Loppiano, May 23, 1967

I believe that if, in our lives, we only sought to be perfect in our love for God and for every brother or sister we meet or have dealings with, through the work we do, we need to do nothing else.

Yes, because being perfect in charity towards God means being perfect in observing every one of his laws; perfect in living out the charity which the Holy Spirit has poured into our hearts and which makes us little suns beside the Sun. Having discovered that God is Love and that we are His children, our design could be the fulfillment of Jesus’ saying: Dii estis, “You are gods,” (Jn 10:34) love beside Love, a little Jesus beside Jesus, a little Mary beside Mary.

Being perfect in charity means having perfect charity towards our brothers and sisters. This develops all the other Christian virtues in us that are its handmaids. Charity gives us true and authentic poverty, real transparent purity, total and genuine humility, perseverance to the end without effort, true patience without feeling its burden, and so on.

Being perfect in charity, not only towards those whom we meet but towards everyone, means seeing the beauty in everything and the beauty in all the vocations of the Movement and of the Church. It means finding the positive in all peoples, contributing with this decisive attitude to universal fraternity and peace. It means appreciating the Christian values in other Churches and communities, understanding the aspirations of all people, even those far from Christ, and so, taking the first step towards giving them the fullness of truth.

To be perfect in charity means to have our heart and our words at the disposal of the Holy Spirit who, through us, wants to heal wounds near and far, to bring relief to many, and win over hearts.

Chiara Lubich

An excerpt from the author’s diary