Vidal reminds priests on wisdom of charity

"The amount we give in charity (is not what counts) but the love that we share. More than shelling out money to help the poor, charity is rightly a way of live."

This was part of the homily that Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal had delivered to church leaders during the 11th General Pastoral Assembly held at the San Carlos Seminary College yesterday.

Vidal made clear that he wanted church leaders to practice charity, accountability, and transparency in taking care of their respective flock or the Catholic faithful.

He said the charity is denying oneself of personal interest and focus instead to the welfare of the others. "The call of charity requires that we are able to say 'no' to ourselves and 'yes' to others," he said.

The prelate lamented that the act of charity at present has become a mere show of giving that even depends on one's mood. "It is unfortunate that today the word charity has been reduced to a sterile expression," he said.

"Charity is not an extraneous thing that we can take up or set aside depending on our mood-it is commanded by the Lord himself," said Vidal reminding the church that the act should be done because God said so, and not out of personal appetite.

"There are those who live a lavish lifestyle who can still claim to be charitable because they contribute to various donations. This is not charity but extravagance," Vidal elaborated further that the wisdom of charity is to sacrifice oneself also.

"Think of how much more one can give if one have lived a simpler life. There are also those who have much but live in a frugal lifestyle, yet they do not give much, if at all. This too, is not charity, but miserliness," Vidal said.

The call to Christian charity demands self-forgetfulness, said Vidal, as he reminded priests and religious leaders that they are beneficiaries of charity from people who have even some dependents or mouths to feed.

Vidal said that the dignity of a priest is neither in giving or receiving, but in being merely a means for giving and receiving to take place. "He is neither a fountain or reservoir, but a channel for distribution."

As a conduit of charity, Vidal told the priests that they have a responsibility or accountability, which are supposed to encompass their lives "from seminary formation to spiritual direction, to evaluation of superiors."

Vidal said, "Dying to oneself means letting go of one's autonomy and accepting the dominion of one who can make you a better person, which what priests and religious do when they pronounce the vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity." - Jasmin R. Uy/RAE