Charity in Truth 1

The following quotation is taken from paragraph number seven in Pope Benedict's encyclical letter charity in truth


"Another important consideration is the common good. To love someone is to desire that person’s good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good.... To desire the common good and strive toward it is a requirement of justice and charity. To take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society.... The more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them. Every Christian is called to practice this charity, in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields in the polis."

When one thinks of Christian spirituality what comes to mind almost automatically are acts of piety, traditional forms of prayer and worship, mostly we consider as spiritual those things that relate to our relationship with God, that vertical dimension of our faith. But as Pope Benedict reiterates in this encyclical is that the Christian spirit is called as well to acts of charity toward our neighbor. The Christian spirit is responsible for actions to promote the common good that makes full use of the talents and the opportunities that our Creator has given us.