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Chapter 8:
Maxims of Charity Toward the Neighbour
Maxim 8:1
Love your neighbour as yourself.
Love that person as Jesus Christ loved you.
Love him/her as an adopted child of God
and a member of the Mystical Body
of which Christ is the Head.
Maxim 8:2
In accord with this Maxim
love your Christian brothers and sisters
with a pure and constant love, a burning love
which if needs be spends itself for them
as Jesus Christ spent himself
for us and for his church.
Maxim 8:3
Let your charity toward your neighbour be,
as Saint Paul admonishes,
patient, benevolent, considerate,
without the least trace of bitterness or enmity.
Avoid rash or negative judgments, slander,
any signs of coldness or words or gestures
in any way offensive.
In a word,
let your charity abound in the justice of the Gospel,
and let it fulfill all the demands
of the beautiful maxim of the Saviour:
"Do to others what you would wish others to do to you."
It follows that
what you would not want done to yourself
you do not do to others.
Maxim 8:4
Furthermore, always have a good opinion of others.
Speak well of them.
Excuse and conceal as well as you can
any wrong that you see in them.
Be obliging to everyone and never be discourteous toward anyone
Maxim 8:5
Forgive all injuries,
and to practise the highest perfection
of Christian charity,
bestow cordially the greatest kindness
on those for whom
you feel the greatest repugnance.
Do not be satisfied with using opportunities of serving them
when they present themselves,
but seek out opportunities with care and diligence.
By this you will imitate your heavenly Father more perfectly.
Maxim 8:6
As for harbouring suspicions,
place on all things
the most favourable interpretation.
Maxim 8:7
Always prefer the satisfaction of others to your own,
their will to your will.
When there is no question of offending God
or showing God less honour,
show the greatest affability possible to your neighbour.
If you are having difficulty in giving in to the will of others,
and in overcoming your own reasonable desires
in order to follow their whims,
do not let your struggle be evident
but show rather
a serene and tranquil countenance
as if you found a special pleasure
in what causes you
the greatest pain and displeasure.
Maxim 8:8
Whatever you have to do in service of your neighbour,
do it in the same spirit of devotion and love
as if your were offering these services
to the person of Jesus Christ or to his holy Mother.
Maxim 8:9
When you work for others, do so with an unselfish love
which expects no recompense for its services.
Presume rather that you will be repaid
with ingratitude, as happens often enough.
You will become accustomed, in helping your neighbour,
to look for nothing but the good of serving him/her and
of pleasing God at the same time.
Maxim 8:10
When there is a question of doing several things
at the same time, either at home
or in the community,
and the choice is left to you,
choose for yourself
what is most lowly and difficult
and leave to others what is easiest
and most honourable.
Maxims of Charity Toward the Neighbour
Maxim 8:1
Love your neighbour as yourself.
Love that person as Jesus Christ loved you.
Love him/her as an adopted child of God
and a member of the Mystical Body
of which Christ is the Head.
Maxim 8:2
In accord with this Maxim
love your Christian brothers and sisters
with a pure and constant love, a burning love
which if needs be spends itself for them
as Jesus Christ spent himself
for us and for his church.
Maxim 8:3
Let your charity toward your neighbour be,
as Saint Paul admonishes,
patient, benevolent, considerate,
without the least trace of bitterness or enmity.
Avoid rash or negative judgments, slander,
any signs of coldness or words or gestures
in any way offensive.
In a word,
let your charity abound in the justice of the Gospel,
and let it fulfill all the demands
of the beautiful maxim of the Saviour:
"Do to others what you would wish others to do to you."
It follows that
what you would not want done to yourself
you do not do to others.
Maxim 8:4
Furthermore, always have a good opinion of others.
Speak well of them.
Excuse and conceal as well as you can
any wrong that you see in them.
Be obliging to everyone and never be discourteous toward anyone
Maxim 8:5
Forgive all injuries,
and to practise the highest perfection
of Christian charity,
bestow cordially the greatest kindness
on those for whom
you feel the greatest repugnance.
Do not be satisfied with using opportunities of serving them
when they present themselves,
but seek out opportunities with care and diligence.
By this you will imitate your heavenly Father more perfectly.
Maxim 8:6
As for harbouring suspicions,
place on all things
the most favourable interpretation.
Maxim 8:7
Always prefer the satisfaction of others to your own,
their will to your will.
When there is no question of offending God
or showing God less honour,
show the greatest affability possible to your neighbour.
If you are having difficulty in giving in to the will of others,
and in overcoming your own reasonable desires
in order to follow their whims,
do not let your struggle be evident
but show rather
a serene and tranquil countenance
as if you found a special pleasure
in what causes you
the greatest pain and displeasure.
Maxim 8:8
Whatever you have to do in service of your neighbour,
do it in the same spirit of devotion and love
as if your were offering these services
to the person of Jesus Christ or to his holy Mother.
Maxim 8:9
When you work for others, do so with an unselfish love
which expects no recompense for its services.
Presume rather that you will be repaid
with ingratitude, as happens often enough.
You will become accustomed, in helping your neighbour,
to look for nothing but the good of serving him/her and
of pleasing God at the same time.
Maxim 8:10
When there is a question of doing several things
at the same time, either at home
or in the community,
and the choice is left to you,
choose for yourself
what is most lowly and difficult
and leave to others what is easiest
and most honourable.