only-begotten Son, if Christ gave His own blood for the redemption of souls, does not he gravely offend God and Christ who by word or deed induces others to sin, and wills to destroy those for whom the Redeemer died? - Again, if charity commands that we love the neighbor and sincerely desire his eternal salvation, if we are bound to correct the neighbor who is slipping, and to turn him away from evil, do we not sin gravely when we intend his spiritual ruin, and allure him to evil by words or examples?

843. Moreover the gravity of scandal depends upon many circumstances. (a) Generally speaking, scandal is grave when the sin to which another is moved is lethal; otherwise it is light. Hence a sin venial in itself can be mortal by reason of scandal, namely when the neighbor is induced to grave fault; on the contrary, a sin mortal in itself sometimes causes only light scandal, by reason of the circumstances. (b) Besides, the gravity of scandal depends much upon the influence of the scandalous action upon the ruin of the neighbor; and this influence can be greater if the person acting is constituted in dignity, or if the person suffering scandal is weaker in mind; thus, other things being equal, scandal given to younger persons is more grave, since they more easily contract depraved habits from it. Hence parents, superiors, priests, and religious ought carefully to abstain from less right actions, which furnish scandal much more easily to children, subjects, or laypersons than if they were performed by the common people.

(c) The gravity is also increased from the number of persons who are scandalized by the same action, although it is disputed whether scandal is multiplied numerically according to the number of these persons.

(d) Finally it depends most of all upon the foresight and intention of the agent: for nothing is willed unless first known; therefore, the graver the harms foreseen by the agent, the greater is the scandal.

From this it is inferred that scandal, even direct scandal, is sometimes light from lightness of matter, or lightness of influence, or from imperfect advertence.

844. Disputed question. Here, moreover, it is asked whether it is licit to advise a lesser evil in order to prevent a greater one. (a) It is not licit to advise a lesser evil to which the neighbor is not yet determined; for example, if someone is ready to kill an enemy, it is not licit to advise him to theft, to which he was not determined; for evils are not to be advised that goods may come. (b) But if someone is already determined to perpetrate some evil, and cannot be turned from it, according to many it is licit, in order to avoid a greater evil, to advise him to a lesser evil of the same species; thus one who is ready to steal one hundred coins from Peter can be advised that he steal only fifty. We think this probable, provided however that the counselor so speak that he by no means seem to approve the evil action; for example, in the case brought forward, if Titius, after having tried with all his strength to turn Caius away from theft, says: at least do not steal one hundred, since fifty are enough for you. Or, in other words, to advise sin is forbidden; to turn away from a greater sin is licit.⁵

⁵ St. Alphonsus, n. 57; Laloux, De act. humanis, p. 344.

845. (B) Indirect scandal is not licit, except when the action is good in itself or indifferent, the end of the agent is honorable, and a proportionately grave reason is had for permitting the sin of the neighbor. For then the principle concerning the indirect voluntary, set forth above, n. 175, can be applied.

(a) The Apostle inculcates this, setting forth the manner of acting concerning idolothytes, or foods which were offered to idols. Certain Christians, knowing that idols were nothing but vain images, did not doubt to eat idolothytes; but others suffered scandal from this, because they thought the eating of these things polluted the conscience. Paul indeed agreed with the former, but admonishes them not to furnish scandal to weaker brothers:⁶ "But take heed lest perhaps this your liberty become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if a man see him who hath knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not his conscience, being weak, be emboldened to eat those things which are sacrificed to idols? And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? Now when you sin thus against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat scandalize my brother, I will never eat flesh, lest I should scandalize my brother."

⁶ 1 Cor. 8:9-13.

(b) Reason suggests the same. For, on the one hand, we are generally bound, by the law of charity, to avoid whatever can induce the neighbor into sin, and therefore to abstain from an action on whose occasion we foresee that the neighbor will sin. On the other hand, however, if there is a grave reason for doing some act, private and public good demands that this act not be prohibited because of an evil effect which is foreseen to follow from the weakness or malice of the neighbor.

When, moreover, the good effect compensates the evil can be judged from the things already said, n. 175-181, and from the following rules.

846. Practical rules. (a) If there is question of works which, although not prohibited, nevertheless have in themselves the appearance of evil, one must generally abstain from them, unless an urgent and grave reason is present, or unless scandal can be removed by some explanation. Thus a priest ought to abstain from frequenting suspicious persons, even if he is moved by no depraved motive, unless a reason urges him to administer the sacraments to them; likewise a cleric ought to abstain from prohibited food, unless he informs those standing by that, on account of weak health, he has been dispensed from the law of abstinence.

