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FEBRUARY 21, 2008
The works of mercy
Part one in a series
Love of neighbor is carried out in a wide variety of ways since our neighbor’s concrete needs are so diverse and unique. To assist us in putting love into practice, Church tradition, for many centuries, has enumerated the spiritual and corporal works of mercy and encouraged us to practice them. There are seven of each.
The corporal works of mercy are:
1. to feed the hungry;
2. to give drink to the thirsty;
3. to clothe the naked;
4. to visit those in prison;
5. to shelter the homeless;
6. to visit the sick; and
7. to bury the dead.
The spiritual works of mercy are:
1. to admonish the sinner;
2. to instruct the ignorant;
3. to counsel the doubtful;
4. to comfort the sorrowful;
5. to bear wrongs patiently;
6. to forgive all injuries; and
7. to pray for the living and the dead.
Works of mercy go beyond the strict requirements of justice. Justice, while needed in our interpersonal relations, requires something more to bring it to completion. As John Paul II writes in Dives in Misericordia (#12), “The experience of the past and of our own time demonstrates that justice alone is not enough, that it can even lead to the negation and destruction of itself, if that deeper power, which is love, is not allowed to shape human life in its various dimensions.”
Even though the works of mercy are both spiritual and corporal, these two are not separate and unrelated. In fact, notice how the Catechism of the Catholic Church blends both in its treatment of the works of mercy (#2447): “The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.” Nonetheless, time-proven wisdom has taught us the value of considering separately the corporal from the spiritual works of mercy. One focuses more on serving the bodily needs of our neighbor; the other focuses on the spiritual. Both serve the well being of the whole person, body, mind and soul.
The corporal works of mercy
The corporal works, one can readily see, are derived largely from the teaching of Jesus found in chapter 25:31-46 of the Gospel according to Matthew. Only the seventh work is not listed in the Matthew passage, namely to bury the dead. However, this one is repeatedly lifted up in the Old Testament Book of Tobit (Cf. 1:17-18, 2:3-8, 12:12-13) and has always been affirmed in the Tradition of the Church.
The Apostle James bluntly challenges us to put our faith into action (James 2:14-17), “My brothers and sisters, what good is it to profess faith without practicing it? Such faith has no power to save one, has it? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them, ‘Good-bye and good luck! Keep warm and well fed,’ but do not meet their bodily needs, what good is that? So it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless.”
At some periods in history, the corporal works of mercy have been seen as less important than the spiritual ones because they focus primarily on our material and physical needs, as opposed to those that are spiritual. It is obvious that St. Matthew and St. James would strongly argue against this exclusion of material needs. In fact, the bodily needs of others are perceived more readily than the spiritual. Any loving response to persons with these needs will inevitably lead to a concern for the whole person and to the practice of spiritual works of mercy as well.
The spiritual works of mercy
The spiritual works of mercy, like the corporal works, are also derived from the Sacred Scriptures, but are garnered from a number of passages. Each is deeply rooted in the inspired word of God and in the life and teaching of Jesus, as we shall see as we consider them individually over the course of the next few months.
The spiritual works of mercy in practice require both courage and humility, together with a keen awareness of our total reliance on the mercy of God. As Jesus tells us (Jn 15:4-5), “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.”
All the works of mercy, but especially the spiritual ones, have an inherent reciprocal quality to them. The one who acts in mercy does not stand over and above the recipient of those acts. There can be no attitude of condescension. Rather, a fraternal bond between them grows through the thoughtful interchange. Pope John Paul emphasized this bilateral quality in his encyclical on mercy (#14), “An act of merciful love is only really such when we are deeply convinced at the moment that we perform it that we are at the same time receiving mercy from the people who are accepting it from us.”
Mercy in the family
Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son gives us rich food for thought about the mercy of God and about our participation in it. It reminds us of the importance of gentleness and sensitivity when performing works of mercy. It shows a fruitful blending of both spiritual and corporal works. It also highlights the fact that our efforts usually begin at home and among our friends. In this regard, Pope John Paul II wrote (Ibid), “…merciful love is supremely indispensable between those who are closest to one another: between husbands and wives, between parents and children, between friends.”
Over the next few months, then, we shall look at each of the Spiritual Works of Mercy, beginning next time with the first, namely to admonish the sinner.
As we consider the works of mercy, I recommend that we accompany this initiative with the Divine Mercy Devotion, fostered by St. Faustina, especially by praying the chaplet each day, at 3 p.m. when possible. The chaplet integrates simple, well known prayers with new, brief ones that highlight the mystery of the Eucharist, the Passion of Christ and the Blessed Trinity.
Copyright 2008 The Catholic Sun.
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