GeE 60: The Summation of the Law

See the source imageThree paragraphs explore the basic commandment, and the one like it. The title you expect: The summation of the Law. The orientation of the disciple: faith, hope, and love. Especially … well, you can read it:

60. To avoid this, we do well to keep reminding ourselves that there is a hierarchy of virtues that bids us seek what is essential. The primacy belongs to the theological virtues, which have God as their object and motive. At the center is charity. Saint Paul says that what truly counts is “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6). We are called to make every effort to preserve charity: “The one who loves another has fulfilled the law… for love is the fulfilment of the law” (Romans 13:8.10). “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:14).

If we are assessing Church rules, policies, laws, and their applications, the first measuring stick could involve that of the essential virtues. Does the institutional Church inspire prudence, justice, temperance, and courage–not to mention faith, hope and love?

You can check the full document Gaudete et Exsultate on the Vatican website.

 

About catholicsensibility

Todd lives in Minnesota, serving a Catholic parish as a lay minister.
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