A Year of Charity and Affability

Merry Christmas! 

Happy New Year and blessed Christmas. I hope each of you had a restful and wonderful Christmas break. All of the Sisters returned to the Motherhouse for Christmas. Every part of the house was decorated and filled with the presence of Sisters sharing the joy of being together. The music for Mass and praying of the Divine Office sounded like the choirs of angels (I am not exaggerating!). Each of you remained in our prayers and will continue to throughout the Jubilee Year of Hope. 

Focusing on Charity and Affability 

It seems fitting that our year would begin with a focus on charity and affability. Charity, or love, is the virtue that “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Col. 3:14) and is the form of the virtues. St. Paul stated that without charity, “I am nothing” (see 1 Cor. 13:1-4). This is what sets the living of Christian virtue apart from the acquiring of natural human virtue. 

Living Virtue through God’s Love 

The source of living virtue springs from knowing we are first loved by God (1 John 4:19). Steeped in God’s love, revealed to us this Christmas, we desire to respond by freely living a life of goodness. 

Striving for Affability and Love 

For example, affability means easy to approach and talk to, being friendly. On a natural level, we may encounter a lot of friendly people. Sometimes, they may even be easier to approach than a person you encounter at church each week. Virtue aims to allow God’s love to shape our words and actions. It means being friendly even to the grumpy, being approachable even for the annoying people in your life, or extending a smile to the one person managing a busy self-checkout at the store. God’s love enables us to extend beyond ourselves and make a difference in the small ways that still matter. 

As we begin the Jubilee Year of Hope, may we all strive to be more affable and loving to those we encounter.