CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY A LENTEN REFLECTION

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Mark 12:31

In the Good Samaritan parable, Luke 10:25-37, Jesus teaches his disciples that to love our neighbor is to show mercy to everyone we meet. No division, no enmities, no adversaries.  Corporal works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor.

Everyone is obliged to perform the works of mercy, according to his own ability and the need of his neighbor. It is important to remember that ordinary deeds done every day to relieve the corporal or spiritual needs of others are true works of mercy, if done in the name of Christ.

Corporal works of mercy are found in the teachings of Jesus and give us a model for how we see and treat others as if they were Jesus in disguise. What better time to practice these works of mercy than during this Lenten season.

WHATEVER YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY BRETHREN 

YOU DO TO ME!

MATTHEW 25:37-46

 CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY

The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms (money) to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity (brotherly love); it is also a work of justice pleasing to God.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH #2447

FEED THE HUNGRY

There are many people in this world who go without food.  Support Food Banks especially in this time of pandemic. Caretakers who provide for the sick or dying, may not have the energy to shop or cook. Providing meals to a friend during a difficult time, is an effective act of charity. During this lent let your fast remind you of those who go to bed every night hungry all year round.

Pray for those that do not have what they need.  Why are those of us who have more than we need when there are those who have less than they need?

GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY

How can you and I, as followers of Jesus Christ, practice this corporal work of mercy in our world today?  The obvious thing is, when we see someone who is thirsty, to give them a glass or bottle of water.  These days we do not meet many thirsty people by the roadside, as the early Christians did.

But as citizens and voters we can make a big difference in the availability of clean water. Supporting “clean water” policies to insure that there will be clean water for future generations is one way to give drink to the thirsty.

Nearly 1-billion people lack access to a supply of safe water. More than 3.4 million people a year die from water-related diseases. Every 21 seconds a child in the world dies of such diseases. Nearly one-fifth of all childhood deaths are caused by diarrhea, which kills more young children than AIDS, TB, and malaria combined. (Source: water.org.)

JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH REFUGEES IN EGYPT

 SHELTER THE HOMELESS

The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Mt 8:20).  Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, was born in a borrowed manger, had no fixed address in his public ministry, and was buried in another man’s grave.  It is quite an irony: He who made the universe became a homeless person. Jesus, Mary and Joseph were themselves refugees fleeing into Egypt to avoid the infanticide of Herod.

 There are people today, here in America, who seem to be against all immigration.  But the truth is:  almost all of us are the descendants of immigrants!  And we, as believers, need to treat the immigrants with respect and according to their human dignity, as we would want to be treated ourselves.

 ‘When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:33-34

There are many circumstances that could lead to someone becoming a person without a home.  Christ encourages us to go out and meet those without homes, affirming their worth and helping them seek a resolution to the challenges they face. Many homeless shelters need warm blankets and other goods.

THE WIDOW’S MITE

 GIVE ALMS TO THE POOR

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.  Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” Mark 12:41

Donate money to organizations that have the ability to provide support and services for those in need. . Remember in this time of pandemic that the lack of Masses and activities may result in parishes struggling financially; be sure to continue your support and if possible, increase offerings for those who cannot donate due to recent financial hardship or inability to work.

VISIT THE SICK

Some are sick, not from physical illness but from social isolation. One thinks especially of the elderly in our communities who, whether at home or in long-term care facilities, live in geographical isolation from their loved ones. The call to visit the sick can mean reaching out to the friendless in our local nursing homes: those who are ‘sick at heart’ from being lonely and forgotten and who are regularly deprived of the basic human need called ‘friendship.

Our mere presence, as someone willing to be a friend and a listening ear, can mean much more to them than we can imagine. In spite of their illness, these individuals still have much to offer to those who take the time to visit and comfort them. Along the way the infirm will be giving us the precious gift of growing in compassion.

Invest time in reaching out via phone call or by sending a letter or card to those who may feel particularly isolated during this time.  Offer to assist caregivers of chronically sick family members by grocery shopping or cooking for them so they do not have to risk exposure in this time of pandemic.

VISIT THE PRISONERS

Jesus was a prisoner; so were Peter and Paul and many of the saints, bishops, and teachers of the first few centuries of Christian life were.  So free Christians took it upon themselves to visit their friends, bringing food, solace, and encouragement.

People in prison are still people, made in the image and likeness of God.  No matter what someone has done, they deserve the opportunity to hear the Word of God and find the Truth of the message of Christ.

You may donate to charities that give Christmas presents to children whose parents are in prison. If you know a family member of one who is incarcerated, support them with a phone call or card.

Visiting prisoners may seem like one of the more difficult of the works of mercy simply because of the difficulty in gaining permission to enter the jail or prison and the need for training in how to minister to the imprisoned. Check out prison ministry in your local diocese. There are often ways to correspond with prisoners safely by mail.

Above all, pray for those in prison.  Prisoners abound in our society, and most of them are not behind bars. Many of our neighbors and family members are imprisoned by their addictions, others are isolated by their anxiety. Someone you know may need your presence more than you can imagine.

BURY THE DEAD

Funerals give us the opportunity to grieve and show others support during difficult times.  Through our prayers and actions during these times we show our respect for life, a gift from God, and comfort to those who mourn.

Grief is a rolling, painful journey with stops and starts and no discernable end. No two people grieve in the same way, and remembering that and resisting comparisons will help us support those we love. It is in the weeks and months after the funeral when our support can mean the most.  A phone call or email just to let the grieving person know we care can be a boost in a painful day.

We can include a grieving person in lunch, dinner or other plans.  At the end of the meal, I can make plans to meet my friend for coffee, giving him/her something to look forward to.  A note of condolence can touch the heart in the days and weeks after a death, and much later, it can be re-read and offer comfort again.

CONCLUSION

FRANCIS EMBRACES JESUS IN THE DISGUISE OF A LEPER

 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?   Can that faith save him?

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day   And one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,”But you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?  Faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

JAMES 2:14-17