St Philip Neri on prayer and charity

"To leave our prayer when we are called to do some act of charity for our neighbour, is not really a quitting of prayer, but leaving Christ for Christ, that is, depriving ourselves of spiritual sweetnesses in order to gain souls."

Pope Benedict XV on Christian charity

Christian charity ought not to be content with not hating our enemies and loving them as brothers; it also demands that we treat them with kindness, following the rule of the Divine Master Who "went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil", and finished His mortal life, the course of which was marked by good deeds, by shedding His blood for them...

Pacem, Dei munus pulcherrimum, 1920

St Therese of Lisieux on charity towards others

"I understand now that charity consists in bearing with the faults of others, in not being surprised at their weakness, in being edified by the smallest acts of virtue we see them practise."

St Therese of Lisieux

Pius XII on peace

It is necessary first of all to renew the hearts of men, to repress covetousness and greed, to allay hatreds, to really put into practice the norms and dealings of justice, to bring about a better distribution of wealth, to foster mutual charity and to stir up virtue in all.

Mirabile Illud

Red Nose Day

Once again, Red Nose Day will be occupying another Friday in Lent, promising fun and frivolity in aid of charity.

For the moment, let's ignore the fact that Comic Relief isn't 100% sound from a Catholic perspective. Just imagine that there are no moral or ethical issues against it at all. All it should take to raise the millions of pounds it intends to raise is a 15 minute broadcast about the plight of poor people here and abroad. As is, the 6+ hours of daftness is just self-indulgence on the part of the celebs (who could raise the equivalent sum or more between themselves). Why do people need to be entertained in order to donate? Would they not donate otherwise? Is it that people will only give to charity on condition that they are amused?

What are people thinking of? If people were motivated by real charity, all that should be needed to raise money for a good cause, is telling them that money is needed and why.

Now to turn to the ethical problems. SPUC has this article from a couple of years ago:

Raising money for Red Nose Day means that some of that money will go to charities and projects that are inimical to building a culture that respects all human life from conception. Red Nose Day has made, and continues to make, grants that fund groups that advocate and promote abortion, contraception and same-sex marriage, such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the Terrence Higgins Trust.

No one wants to be a spoil-sport when it comes to fundraising for worthy causes, a good thing in itself. However, fundraising efforts should not be spoilt by having the money used to fund the destruction of human life.

It's not just Comic Relief, of course. Many other charities are kind of Trojan Horses, raising money for anti-life causes under the pretext of supporting good causes.

SPUC also has a charities bulletin (which could do with being updated), giving details of where various charities stand on pro-life issues.

Uncharitableness - Cardinal Bacci

Uncharitableness

1. It is easy, unfortunately, to abuse the gift of speech which God has given us. “If anyone does not offend in word,” says St. James, “he is a perfect man.” (James 3:2) "As often as I have been amongst men," says the Imitation of Christ, "I have returned less a man." (Bk. I, c. 20:2) Why is this so? It is because it is easy when we are in the company of men to enter into useless and even harmful discussions. As a result we lose the purity of intention which we ought to observe in all our thoughts, words and actions. We lose the spirit of recollection which keeps us in contact with God, and when we return home we are less perfect Christians because we are dissipated in mind and in heart.

It is true that if we were really holy and were accustomed to speak with people holier than ourselves, our conversations would be spiritually beneficial to us. We should go away more perfect men and closer to God than we were before. But what kind of conversations do we normally have with others? What kind of relations have we with our friends, with our superiors and inferiors, and with everyone whom we meet? Are our conversations inspired by a love for truth and charity and by a desire for the spiritual welfare of ourselves and of our neighbour?

Let us examine ourselves in this important matter and resolve that our conversations will be a means of sanctification for ourselves and others.

2. The tendency to complain about others is a most insidious cancer which can corrode all that is good in our conversation, making it harmful and even gravely sinful. Grumbling is always more or less sinful according to the circumstances. It may be a sin against charity, which demands that we love our neighbour as ourselves and help him as much as possible by word and by deed. It may be a sin of scandal, because the person to whom we are complaining may be provoked to throw stones in his turn at the subject of our detraction. It may be a sin of theft because it takes away the reputation of the person whom we are criticising. This could carry with it the obligation to make restitution by withdrawing what we have said if it is false or doubtful or by speaking charitably of the person whom we have wronged in order to restore his good name. Uncharitableness in speech is also a sin of injustice when it involves calumny, in which case there is an obligation to repair the damage done in the best way possible.