(b) When there is question of good or indifferent works not prescribed, we are generally bound to omit them in order to avoid scandal, if this can be done without grave inconvenience; but not with grave inconvenience.

If a woman knows that she is shamefully loved by a determined man, so that she is for him an occasion of sinning, she ought to flee his sight, if she easily can, for example, by walking by another way, by not coming to a meeting where he will be present. But under this head she is not bound to abstain from every walk or recreation: for this would be too burdensome.

847. (c) If there is question of works prescribed by positive law, whether divine or human, they can be omitted on account of scandal, and indeed sometimes they ought to be, for a time, if a proportionately grave reason requires this. For when two precepts concur which cannot be fulfilled at the same time, generally the natural precept of avoiding scandal prevails, as the greater and stricter one.

Hence a girl who knows that a young man takes occasion from the sight of her for sinning can, and sometimes ought for a time, abstain from hearing Mass in the church where this young man is present. Likewise a wife can and ought sometimes to omit the hearing of Mass or fasting, if she foresees that her husband, in such or such a circumstance, will from this take occasion of blaspheming and despising religion. But I have said for a time, because we are indeed bound to defer a prescribed work in order to avoid a greater evil, but not for a long time or altogether to abstain from it, with great spiritual detriment. Wherefore, if a husband altogether forbids his wife to hear Mass or to make confession, the wife can abstain from these for a time, in the hope of alluring the man to better things; but, after some time, she ought sweetly and firmly to vindicate and exercise her rights.

848. Corollaries. (a) From this it is possible to understand what must be said about the scandal of the little ones and pharisaical scandal. Scandal of this kind is not active, or given, but passive, or received: if it arises from the ignorance or weakness of the one sinning, it is called scandal of the little ones; if from his malice, it is called pharisaical.

These things posited, scandal of the little ones is to be avoided whenever this can be done without grave inconvenience. For this is gathered from the text of Paul cited above, n. 845. Pharisaical scandal, however, is not necessarily to be avoided, provided there is even a slight reason for acting; for the whole malice of the act proceeds from him who is scandalized. Thus a priest, for a slight cause, can pass through streets where he will find haters of religion who for that reason will blaspheme.

(b) From the same principles the question can be solved whether it is licit not to remove an occasion of sinning, or even to place one, although it is foreseen that the neighbor will sin from it. Each is licit, provided a proportionately grave reason is had; for, of itself, to place such an occasion is not to cause evil, but only to permit it; which is licit for a just cause. Thus parents and masters can leave money in an open place, or purposely open a chest in which coins are stored, in order to test the fidelity of children or servants; for it is of great moment that they be able to correct or dismiss them, if they are found unfaithful.

849. 3. Reparation of scandal. (A) That there exists some obligation of repairing scandal, insofar as this can be done, can be inferred from what has already been said: for if by fraternal correction we are bound to procure the amendment of the one sinning and to forestall his relapse, a fortiori when we ourselves by scandal furnished the occasion of sinning.

We incur this obligation from charity alone, if we have seduced others only by persuasion or bad example; but from justice, if by unjust means, for example by deceit, force, fear, or false doctrine, we have drawn them to sin; from office, if superiors have induced to evil subjects whom, by force of their office, they were bound to edify.

850. (B) The mode of reparation is diverse according to diverse circumstances. (a) If the scandal was public, it ought also to be repaired publicly, so that the reparation may become known and profit all to whom it was given. (b) If the scandal was given by depraved counsel, false doctrine, or bad books, one must strive first that the further influence of the scandal be removed, and second that the evil already caused be compensated by good example. Thus, if wicked counsel was given and still remains efficacious, it is necessary to revoke it, by oneself or by another, by suggesting good counsel. If certain persons were seduced by false doctrine, the errors ought to be retracted and corrected by an exposition of the truth. If many have been corrupted by depraved books, their diffusion must be impeded, insofar as this can be done, and good books written or spread.

(c) Ordinary scandals, which are furnished only by bad example, are usually sufficiently removed by cessation from the scandal, by public frequentation of the sacraments, by good example, by prayer for the one scandalized, and by other similar means.

Moreover, in order that sins opposed to charity may be avoided more securely, nothing is more efficacious than assiduously to cultivate kindness,¹ mercy, and patience, according to the words of the Apostle: "Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, the bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, modesty, patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another; even as the Lord hath forgiven you, so also do you. But above all these things have charity, which is the bond of perfection."²

¹ Cf. Faber, Spiritual Conferences, Kindness; rendered in French as Conferences spirituelles, Bonte; Guibert, La Bonte, Paris, 1904.

² Col. 3:12-14.