International Day of Charity
The poor have a right to full human dignity: not only benefits but also recognition
Like Paul, Mother Teresa experienced the Word in her flesh: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor 12:9). That lived Word is for the Church, for all believers. It calls to faithfulness precisely at the moment of weakness. It establishes weakness as the condition of faithfulness. (Source: Il Regno)
What is Charity for Mother Teresa?
Placing oneself at the immediate and effective service of the poor
drawing inspiration from the Works of Mercy
- giving food to the hungry: not only food but also the Word of God;
- by giving drink to the thirsty: not just water, but also knowledge, peace, truth, justice and love;
- clothing the naked: not only with clothes, but also with human dignity;
- giving shelter to the homeless: not just a shelter made of bricks, but a heart that understands, that protects, that loves…
The establishment by the UN General Assembly, in December 2012, of this International Day inspired by the testimony of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Nobel Peace Prize winner 1979), means that beyond the motivations of faith, the call is addressed to all, believers and non-believers alike, not to stop at a charity that identifies the solution with the benefit. There is an urgent need to see in the poor the one who has a right to full human dignity, who asks for a happy life, who always retains some capacity, even if residual, to take charge of his own life.
For us at the Good Shepherd
Charity is gratuitousness and care for the person,
but also political action for Peace and Justice,
self-giving and universal love
Immagine: www.corriere.it
IN THESE OUR DARK TIMES
CHARITY IS CALLED TO BECOME
ARDENT, ACTIVE, UNDERSTANDING AND RESPONSIBLE…
OR IT IS NOT…
Download the collection of prayers Charity is Mission, published online by Caritas Italiana (PDF available online) in 2020, just in view of Charity Day, can support this spiritual journey
