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From: Romans 12:9-16

Charity Towards All

[9] Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
[10] love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in
showing honor. [11] Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve
the Lord. [12] Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be
constant in prayer. [13] Contribute to the needs of the saints,
practise hospitality. [14] Bless those who persecute you; bless and do
not curse them. [15] Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those
who weep. [16] Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but
associate with the lowly; never be conceited.

Commentary:

9-21. "After speaking about those gifts which are not common to all,
the Apostle now teaches that charity is common to all" (St Thomas,
"Commentary on Rom, ad loc".). True charity takes different forms
depending on the needs and capacity of each person; it always involves
seeking good and avoiding evil (v. 9); it has to be exercised with
those who are already Christians (vv. 10-16) and those who are not (vv.
17-21); indeed, the charity shown to the latter is instrumental in
bringing them closer to the faith. However, it is not always possible
to do to others all the good we would wish: we have limited resources,
more pressing duties; there are problems of physical distance, etc.
Only God, who is infinitely perfect and almighty, can do good to
everyone all the time; this does not mean that he always gives everyone
the same gifts: to some he gives more, to others less, according to the
designs of his Wisdom.

Even bearing in mind our own limitations, our love for others should
affect everything we do, everything we think and say. Obviously, one of
the first consequences of charity is never to judge anyone, or speak
badly about anyone, or scandalize them by what we say or do. Moreover,
we should perform positive acts of this virtue; it would be impossible
to give a complete list of the ways of being charitable but they
certainly include, Fray Luis de Granada says, "among other things,
these six--loving, counselling, assisting, suffering, forgiving and
edifying. These are so closely connected to charity that the more one
does them the more charity one has, and the less, less [...]. For,
according to this order a person can check to see what he has and what
he does not have as far as the perfection of that virtue is concerned.
For we can say that he who loves is on the first step; he who loves and
counsels, on the second; he who assists, on the third; he who suffers
on the fourth; he who forgives and suffers, on the fifth; and he who
builds on all this with his words and his good life, as is the task of
perfect and apostolic men, on the highest step of all" ("Guide to
Sinners", I, II, chap. 16).

12. The love of God makes us joyful, strong and persevering. Therefore
"one accepts tribulation with joy and hope, because one knows that what

is promised in exchange is something much better" (Pseudo-Ambrose,
"Comm. in Epist. ad Rom, ad loc".)

This setting gives us every opportunity to derive supernatural benefit
from suffering, which is quite a normal part of the Christian life: "A
whole program for a good course in the 'subject' of suffering is given
to us by the Apostle: "spe gaudentes"--rejoicing in hope, "in
tribulatione patientes"--patient in troubles, "orationi instantes"--
persevering in prayer" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 209).

Joy in the midst of difficulties is in fact one of the clearest signs
that love of God is influencing everything we do, for, as St Augustine
comments, "where one loves, either one does not feel the difficulty or
else one loves the very difficulty [...]. The tasks of those who love
are never laborious" ("De Bono Viduitatis", 21, 26).

13. "For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love
God whom he has not seen" (1 Jn 4:20). Similarly, it can be said that
Christians, that is "servants of the Lord", unless they serve their
brethren whom they see before them, cannot serve God either. Serving
God, in other words, ultimately means alleviating "the needs of the
saints " and offering hospitality to strangers, after the example of
the patriarchs Abraham and Lot (Gen 18:2-5; 19:2-3; cf. Heb 13:2).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.