The International Day of Charity

Charity is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit because it is said to both glorify and reflect the nature of God.

Charitable giving leads to the establishment of social relationships and strengthens society. Charity means giving and then receiving.

On September 5, all organizations and individuals are encouraged to help others as part of the International Day of Charity. The day also emphasizes increasing solidarity and promoting social responsibility.

The purpose of celebrating International Charity Day is to honor Mother Teresa's tireless work to help others overcome poverty and suffering and empathize with people in need. The day provides a platform for charitable opportunities to take place and sustain them throughout one’s life as much as possible.

The International Day of Charity was established to sensitize and mobilize people, organizations, NGOs, and stakeholders all around the world to help others through volunteer and humanitarian activities with compassion.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta is one of the most well-known humanitarians in modern history. It is due to her selfless devotion to serving the poor that September 5 was chosen as the International Day of Charity. It was on this day in 1997 that Mother Teresa passed away at the age of 87.

In 2011, the Hungarian Parliament chose to commemorate the anniversary of her death by making it a national holiday for their country. In 2012, the UN General Assembly resolved to make the Hungarian holiday an international one.

The UN established it to recognize the charitable works of all organizations, including the work of Mother Teresa, and to highlight the power of charity in alleviating humanitarian crises and human suffering.

People, the planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership are critical UN goals that help guide the charitable work we should do.

On May 28, 2019, Pope Francis said: "Real charity is about encountering Christ in the poor and needy, not merely handing out aid to soothe one’s conscience."

"If we look at charity as a service, the Church would become a humanitarian agency and the service of charity its ‘logistics department.’ But the Church is nothing of all this; it is something different and much greater," he said.

"Charity is the embrace of God our Father to every man, especially to the least and the suffering, who occupy a preferential place in his heart," added the pope.

The work of charity is important for Catholics because we have been taught about charity work through the Gospels. Thomas Aquinas said that charity is "the most excellent of the virtues."

International Day of Charity serves to enhance and increase social responsibility amongst us all and to increase the public’s support for charitable causes.

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed," said Mother Teresa.

So let us try to do some charitable work from our hearts, not just one day, but in a sustained manner as much as possible, and build a happy world for the needy.

In short, everyone is capable of helping others in the best way possible. Will you do it? The answer is yours.