Charity (Christian virtue)

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In Christian theology, charity (Latin: Template:Lang) is considered one of the seven virtues and was understood by Thomas Aquinas as "the friendship of man for God", which "unites us to God". He holds it as "the most excellent of the virtues".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Aquinas further holds that "the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines "charity" as "the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God".<ref name=catechism>Template:Cite web</ref>

Louis Adolphe Salmon after Andrea del Sarto, *Charity*, 1863, etching and engraving

Template:Lang: the altruistic love

The phrase Template:Lang from 1 John 4:8 (Template:Bibleverse)—or Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration) in the original Greek<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is translated in the King James Version as: "God is love", and in the Douay-Rheims bible as: "God is charity" (Template:Bibleverse). Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity with "love", which he holds as a passion, not a virtue.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The King James Version uses both the words charity and love to translate the idea of Template:Lang/Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration): sometimes it uses one, then sometimes the other, for the same concept. Most other English translations, both before and since, do not; instead, throughout they use the same more direct English word love. Love can have other meanings in English, but as used in the New Testament it almost always refers to the virtue of Template:Lang.

Many times when charity is mentioned in English-language bibles, it refers to "love of God", which is a spiritual love that is extended from God to man and then reflected by man, who is made in the image of God, back to God. God gives man the power to act as God acts (God is love), man then reflects God's power in his own human actions towards others. One example of this movement is "charity shall cover the multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8, Template:Bibleverse). "The practice of charity brings us to act toward ourselves and others out of love alone, precisely because each person has the dignity of a beloved child of God."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As a theological virtue

Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit because it both glorifies and reflects the nature of God. Confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word "love". As with other theological virtues, charity is divinely infused into the soul; it resides in the will.<ref name=sollier>Template:Cite Catholic Encyclopedia</ref> According to Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as man's last goal.

Charity has two parts: love of God and love of man, which includes both love of one's neighbor and one's self.<ref name=sollier/>

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul places the greatest emphasis on charity (love). "So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love." He describes it this way:

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The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy.Template:R

In December 2005, Pope Benedict XVI issued the encyclical Deus caritas est, in which he discussed "... the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Based on the Template:Bibleverse's Parable of The Sheep and the Goats, the early Church saw the love of the poor (Template:Transliteration) as the crown jewel of the virtues. Cappadocian father St. Gregory of Nazianzus wrote that

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After considering many of the Christian virtues, he concludes that

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