Saturday, September 15, 2007

C is for Caritas

First i should define what caritas is:

CARITAS is the Latin word most directly translated as “charity” in English. “And now abideth faith, hope, CHARITY, these three, but the greatest of these is charity.” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Caritas and charity can also be translated as LOVE. The kind of love that expresses itself in giving. In Happening, this loving gift may take the form of sacrifice, prayer, a letter expressing Christian love, of a gift given in Christ’s name.

Caritas has long been a big part of my life. it takes on physical and non-physical forms. At happening it comes in the form of small gifts and letters that are provided by the staff to each other and the happeners. after 9 years of being involved with happening i am guessing that i have made thousands of peices of caritas! it also comes in the form of the sacrifices we make for the weekend to go on, such as a lack of sleep, missing school/work, and lots of time spent working on related things. Prayer is also a form of caritas especially when praying for other people.

these are caritas bags full and ready to be distributed at happening!

Caritas is not just something that happens at happening. it happens all around us. Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins. this is the ultimate caritas. it also comes in the forms of phone calls during a time of need, friends, an unexpected email, the laughter shared among friends, the love of a family, and church. i like to think that i can pass along caritas everyday in all the little things that go on in day-to-day life. Just think of where you can pass on caritas to those that you meet everyday!

HAPPY CARITAS EVERYONE!!!

1 comment:

Tara said...

Great post! Caritas (the word) sounds a bit like something you should do with margaritas. Yummmm.