Friday, May 12, 2006
From our friendly blogger over at Disputations...
People get their water in all sorts of ways...
A cistern is a storage tank for water. You put water in, then you draw water out. A well draws water up from the water underground. A spring releases water pretty much on its own.
Now let water stand for charity and water sources for Christians.
Some Christians are cisterns of charity. They store up a certain amount, but without regular refills will soon go empty.
Others are wells, tapped into deep and hidden reservoirs. They won't run dry, but they do require maintenance to stay in good working order and continue to offer charity to others.
And some are springs of charity. Not only do they not run dry, their charity comes forth unbidden and inexhaustible.
The metaphor could be extended to include fountains, those whose charity is extravagant, even prodigal, a wonder to behold, and visible from afar.
Which are you?
"He who has charity is far from all sin."
-St. Polycarp of Smyrna
"I define charity as a motion of the soul whose purpose is to enjoy God for His own sake and oneself and one's neighbor for the sake of God."
-St. Augustine of Hippo
"Charity is the form, mover, mother, and root of all virtues."
-St. Thomas Aquinas
"Charity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved."
-St. Robert Bellarmine
"The school of Christ is the school of charity. On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus."
-St. Robert Bellarmine
"True virtue has no limits, but goes on and on, and especially holy charity, which is the virtue of virtues, and which, having an infinite object, would become infinite if it could meet with a heart capable of infinity."
-St. Francis de Sales
People get their water in all sorts of ways...
A cistern is a storage tank for water. You put water in, then you draw water out. A well draws water up from the water underground. A spring releases water pretty much on its own.
Now let water stand for charity and water sources for Christians.
Some Christians are cisterns of charity. They store up a certain amount, but without regular refills will soon go empty.
Others are wells, tapped into deep and hidden reservoirs. They won't run dry, but they do require maintenance to stay in good working order and continue to offer charity to others.
And some are springs of charity. Not only do they not run dry, their charity comes forth unbidden and inexhaustible.
The metaphor could be extended to include fountains, those whose charity is extravagant, even prodigal, a wonder to behold, and visible from afar.
Which are you?
"He who has charity is far from all sin."
-St. Polycarp of Smyrna
"I define charity as a motion of the soul whose purpose is to enjoy God for His own sake and oneself and one's neighbor for the sake of God."
-St. Augustine of Hippo
"Charity is the form, mover, mother, and root of all virtues."
-St. Thomas Aquinas
"Charity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved."
-St. Robert Bellarmine
"The school of Christ is the school of charity. On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus."
-St. Robert Bellarmine
"True virtue has no limits, but goes on and on, and especially holy charity, which is the virtue of virtues, and which, having an infinite object, would become infinite if it could meet with a heart capable of infinity."
-St. Francis de Sales
