The first question we ask ourselves is: Am I compassionately doing what is right?
This question combines two elements: compassion, or love, and what is right and true. These two elements need to be combined. To do what is right, but without compassion, can be hard and merciless. And “Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality” (Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI 2009 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana.) The Pope’s statementreads as follows: “Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. Truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity. That light is both the light of reason and the light of faith, through which the intellect attains to the natural and supernatural truth of charity: it grasps its meaning as gift, acceptance, and communion. Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love.” (Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI 2009 – Libreria Editrice Vaticana.)