Since criticism of others can be such an evil thing, we should take care not to form the habit of employing it as a means of making our conversations more lively and acceptable. The life of a Christian should be governed by charity, and grumbling about others is always an offence against charity.

3. It is no excuse to claim that we only speak of matters which are true and known to all. They may be true, but God alone can judge the human conscience. They may be known to all, but by our maliciousness we are spreading evil about our neighbour, whereas we ought to try and spread only what is good. Besides being opposed to Christian charity, unkind conversation ruins whatever opportunities we may have of practising the apostolate, in which everyone is obliged to play his part. If we are apostolic, we promote our neighbour's spiritual welfare, whereas uncharitable criticism spreads evil about him and gives bad example to others.

Charity, cheerfulness, humility - St Philip Neri

"Charity and cheerfulness, or charity and humility, should be our motto."

Faith and Charity - Cardinal Bacci

Faith and Charity

1. Faith is a gift from God. (Summa Theologica, II-II, q. 45) We should, therefore, ask for it in our prayers. Faith cannot enter into a proud soul because “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5) If a man does not pray, his faith grows weaker and he may lose it altogether. Faith must be nourished continually by grace which is obtained through prayer. A man who is in a state of mortal sin loses his faith, especially if he is a slave to impurity, because only the clean of heart can see God. (Cf. Mt. 5:8) St. Thomas knew what he was talking about when he said that “faith is the foundation of the entire spiritual edifice of the Christian life.” (Summa Theologica, III, q. 73, a. 3.) It is faith nourished by grace which raises us to the supernatural level, where everything which we do, say or think becomes meritorious in the sight of God. “My just one lives by faith.” (Heb. 10:38) The keener and stronger our faith is, the firmer is the foundation of our spiritual life and the more numerous are our good works. This is not to say that faith excludes all study and investigation. In fact, the more lively is our faith, the more earnest will be our desire to understand better the terms in which our faith is expressed and to explore the intimate connection between divine revelation and human knowledge. Study of this kind will prove a refreshing experience because it will bring us to the threshold of the contemplation of eternal truth. Reason is not humiliated but ennobled by the light of revelation, which raises it to a higher plane.

2. Faith is a wonderful thing. As has been said, it is a supernatural gift from God which we should keep alive by prayer. Faith alone is not enough, however. It is the foundation on which we must build the structure of our Christian life. It is especially necessary for it to be united to the flame of charity. “Without love,” says St. Augustine, “there is only the faith which the devil has,” (St. Augustine, De Caritate, 10) because, as St. James explains, “the devils also believe and tremble.” (James 2:19) We, however, should believe and love. We must combine faith with charity towards God and towards our neighbour. Our faith should be active. As St. Paul says, it should work under the influence of charity. (Gal. 5:6) Without charity and good works, faith is a lifeless thing. If we really believe, we should love God above all things, even more than we love ourselves; and we should be ready to make any sacrifice for Him, even the sacrifice of our lives. Faith should induce us to think constantly of God and charity should urge us to do everything for His sake rather than for any lesser purpose. If we lack this kind of charity, we cannot claim to be sincere Christians.

3. Our faith should be suffused by love of our neighbour as well as by the love of God. We should love our neighbour as ourselves. Does anybody really practise this fundamental Christian precept? Once again, let us contrast the magnificent mansions and places of entertainment of the rich with the slums and hovels where thousands are living in conditions which are not fit for rational human beings. Is this Christianity? Is this the teaching of the Gospel? What would Jesus say about such aspects of modern life? It would seem that the Gospel is still a closed book for many Christians. Let us examine ourselves on this commandment, which is so generally ignored that the consequences are likely to be disastrous for everybody. Let us investigate how much responsibility we bear for this sad and dangerous state of affairs. Let us make appropriate resolutions which will save us from the peril of God's final and fearful condemnation: “Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire... As long as you did not do it for one of these least ones, you did not do it for me.” (Cf. Mt. 25:41-46)