What does Caritas Mean?

Caritas is a Latin word meaning 'love.'

In Sacred Scripture, it simply means 'love.' 1 John 4:8 is an example: Deus caritas est, 'God is love.'

In some versions of Scripture, the word is translated into English as 'charity' or sometimes simply as 'God's love.'

St. Thomas Aquinas understood it to mean 'the friendship of man for God,' the most excellent of virtues, in accord with 1 Cor 13:13 ('but the greatest of these is love').  

This is why a number of Christian organizations have Caritas within their name, such as CARITAS for Children, a global Catholic Apostolate specializing in Child Sponsorship.

In the CARITAS for Children logo, the shape embracing the purple heart is not only intended to evoke a stylized letter 'C,' but also the image of a chalice, which holds the Blood of Christ.

The Blood sacrificed for all through Love... 

With regard to the purple heart, purple has long symbolized royalty and other high privilege designating Christ Jesus, the fulfillment of God's eternal love, the Davidic King, Messiah and Savior of the World. 

As Christians, remembering that God is Love, we strive to live out the words of St. Paul: 'if I should have all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not 'caritas', I am nothing' (1 Cor 13:2).

Our universal calling is to love. May we aspire to love with caritas, the love with which God loves us.