Caritas: Love Or Charity?

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

New translations of the scriptures say that faith, hope, and love remain. The Douay-Rheims says faith, hope, and charity remain. In modern usage love and charity is definately related, but I would not say interchangable. Did "charity" used to have a different meaning in usage? Why is it now rendered "love"?

[Guest JeffCR07]

Both translations are fine, given that neither one fully portrays the meaning of the word "caritas" in latin. The english word "charity" is good because it shows that "caritas" is not merely a feeling or emotion, as love is often portrayed, but rather, it involves action. The english word "love" is good because it shows that "caritas" is not simply going "works of charity." The charity that is done must come from an inward desire of self-giving that is love.

Also, I would be wary of any debates that stem from this topic since really even the word "caritas" isn't quite right. The original word in question is "agape" which was subsequently translated into latin, and even this movement involved something being lost in translation. If we focus on "agape" as opposed to "love" or "charity" then the insufficiency of both becomes immediately apparent.

Your Brother In Christ,

Jeff

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Cool. Thank you Jeff!

[Resurrexi]

As you said the Douay translates the following

[quote]
ad Corinthios I, Caput XIII:
13 Nunc autem manent fides, spes, cáritas, tria hæc : major autem horum est cáritas.[/quote]as

[quote]1 Corinthians, Chapter 13:
13 And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three: but the greatest of these is charity.[/quote]

And since the Douay is the best English translation of the Scriptures, I would go with it.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

I think I will use agape. I gotta get more learned on its meaning though. Let's all get learned:
[i][url="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est_en.html"]Deus Caritas Est[/url][/i]