from Catholic Relief Services Blog by John Lindner
“For me, the word charity assumes meaning not only in what I daily observe but also in Scripture and in the lives of the saints—unofficial and official. At the very least, charity assumes a sharing of resources….
“One powerful scriptural example of such sharing occurs in Luke’s description of an early Christian community: “The company of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common…. There was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:32-34). How wonderful to think of the human family without a needy person among us! But the gulf between charity and greed extends beyond the distribution of human resources, because the seeds of both charity and greed reside in the human heart. It is the difference between a “this is mine” viewpoint and a “whatever is mine is to be shared” approach to life. The first letter of John provides an illustration: “The one who has the goods of the world and sees a brother [or sister] in need and closes his heart, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 Jn 3:17).”
That’s George Anderson writing in America: The National Catholic Weekly, in an article titled Charity As Cure.
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