30. Thus, by degrees, came into existence the
patrimony which the Church has guarded with religious care as the inheritance
of the poor. Nay, in order to spare them the shame of begging, the Church has
provided aid for the needy. The common Mother of rich and poor has aroused
everywhere the heroism of charity, and has established congregations of
religious and many other useful institutions for help and mercy, so that hardly
any kind of suffering could exist which was not afforded relief. At the present
day many there are who, like the heathen of old, seek to blame and condemn the
Church for such eminent charity. They would substitute in its stead a system of
relief organized by the State. But no human expedients will ever make up for
the devotedness and self sacrifice of Christian charity. Charity, as a virtue,
pertains to the Church; for virtue it is not, unless it be drawn from the Most
Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ; and whosoever turns his back on the Church cannot
be near to Christ.
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