Service as Almsgiving: The Work of Love

The one who loves God cannot help but love also every man as himself … The one who loves God surely loves his neighbor as well.—St. Maximus the Confessor, Four Hundred Texts on Love

St. Maximus the Confessor teaches that we find God as we comprehend His love for us and learn to love each other. Because God loves us, we can—indeed, we must—love others. And “the work of love,” the saint writes, is “the deliberate doing of good to one’s neighbor.”

IOCC’s mission to serve persons in great need, without discrimination, reflects this idea.

During Great Lent, we trace the path of Christ to the Cross and, ultimately, Resurrection. At the same time, as we journey through this holy season, we do the work of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. If service is a form of almsgiving, then this, too, is the work of love.

Every Friday throughout Lent, we will bring you reflections from IOCC staff members as they consider the service that they offer daily as they live their vocation.

Thank you for your own work of love, with and through IOCC.