We invite you to discover, through his writings, Blessed Giacomo Cusmano (1834–1888), a priest who founded the congregations of the Misionary Servants of the Poor and the Sisters Servants of the Poor, and who was known for his charity toward the needy and the sick.

Giacomo Cusmano wrote numerous letters, homilies, and spiritual notes in which we encounter a man whose spirituality was rooted in active charity, seeing in every poor person the face of Christ. For this reason, he not only helped the needy with his own resources but also organized the work of the “Boccone del Povero” [“the Morsel of the Poor”], which mobilized the community to provide food for the most destitute.

Text of Giacomo Cusmano:

Our charity must be without limit, just as the charity of the good Jesus was without limit, who, as the true Good Shepherd, shed all His blood and gave His very life for all souls.

Charity without limits embraces the whole person, from the cradle to the grave, and is not confined only to spiritual works but also includes corporal ones.

—Giacomo Cusmano, Boccone spirituale, July 10.

Commentary:

Blessed Giacomo Cusmano invites us here to contemplate the limitless charity of Christ as the absolute model for our own charity. When we think of Jesus’ gestures, we cannot reduce them to a collection of words or occasional actions: He gave the totality of Himself, to the shedding of His blood on the cross, to giving His entire life for all. That radical, overflowing, total love is the measure of love that Cusmano proposes for us.

It is not easy to hear these words, because they place us before a demand that seems overwhelming: to love as Christ loved, without limits, without conditions, without exclusions. But that is how the Gospel works: it does not propose mediocrity but fullness; it does not settle for selective charity but calls for universal charity.

Cusmano evokes the image of the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (Jn 10:11). Jesus keeps nothing back for Himself, clings neither to safety nor to privileges: He exposes Himself to death for His sheep. It is a love without measure, for it does not calculate what it gives but pours itself out completely.

When we contemplate this absolute charity, we understand that our entire way of loving is called to be transformed by it. It is not about loving until it is comfortable, nor up to the limit of what we can endure, but about letting love grow beyond our barriers, our excuses, our calculations.

The Blessed adds that limitless charity “embraces the whole person, from the cradle to the grave.” That is, charity must be present at all stages of life, from beginning to end, accompanying every situation, every circumstance, every age. Christian love is not restricted to a moment, a condition, a type of person: it reaches everyone, everywhere.

This reminds us that charity can have no borders: not only directed to children or to the elderly, not only to the materially poor or the spiritually poor, not only to those in our community or culture. The charity of Christ is universal, and so ours must be as well.

Moreover, this temporal breadth—“from the cradle to the grave”—invites us to recognize that charity adapts to the concrete needs of every moment of life. The child must be cared for and educated, the young person guided in decisions, the adult supported in struggles, the elderly respected and cherished. Limitless charity knows how to respond to each according to their needs, without imposing conditions or uniformities.

Cusmano underlines that charity is not limited to spiritual works but also includes corporal ones. Here we see the richness of the Christian tradition, which has always understood charity as an integral love that cares for both soul and body.

Throughout history, there have been temptations to reduce charity to the spiritual—“praying for the poor, advising sinners, correcting those who err”—or to the material—“giving bread, clothing, shelter.” But the Gospel demands both dimensions, because the human being is body and soul and must be loved in totality.

The Blessed reminds us that Jesus not only preached but also fed the multitudes; He not only consoled but also healed illnesses; He not only proclaimed the Kingdom but also wept with those who wept. The charity of Christ is integral, and so ours must be as well.

Why does Cusmano insist that charity must be without limits? Because he knows our tendency is to set limits. We limit charity to the time left over, to money we don’t need, to people we like, to causes we find interesting. We place boundaries around love with excuses: “I can’t help everyone,” “It’s not my responsibility,” “I already do enough.”

Yet the Gospel breaks these boundaries. It is not about doing everything or solving everything but about having a heart open that excludes no one. Limitless charity does not mean impossibly embracing all, but always being willing to take one step further, never closing the door, never ceasing to try to love.

The limitless charity of which Cusmano speaks is not abstract or vague. It is a charity translated into concrete gestures: visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, teaching the ignorant, listening to those who suffer, correcting those who err, praying for all. Each gesture of love, no matter how small, becomes participation in Christ’s limitless charity.

Cusmano himself lived this in his Boccone del Povero work: from offering a single mouthful of bread to organizing stable institutions to sustain thousands in need. Limitless charity does not begin with grand projects but with small gestures that, united and constant, become a river of mercy.

In our world, speaking of limitless charity seems nearly impossible. We are surrounded by borders: social, economic, cultural, political. The temptation is to remain in our bubble, to love only those close to us, to worry only about “our own.” But Cusmano reminds us that Christ’s charity knows no borders and that the Christian is called to overcome every exclusion.

Today, that limitless charity is visible in those who welcome migrants, who accompany the terminally ill, who defend the dignity of the unborn and the elderly, who work for justice inspired by faith. This is not about ideologies but about a love that embraces all life and every person.

Limitless charity not only helps the other but also transforms the one who loves. When we love without conditions, our hearts expand, our faith is strengthened, our hope grows. We discover that we do not give from our abundance but from our poverty; that we do not help “from above” but meet the other “at the same level.” That experience configures us with Christ, who became poor for us.

In short, Cusmano reminds us that the only limit to Christian love is not to set limits. The charity of Christ is the horizon, and we walk toward it, always conscious of our fragility. The Lord does not ask us for the impossible but for a heart opened a little more each day, until our love humbly resembles His own.

Suggestions for personal reflection and group discussion:

1. Do I set limits to my charity? Whom do I exclude from my love?
2. Do I understand charity as something integral, caring for both the body and the soul of the person?
3. Do I allow myself to be transformed by Christ’s limitless love, or do I continue calculating what I give?

Let us pray:

Lord, Your Love knows no boundaries,
it pours out without measure,
it gives itself to the shedding of blood,
it offers life in its fullness.

Teach me to love as You love,
without calculation or reserve,
without exclusion or condition.

Let my charity embrace every person,
from cradle to grave,
in body and in spirit,
in visible need and in hidden pain.

May my love be concrete,
woven of simple and faithful acts,
of bread shared,
of listening hearts,
of prayer that never ceases.

Day by day, let my heart be stretched wide,
until it reflects, even in part,
the immensity of Your limitless Love.

Amen.