“Farsi Prossimo”, the sixth volume of the Opera Omnia by Carlo Maria Martini, is available in bookshops

Carlo Maria Martini knew very well that he was risking when using the word ‘charity’: “Many people immediately think of some act of human compassion, or of giving some money from their wallet, or of gestures and attitudes that are not very effective in truly changing history.” But this is not the witness of Christians, men and women who have ceased thinking about themselves because they have experienced the power of God’s love.

In November “Farsi Prossimo”, the sixth volume of the Opera Omnia of Carlo Maria Martini, was available in bookshops. It is a collection of the speeches and documents on the theme of charity and proximity, one of the milestones of Martini’s episcopate. With a Preface by Card. Luis Antonio Tagle and an Introduction by Fr. Giacomo Costa, the volume was edited by Paolo Foglizzo.

In this 1997 interview, Martini explains what inspired him to embark on this journey of authoring Farsi Prossimo: “Charity is not something we do through our own strength … it is something that starts from God, it is the free love with which God loves us. Because we are loved, we feel loved, so we can love.”

Buy Frasi Prossimo and suggest the book to a friend.