Last week, we left off our discussion of the virtue of charity wondering how we are to actually acquire more of it; we know that we are supposed to become better, more loving, more virtuous people; but how do we actually do so? St. Basil gives us a great clue when he tells us that charity is not learned, it is given by the Holy Spirit. As with all things, to receive more charity, we are to throw ourselves upon the grace of God.

God, we know, works in mysterious ways. We don?t always know why he gives his grace when he does or why he uses the means that he does. Often we receive grace through suffering or humility or other extraordinary events. In these matters, God does as he pleases and we rest content knowing that his grace is sufficient for us in all situations.

But this isn?t to say that we are left with no direction or regular, ordinary means of obtaining grace in our Christian life. Our Lord comes to make a home with us, to maintain a relationship, and so he provides for a regular contact point; we are speaking here of the sacraments. We know that Jesus, after his resurrection, ascended to the right hand of the Father and he left with us his Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who creates grace and dwells in us and in this way makes Christ present to each of us individually. When you were baptized you became a temple of God and the Spirit dwells within you. This makes you a fitting resting place and a sort of tabernacle of grace.

Many of us, I think, are discouraged in our spiritual life because we don?t always see progress. We are told we are full of the Holy Spirit but don?t feel like it. The exterior, so to speak, doesn?t match the interior. It here that we must learn to rest in the promise of Jesus, that he cares about us, will never leave us, and he will continue to work within us to free us from sin. Don?t be discouraged, come to the sacraments! This is where Our Lord has promised he will meet us.

The Holy Communion in particular is called the Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of Charity. It conveys God himself to us in his fullness, God is love, and when we consume his flesh we too become love. For this reason, what wonderment we ought to have at the mystery of the Sacrament! At each and every mass, we are literally participating in a miracle.

Benedict XVI, our Pope Emeritus, says this; ?In the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus shows us in particular the truth about the love which is the very essence of God. It is this evangelical truth which challenges each of us and our whole being.? What he means is that, when we think about what it cost Our Lord to provide us with the Communion feast, we will understand the truth of what love is. It is a willingness to give all you have to the other. Jesus, having loved us, loved us to the end. He loved us with his very life at the Cross. It is at the Cross that we see the love of God on full display; his compassion, his faithfulness, his mercy. He even gives his life for those who do not love him in return. Always, always, we are to think about others.

For this reason, Benedict says that it is a truth which is evangelical. The nature of love is to disperse itself to others. What God gives you here today, take with you and share with others. Do this by being the best that you can possibly be in your own circumstances. Be the best mother or father, husband or wife, be the best grandparent or friend. Be the best employee or customer. This is the way in which the virtue of charity expresses itself and it is how the Church witnesses in the modern world. As we share the virtue of charity that we have acquired directly from Our Lord, we see how, like a flame, it does not diminish when we give it away but grows stronger and brighter.