July 14
In charity there is everything
hat is faith
but the carriage that bears us to our native land? What is hope but the
food we take for our journey through life's hardships? And those other
virtues of temperance, prudence, fortitude and justice — what are they
but the weapons given us for the struggle? But when death has been swallowed
up by that perfection of charity which is achieved in the vision of God
there will be no more faith, because faith was the preparation for that
vision, and there will be no need to believe what we see and love. And
when we embrace God with the arms of our charity, there will be no more
hope, for there will be nothing left to hope for. And as for the other
virtues, temperance is our weapon against lust, prudence against error,
fortitude against adversity, justice against injustice. But in charity
there is also perfect chastity, and so no lust for temperance to combat;
in charity there is the fullness of knowledge, and so no error for prudence
to guard against; in charity there is true blessedness, and so no adversity
for fortitude to overcome; in charity all is peace, and so there is no
injustice for justice to withstand.
From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from
Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.
HTML text prepared by David P. Steelman
