"As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him." Source: Catechism [...]
"When the soul is purged of the evil humors of sin, it experiences a ravenous hunger for spiritual things, and sets to work as one famished at all manner of spiritual exercises: mortification, penitence, humility, charity, prayer. Doubtless such an appetite is a good sign, but it behooves you to reflect whether you are able [...]
"You must be thirsty, then, and you must gather together, as he said, either two or three or more. Why did he say 'two or three'? Because there are not two without three nor three without two… Those who are wrapped up in selfish love of themselves are alone, mere nothings, because they are cut [...]
"Christian charity is first of all the simple response to immediate needs and specific situations: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for and healing the sick, visiting those in prison, etc." Source: Pope Benedict XVI, God is Love: Deus Caritas Est, Ignatius Press, 2006.
"Charity took possession of my heart, making me forget myself, and I have been happy ever since." Source: St. Therese of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul, Saint Benedict Press, 2010.
"The increase in diversified organizations engaged in meeting various human needs is ultimately due to the fact that the command of love of neighbor is inscribed by the Creator in man’s very nature. It is also a result of the presence of Christianity in the world, since Christianity constantly revives and acts out this imperative, [...]
God to St. Hildegard in a vision: “You should give your alms to the poor as I mete out My grace to you. But let not those who receive alms take them vainly or avariciously. What does this mean? There are many who love laziness and do not want to labor with their bodies to [...]
"Another characteristic of Our Lord's charity is humility. Our Lord looked upon Himself only as the servant of His Apostles. Never put yourself above others. Never esteem yourself more than they on account of your knowledge or virtues. Our Lord treated His Apostles with respect, for charity ought to be respectful... I repeat It, the [...]
"Love – caritas – will always prove necessary, even in the most just society. There is no ordering of the State so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love… The State which would provide everything, absorbing everything into itself, would ultimately become a mere bureaucracy incapable of guaranteeing the very [...]
"The Church’s deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God (kerygma-martyria), celebrating the sacraments (leitourgia), and exercising the ministries of charity (diakonia). These duties presuppose each other and are inseparable. For the Church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, [...]