Page 62 - Nursing: The Philosophy and Science of Caring

C h a p T e r T h r e e

CARItAs PROCEssEs: Extension of Carative Factors

CARING ANd LOVE
One day, after we have mastered the winds and the waves, gravity
and the tides, we will harness for God the energies of love.
Teilhard de Chardin
Caritas comes from the Latin word meaning to cherish, to appre-
ciate, to give special, if not loving, attention to. It represents char-
ity and compassion, generosity of spirit. It connotes something very
fine, indeed, something precious that needs to be cultivated and
sustained.
Caritas is closely related to the word “Carative” from my original
(1979) text on Caring Science. However, now, using the terms Caritas
and Caritas Processes, I invoke intentionally the “L” word: Love, which
makes explicit the connection between caring and love, Love in its

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