Developing Charity?

[DarinHamel]

I am looking for a good way to develop charity. I recently noticed how uncharitable some of my attitudes are and I recognize that they stem from a lack of brotherly love, lack of trust in God and too much spiritual pride.

I have read the saints and they did stuff like cleaning the wounds of lepers and other stuff equally harsh. So I am looking for ideas, insights other root causes. I am looking into volunteer work in Detroit but was thinking of something personally distasteful so I get the full dose of humility.

Any thoughts or feelings?

 

[FCEGM]

DarinHamel:

I am looking for a good way to develop charity. I recently noticed how uncharitable some of my attitudes are and I recognize that they stem from a lack of brotherly love, lack of trust in God and too much spiritual pride.

I have read the saints and they did stuff like cleaning the wounds of lepers and other stuff equally harsh. So I am looking for ideas, insights other root causes. I am looking into volunteer work in Detroit but was thinking of something personally distasteful so I get the full dose of humility.

Any thoughts or feelings?

Darin,

Something you might find helpful is remembering that we do not “create” the charity that we express in our lives; what we DO do is allow God Who IS Charity to work through us. So it’s a matter of discovering (which you are already doing) those things within us (pride, ill-temper, laziness, spiritual sloth, etc.) that put blocks in the way of letting God transform us into a truer image of His Son. As these barriers are overcome then we will see (more often in retrospect) that His Charity is at work in and through us.

Certainly going outside of our comfort zones is a way of nurturing those virtues that He wants to implant in our hearts. Just don’t be too impetuous with big projects, but begin first with being more charitable towards those you see every day; these small steps prepare us for the bigger ones.

 

[Flopfoot]

Yep. A good way to start is by things like giving money to charity, even just a little bit if ou can spare some. This is fairly easy but very useful for the people receiving from you, and it is good practice to help make you more charitable overall.

Also pray about it.

 

[Jon_Jay2]

DarinHamel:

I am looking for a good way to develop charity. I recently noticed how uncharitable some of my attitudes are and I recognize that they stem from a lack of brotherly love, lack of trust in God and too much spiritual pride.

I have read the saints and they did stuff like cleaning the wounds of lepers and other stuff equally harsh. So I am looking for ideas, insights other root causes. I am looking into volunteer work in Detroit but was thinking of something personally distasteful so I get the full dose of humility.

Any thoughts or feelings?

If by charity you mean to show love, then that is a choice. Choose to do good to everyone, change your attitude to that of Christ, become childlike (trusting) in your faith. I know this from experience and it works for me most of the time. Just my :twocents: .

 

[Penny_Plain]

Listen more. Talk less. Assume that other people are fundamentally sane and decent until they prove themselves otherwise.

 

[Eileen_T]

Charity is about LOVE. You have to practice loving people and ACTS of Charity flow from that.

Have you read Story of a Soul? St Therese was such an amazing person that it is no wonder she is not only a great saint but also a Doctor of the Church. Read online gutenberg.net

Some of the hardest people to forgive are those closest to you, members of your family. Remember the old saying that charity begins at home? It’s true. Those we love most are the ones with the greatest power to hurt us. It is where we have to start.

 

[Anna_s_Mom]

Go through your life just helping those in need.
Sometimes when you go out of your way to help others, you are doing it to feel good about yourself. This is the wrong attitude. The act needs to be selfless. When you help someone and you feel good by doing it, aren;t you helping them to achieve that feeling for yourself?? I may not be very clear here. having trouble explaining.

 

[DarinHamel]

I tithe and do volunteer work and pray alot and think I have gotten a little more than a little proud and spiritually arrogant.

The case in point that brought this to my attention:
Before work last week I went into the chapel to pray a rosary and found a guy who had overdosed lying in front of the Tabernacle. I was really put out and mad at this guy for messing up my prayer schedule. Others eventually came and said poor guy and I was just kinda angry at him.

Later I repented and then looked at my greater attitude and I have noticed I have gotten really uncharitable. My other uncharitable problem is towards Protestants.

I know its lack of brotherly love, pride and lack of trust in God. So I am spending more time with the gospels and less praying the Rosary. I was praying it about six hours a day. I think I turned the Rosary into an idol and reaped the reward of spiritual arrogance.

 

[Madia]

I recommend bringing up this problem in confession and also asking Christ to help you be more charitable when you receive Him in Holy Communion.

I also recommend praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for yourself, asking God to grant you a greater trust in Him.