Year of Care
Care for others is to show sincerely one’s concern for others’ situations, feelings and needs. Unlike sympathy, care for others includes an element of empathy, meaning caring for the situations, feelings and needs of others. Adolescence is the ideal stage for students, who already possess the ability to think from others’ perspectives and understand others’ feelings, to learn and practise how to care for others.
In the Catholic faith, charity / love is one of the three theological virtues,
along with faith and hope. It is considered the greatest of the virtues and lies at the heart of Christian life. “Charity / Love is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.” (CCC 1822)
God is love (cf. 1 John 4:8). Charity / Love is not merely a human emotion or goodwill—it is a gift from God that enables us to love with God’s own love. It is an act of the will: choosing to see others through God’s eyes and to act for their true good, especially their eternal salvation.