Alsoe doet die broederlike minne die levet in die caritate Jhesu Christi De naastenliefde in de brieven van Hadewijch

In her letters the Brabantine mystic Hadewijch actively encourages her correspondents to love their neighbour with Christ’s love. These encouragements shows how important the concept of charity was in the work of this pious woman from the thirteenth century. For her charity was Christocentric: loving and serving the needy neighbour is the way of Jesus’ friends. This link with the humble and obedient Christ turns an unappealing work of service into a joyful union with God. The charitable service always includes both the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, indeed, both dimensions cannot be separated for Hadewijch. These two dimensions of neighbourly love show that concrete action and a deep spiritual life are most profoundly intertwined: Martha and Mary belong together. They furthermore show that the other is necessary to live a profoundly spiritual life: Hadewijch herself was surrounded by a schola caritatis: a group of friends with whom she could live the ideal of neighbourly love, even in the daily service to the poor and needy reminiscent of a hospital context. In short, active charity is for Hadewijch essentially rooted in the self-giving love (caritas) of Jesus Christ, lived together with and in service of many (needy) brothers and sisters.