Many years ago, a Swiss pilgrim arrived at a monastery and asked for lodging. After spending a few days at the monastery, he continued on his pilgrimage. Before leaving, he gave the host monk a Swiss chocolate as a gift. “A Swiss chocolate!” exclaimed the host monk, who knew of the fame of Swiss chocolates, and he immediately thanked him for such an uncommon gift. In those times globalization and the internet did not exist, and so products from other countries were rare and highly prized.
After bidding farewell to the pilgrim, the host monk headed to his cell, thinking about the chocolate and how delicious it would be. Then he thought that it would be better to give it to a sick brother who was in great pain, as it could at least provide him with some material comfort.
When the sick brother saw the chocolate, his mouth watered, and he thanked the host monk for such kindness. However, after the host monk left, the sick brother thought it would be better to give it to the nurse brother, who worked so sacrificially to care for him, as a small token of appreciation for his efforts.
When the nurse brother received the chocolate, he was delighted, but then he thought, “It would be better to give it to the gardener brother, who works hard every day so that we have food on our plates.” So he took the chocolate to the gardener brother. The chocolate passed from one brother to another until it eventually returned to the hands of the host monk.
This is the logic of a society based on evangelical charity, not according to the “Rousseaunian” principles of the Social Contract, which is at the base of our Western self-centered society. Evangelical charity makes us see the good of our neighbor as our own, as Our Lord Jesus Christ said: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31).
Charity as the foundation of society is what builds a happy society. Christian happiness, unlike the happiness promised by the world—which is the happiness of pleasure, the other side of selfishness (there is an intimate relationship between personal pleasure and selfishness)—is found in giving. For this reason, Saint Paul reminded the elders of the Church of Ephesus of the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). This is so because the desire to give cultivates love, while the desire to receive cultivates selfishness, and only in love can Christian joy be found.
It is important to understand that this evangelical society is not formed merely by refraining from doing harm to others but by actively doing good to others, like those monks who sought to alleviate the suffering of their neighbor rather than their own pain. It is good not to do evil, but it is very bad not to do good to others.
