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Charity or Love is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.  Charity is a queen virtue because it unites God and man in perfect love, and man and neighbor, for the love of God. Jesus has made Charity the new commandment: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I loved you.” (John 13:34) Christ demands we love everyone, especially our enemies, neighbors, widows, children and the poor as Christ himself. Charity purifies and raises human love to the perfection of God’s love.

The apostle Paul defined Charity:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not arrogant, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, and it does not harbor ill feelings over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.”  (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Charity is the greatest theological virtue, because Faith and Hope will cease in Heaven, but Love will endure forever.

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