Overall, Caritas has had a big impact on me and aided in strengthening my faith. It has given me the chance to reflect more on my own life and discover new ways of thinking that help me to grow closer to God. It has enhanced my understanding of scripture and the teachings of the Church and even caused me to make new friends. So ultimately, Caritas has been and will continue to be an extraordinary force in my life.
True loving mercy requires complete self-sacrifice, the ability to halt your own life and desires completely in order to help someone else, just as the Samaritan did in the parable. And we have not only to do this with people that we find it easy to love.
The “decisive direction” that the late pope speaks of is of course towards Heaven, and I think that the word “decisive” does give a very accurate description. We can have no hesitancy or doubt in our Faith if we wish to truly live the lives that God wants us to and must have complete trust in God, confident that He will guide us perfectly through the trials of this life and into the next.
“Love and truth are inseparable. Without love, truth becomes cold, impersonal and oppressive for people’s day-to-day lives.” (Pope Benedict XVI) Pope Benedict taught us that in order for truth to be valuable, it must be founded in love – a two-way relationship. Furthermore, the pursuit of truth must always be guided by a spirit of love and compassion. Without love, truth can become unnecessary, harsh or dogmatic, lacking the kindness and humanity that is needed for it to be truly meaningful and positive in people’s lives. The depth added to this idea by things I learned through Caritas is just one of many ways the award has impacted my outlook on things fundamental to my faith.
As Pope Benedict says in Deus Caritas Est: “Love is an act of the will, and it can survive even when the feelings have disappeared.” This can make loving difficult and may even require us to make sacrifices or compromise. The ultimate example of love is the sacrificial love of Jesus, who died on the cross for the sins of humanity. Similarly, we are called to love others without prejudice and even when it doesn’t suit us – even, most radically, to love our enemies.
Knowing myself more deeply has allowed me to consider what I want and what is important in my life, something valuable beyond words at this stage in my life, where I will soon be leaving school and becoming an adult. I know the regular chance provided by Caritas to think not just academically or scientifically but spiritually has helped me tremendously through such a transitory stage in my life.
We may have opinions and perspectives that differ from others to the point that we may consider them enemies, but we need to remember that God created us all in His Own Likeness, which means that we are all Children of God. God has a place for us all in the world, and loves us all unconditionally. If we are to be true followers of Christ, we need to listen to His words and follow His example.
“The expression of love of neighbour is not just an individual responsibility, but something for the whole Church” Pope Benedict
This Deus Caritas Est quote has guided me along my Caritas year to explore the importance of love. It is first and foremost that the obligation of each individual believer is to love their neighbour as themselves, but it is also the responsibility of the entire Christian community at every level, from the local neighbourhood to the specific Church and to the Church universal as a whole. The Church must practise love as a group.
When we love our brother we also love God. We cannot love God and not love our brother because he is the love that God has given us. We love our neighbours because as Christians we follow God. It is crucial to emphasise that the greatest Commandment is to love God with all my heart since, without doing so, I cannot love my neighbour. The ability to love my neighbour as myself depends on how much I love God. Only when I love God is the only relationship that can spill over into other relationships.
I feel we live in a world just now which is extremely materialistic and some people have lost a focus on looking out for others and appear to have a more selfish outlook on life, concentrating on their own needs rather than the needs of others. I feel the Pope’s teaching (Deus Caritas Est) should be taken on board by more people as this would make the world a better place.
“Love grows through love.” This is a quote directly from Pope Benedict XVI and seems simple at first glance when you take it literally….the more I think about it the more amazing it is to me. I interpret it as God saying how he will always love us as we are his children and in order for his light to shine in our lives, we need to open the door and let him in so he can spread his love to us.
With Caritas, I have somewhat put aside the writings of Camus and Sartre and come to more greatly enjoy the Holy Scriptures and writings of Catholic philosophers and theologians. Love may be irrational to our meagre human minds but given the context of God – from whom it comes, by whom we may enjoy it – the Mystery of Love becomes much more perceptible to me. I have come to realise, the call to Love is a calling to be closer to God and to know Him more fully (1 John 4:16). Our love is but a manifestation of God and His love (1 John 4:19).
