XVIIII. La Carità - Charity

[fire cat pickles]

Williams Minchiate Charity: “Spiritual love and generosity are the gifts of Charity. Much greater than the conventional idea of financial generosity, charity instead means true sympathy and empathy, loving another as oneself. This is a love that reaches outward to all creation, to all living beings, and to the very fabric of the cosmos.”

 

 From 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”  Other belief systems say precisely the same thing, and Christianity certainly does not have a monopoly on the concept of love. But it is difficult to escape the Christian influence in this deck. And it is helpful for us to study the cards in context with the other ecclesiastical virtue cards. Not intending to be dogmatic, this quote from the gospels may be helpful as a philosophical jumping off point for discussion. In this instance charity is agape, selfless or unconditional love. Generosity of spirit is often the most important gift of the virtues. 

 

Who in my life needs empathy the most? Who am I neglecting and why? 

What areas in life do I need to focus my attention in on to better understand others points of view? 

How can I better understand how others feel?

Where do my feelings end and those of others begin?

Why does agape often demand more of ourselves when directed inward than outward?

 

 

 

Edited March 20 by fire cat pickles