Fraternal Charity
P. Beckx. Luke 10:27 And he answering said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength… I. WORKS OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY ARE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD. We infer this — 1. From the urgency with which this commandment is enjoined upon us by Jesus Christ. (1) He places it on a par with the love of God (Matthew 22:37-39). (2) He urges it as being emphatically His own (John 15:12). (3) He states most anxiously the true meaning of this commandment — a precaution usually observed with matters of the greatest importance (John 13:34). 2. From man's relation to God: he being his Maker's image and likeness. The essence of Christian brotherly love consists in loving our neighbour for God's sake; not only from reverence for the Divine commandment, but from sacred reverence and love for God's own nature which is reflected in man. 3. From God's view of charitable works. He considers them as done to Himself. II. THE VALUE OF CHARITABLE WORKS FOR OUR OWN TEMPORAL AND ETERNAL WELFARE. The rewards or effects of fraternal charity are as follows — 1. An abundance of Divine blessings, by which God restores a hundredfold what, from love towards Him, we give to His poor children. 2. Divine mercy, which opens its treasures principally to the merciful. 3. An exceedingly great reward in eternity. (P. Beckx.) Parallel Verses KJV: And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. WEB: He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."