“Dilige, et quod vis fac. "Love, and do what you want."
-St. Augustine of Hippo
“More than the virtue of faith, more than the virtue of hope, it is the virtue of charity that animates Christianity and governs the deeds of Christians.
It is possible to believe, and yet to act contrary to the things believed. It is possible to hope in Christ's promises, and yet to choose things that will make one's hope unfounded. Charity, which is divine love, works differently. If one's will is truly moved by love of God and love of neighbor for God's sake, he will not offend God. If his actions are directed by love, his actions are godly actions. Saint Augustine, in his commentaries on John's Epistles, writes Dilige, et quod vis fac, "Love, and do what you want."
At first sight, this seems a dangerous piece of advice. Numerous, after all, are the wicked things done in the name of "love." Augustine, though, is not talking about cheap, tawdry imitations of love: he is speaking of a love that desires God above all things and chooses the things of God; a love which treats our fellow men and women in the way that God has established, in a way that is subordinate to love of God and which flows from it.
It is possible to believe, and yet to act contrary to the things believed. It is possible to hope in Christ's promises, and yet to choose things that will make one's hope unfounded. Charity, which is divine love, works differently. If one's will is truly moved by love of God and love of neighbor for God's sake, he will not offend God. If his actions are directed by love, his actions are godly actions. Saint Augustine, in his commentaries on John's Epistles, writes Dilige, et quod vis fac, "Love, and do what you want."
At first sight, this seems a dangerous piece of advice. Numerous, after all, are the wicked things done in the name of "love." Augustine, though, is not talking about cheap, tawdry imitations of love: he is speaking of a love that desires God above all things and chooses the things of God; a love which treats our fellow men and women in the way that God has established, in a way that is subordinate to love of God and which flows from it.
Even noble loves can lose this priority: to the degree that they stray from the love of God, which is identical with His justice and His law, these loves lose the character of love and decay into pride, self-gratification, lust, greed, or the service of idols. To the degree that the love is truly divine charity, to that degree one's will is guided by the Spirit, and he may do as he pleases, knowing that his actions are guided by God's own will. Hence Augustine's command, Dilige, et quod vis fac.”
1 comment:
Even things that begin in the nobelist, purest , simplest act of Loving with Gods love can degrade into selfishness so I'm glad for this teaching.
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