“CATHOLIC CHARITIES”—WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

by Fr. David J. Tokarz

I want to break down the words to explore a bit more deeply what we mean when we speak of “Catholic Charities,” though of course we all know what it means in the context of our Archdiocese and its ministry.

          “Catholic” is a word based in Greek: kat’ ‘olicos, “about the whole,” or world-wide, concerning the entirety of existence. It is very closely related in meaning to ecumenical (oecumenicos, “universal”, “of the whole inhabited world”). Popes were angry when the Patriarch of Constantinople titled himself “Ecumenical Patriarch” because that seemed to imply the pope was under his jurisdiction, and of course the Bishop of Rome strongly advocated the exact opposite relationship! To this day, the Patriarch of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) is the Ecumenical Patriarch—today, Bartholomew, who has enjoyed a warm friendship with our most recent popes).

          “Charities” is a word that comes to us from the Latin caritas. It’s a bit trickier to translate this word properly. We are familiar with the ending of I Corinthians 13 when St Paul asserts that “three things remain—faith, hope, and charity...” When St Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, he used the word caritas. But the Greek from which he was translating (St Paul’s original) is agape. This is a highly specific form of “love,” greater even than eros (creative love) or philia, (deep friendship). Agape is self-giving, self-sacrificing love. It is the love of Jesus on the Cross, for us.

          This distinction is important—we are not asked just to “donate” or “pledge” to our annual Archdiocesan drive—we are asked to make a self-giving, sacrificial outreach of self for the sake of others. And who are the “others”? Part one of this essay gives the answer: those in need in the whole world. Yes, we start with our part of Alabama, but we are not (we cannot be) limited to our own. Our agape/caritas should be known (= experienced) by all, no matter whom (as it is hinted at in Philippians 4:4-5).

          What can we reasonably give to be self-sacrificing for the Body of Christ even as Christ was for us? Can we do a little more? And how might we give of ourselves beyond a financial donation? This sense of generosity is truly “catholic charity.” We hear the passages all the time, but I will repeat a few of the key phrases: “What you did for the least of these...” “Which of these proved to be neighbor to the man...?” “The measure you measure with will be measured back to you.” And finally, the words we all long to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant!”