TCR 746 - the love of service, or uses, holds society together

TCR 746
At a person's first creation . . .
he was endowed with wisdom and the love of wisdom,
not for his own sake, but so that he might share it with others.
So there is a warning attached to the wisdom of the wise,
that no one is to keep his wisdom to himself alone,
or live for himself alone,
but is to share it at the same time with others.
That is the origin of society, which could not otherwise exist.
To live for others is to perform services.
Services are what hold society together,
and there are as many ways of doing this
as there are ways of doing good,
and services are beyond counting.
There are spiritual services,
which have to do with love to God and love towards the neighbor.
There are moral and political services,
which have to do with the love of the community and country
in which a person lives, and with his colleagues and fellow-citizens.
There are natural services,
which have to do with the love of the world and its demands.
And there are bodily services,
which have to do with looking after oneself,
so as to be able to perform higher services.

All these services are imprinted on a person,
and they follow in their proper order, one after the other;
when they are present together,
then one is contained within another.

Moreover, every love has its own pleasure,
for this is what gives it life;
and the pleasure of the love of service is a heavenly pleasure
which enters into the pleasures that follow in turn,
and in accordance with the order in which one follows the other
it uplifts them and makes them everlasting.