The Eucharist: The Source and Font of Charity
In this issue of NC Catholics, we explore the fruit of the Holy Spirit known as “charity” (rendered “love” in some translations). As I have described in the previous issue of NC Catholics, the fruits of the Holy Spirit are the ways we express and make visible the gifts of the Holy Spirit to God and others.
Charity is one of the ways we manifest God’s presence to others. For the believer, charity is more than simply doing a nice deed for someone else. Charity, at its deepest level, is manifesting God’s love for others through our words and deeds.
Here is a profound truth about charity: God has deemed us worthy to be His instruments of love. We believe God is love. The Trinity is the perfection of love. Although perfect and not in need of anyone else to complete it, God chooses to extend the love of the Trinity to us imperfect, mortal creatures. God wills that we love as God has loved us and through the fruit of the Holy Spirit we call charity, we make that love visible.
The word “charity” appears in the Latin title of the first two documents of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate. The first is the encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) and the second is his apostolic exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis (The Sacrament of Charity). Given the Holy Father’s theological and spiritual depth, it is not surprising that his first writings would focus on God as the source of charity and the Holy Eucharist as the font of charity. Pope Benedict has chosen God and the Holy Eucharist as the two dimensions of our faith he would give his first priorities to in addressing Catholics throughout the world. This tells us something very important. I believe he is saying that God and the Holy Eucharist should be our first priorities.
Sacramentum Caritatis, released earlier this year, is a beautiful reflection. The Holy Father explains how the Eucharist is to be believed, celebrated, and lived. He teaches us that the One who is the center of our belief, the liturgical prayer we celebrate, and all of life is caught up in charity, both in its divine and human expressions. He captures well our belief that “communion with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruits of the Spirit of the liturgy” (CCC 1108). This belief is expressed in our liturgical celebrations, par excellence in the Mass. This is the fundamental reason we should always give the best of ourselves to God at Mass and why we should give our best to one another in life. To do so expresses the fruit of the Holy Spirit we call charity in the most wonderful manner possible.
May Mary, Mother of God’s perfect charity made flesh, guide you always.
Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge