Charity is the distinguishing mark of a Christian

Fr. Livio Tonello, director

The “Hymn to charity” by the apostle Paul (1 Cor.12,1-13,13) is the most beautiful page of the New Testament and of the whole Bible. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians explained, by means of analogies with the body, that the variety of gifts distributed by the Holy Spirit contributes to the good of the only one Church then he showed the “way” to perfection. This- he said- did not consist in having exceptional qualities such as speaking new languages, knowing all the mysteries, having a prodigious faith or performing heroic gestures but in love, authentic love as God revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Love is the “greatest” gift that gives values to all the others yet, “it is not boastful or conceited”, on the contrary, it “delights in the truth” and the good of the other people. At the end when we will be face to face with God all the other gifts will fail; love will remain for ever because God is love and we will be like him, in perfect union with Him. For the time being, as long as we are in this world, love is the distinguishing mark of a Christian. It is…