Thought for the Day – 18 August – Meditations with Fr Richard Frederick Clarke SJ (1839-1900)
CHARITY
Meditations for a Month
The Gratitude of Charity
“We love Him because He first Loved us”
Perfect charity loves God for His Own sake, independently of any thought of ourselves. However, perfect charity, is preceded and accompanied by, a charity which has, at least, an indirect reference to ourselves. The love of God, first springs up within our hearts because, of the Love which He has shown to us. We think of all He has done for us and we recognise therein, a clear proof of His Love.
Love begets love and we cannot help being drawn towards One, Who has, thus gratuitously, manifested towards us, a charity to which we owe all which is really precious in our lives and all the good gifts we possess.
How then can we fail to be attracted towards Him, Who has shown such Love for us?
This love of gratitude, is not the same, as the love of concupiscence and, not the same, as the pure love of friendship. It most resembles the latter and always enters into it.
Without some sort of gratitude, friendship would be mere admiration; the personal element necessary to love, would be wanting. When a Saint dwells with rapture on the Divine perfections, there is always present to his mind, a remembrance of all God has done for him. Do I, with gratitude, ever recount to myself all God has done for me?
This element of charity is present in the charity of the Saints in Heaven. Their song will not only be, “We give Thee thanks because, Thou hast taken to Thyself, great glory and hast reigned” but also “because Thou hast redeemed us to God in Thine own Blood.”
The song, I must seek to sing in my heart, here on earth says, “Thanks to God, first for His great glory and then for His goodness and love to me.”
AnaStpaul 