"Actions of Mercy" (the focus being the corporal works of mercy)

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1 1 "Actions of Mercy" (the focus being the corporal works of mercy) My most vivid encounter with the Works of Mercy as a young adult was when I saw my first leper. It was in the city of Kathmandu and though we were in the more tourist part of the city, evidence of poverty was all around us: street kids clinging to your legs asking for money, old men with amputated limbs begging for alms and then appears a leper. I did not see him coming but before I knew it there he was, right in front of me, holding out hands missing fingers for some form of charity. And how did I respond? I politely smiled at him, stepped aside and was on my way, making sure I did not loss the rest of my group as we walked through the streets of Kathmandu. This memory sticks with me because it was when I failed to act mercifully. I did not feed the hungry, heal the sick or comfort the afflicted. I had money I could have given him, I could have ignored the advice of my guide to not give money to beggars and I could have done more than smile at this man, but I did not. Perhaps others would not have hesitated for a moment to help this leper, while others would have reacted as I did, but what is evident this that without the grace of God and love for his unfathomable mercy, the human person, left to rely on his own will and power, will not be merciful as out Heavenly Father is merciful. This should be our starting point in speaking of the works of mercy: We cannot rely on ourselves to be merciful. We are sinners, we are selfish and we so often fail to love as we should. But with the grace of God and the willingness to grow in the virtue of being merciful, then yes we can perform the works of mercy, not because they make us feel good, but because they compel us to love both God and neighbour. From St. Thomas Aquinas: Mercy is said to be a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune. Mercy is the spontaneous product of charity, yet it is to be reckoned a special virtue adequately distinguishable from this latter. Mercy is to be considered to be a quality of justice mainly because it controls relations between distinct persons. Its motive is the misery which one discerns in another, particularly in so far as this condition is deemed to be, in some sense at least, involuntary. (from Catholic Encyclopedia). The Corporeal Works of Mercy To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To harbour the harbourless; To visit the sick; To ransom the captive; To bury the dead. The Spiritual Works of Mercy To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To admonish sinners;

2 2 To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive offences willingly; To comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead. Scriptural Basis Corporeal Works: Matthew 25:30- is a divine command to practice these works of mercy, to fail to do can result in damnation! This part of the Gospel of St. Matthew known as The Judgment of the Nations, all will fall under the judgment of Christ for how they treated those in need of mercy, for to have loved and served them was to have loved and served Christ, to have rejected and neglected them was to have rejected and neglected Christ. THE LORD identifies himself with the poor. St. James: TO do works of mercy is to assure that our faith is not dead!!!! Spiritual Works: There are the plain references of Christ to such works as fraternal correction (Matthew 18:15) as well as the forgiveness of injuries (Matthew 6:14). Guidelines and Points of consideration for the Works of Mercy (From Catholic Encyclopaedia): It has to be remembered The Works of Mercy are always binding but not always operative, for lack of matter or occasion or fitting circumstances. There are easily recognizable limitations which the precept undergoes in practice so far as the performance of the corporal works of mercy are concerned. Likewise the law imposing spiritual works of mercy is subject in individual instances to important reservations. For example, it may easily happen that an altogether special measure of tact and prudence, or, at any rate, some definite superiority is required for the discharge of the oftentimes difficult task of fraternal correction. Similarly to instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, and console the sorrowing is not always within the competency of every one. To bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences willingly, and to pray for the living and the dead are things from which on due occasion no one may dispense himself on the pleas that he has not some special array of gifts required for their observance. They are evidently within the reach of all. It must not be forgotten that the works of mercy demand more than a humanitarian basis if they are to serve as instruments in bringing about our eternal salvation. The proper motive is indispensable and this must be one drawn from the supernatural order.

3 3 I will not be able to cover all 14 Works of Mercy so I would like to focus on 3 of the corporeal works and 3 of the spiritual works. Corporeal Works of Mercy- as name implies, refer to the physical needs of humanity. The challenge is to view them both in universal and local applications What I mean is to feed the hungry may mean how can I contribute to some food program in Syria to feed persecuted Christians (more general/universal outlook), but also consider how I can aid my local food back, SVDP or the neighbour across the street who is struggling to feed his family. The danger is we think either only to the major world crisis and neglect what is happening at home, or be concerned only with my local parish community and neighbour and do little to help those I do not know and will likely never be thanked for my deeds of mercy. Corporeal Works of Mercy Clothe the naked: Globally: providing the proper clothing in crisis situations Locally:It is unlikely we will find many nude folk walking the streets of Calgary minus during the Stampede but how often do we consider what is the quality of the clothing that we donate to those in need. Do we not have a tendency to give away rather ugly, poor quality and overly worn out clothing to the poor, sometimes as our own justification to go out and buy ourselves new clothing for ourselves and with a sense that the poor can really just make due with poor quality clothing and apparel. Would there not be even greater mercy infused into helping to cloth the needy if we instead sought to give them some of our better clothing? Or even going out to buy something of good quality that will last? To give them something that is fashionable and dignified so when they put it on they feel good about themselves, maybe even think they look beautiful as a lady and handsome as a man. We are not only giving them clothing to wear but raising up their dignity and self worth, helping them think well of themselves and hopefully they will not be judged or looked down upon because what they wear is the worst of the worst. To help people dress well, with class, with respect for themselves. Have we not become an overly casual culture that rarely dress up for important occasions, or live in extremes of ultraformal for some events and just plain sloppy for others? Is there not room for showing mercy in helping to encourage others to present themselves well for others to see, to make the extra effort to be well dressed, well-groomed and well mannered? Eg of barber in St. Peter s Square who gives free haircuts to the homeless, giving them dignity, self-worth and better love of self. OR taking the poor to the museum, some cultural event, a MOVIE, to clothe them in beauty and culture and let them know they too are welcome to share in what others so easily take for granted to be Visit the sick: Globally: To do our research well to be sure the aid we provide for health services and care for the sick overseas is in accordance with what we believe as Catholics. Sadly, many humanitarian aid organizations while doing good in helping to heal the sick also promote drugs that promote population control and gender ideology, both issues Pope Francis has spoken very forcefully

4 4 against as undermining the care of the sick, which the bishops of African and other developing countries call Ideological colonization, attempting to impose purely secular attitudes of the western world on the more deeply religious foundations of the global south. Locally: IN a sense can also be paired with ransoming the captives or visiting the imprisoned for many of our elderly feel like prisoners in their nursing homes and long term care facilities. No secret the elderly have a special place in the heart of Pope Francis who frequently speaks of the loneliness they experience either in their homes, in long term care facilities, in their church communities and out in public. They are ignored by the young as they remind them too often of our frail mortality, that they too will become old and fragile one day and so they run from what drives fear into their hearts, or families cannot spend the time they need (for both legitimate and more selfish reasons). Do what extended do we see visiting the elderly, the hospitalized, the shut in, the widow and those who suffer a priority in our Christian lives? Can we dedicate an hour a week to visit even one or two people who are sick? And not just the elderly, shut in, hospitalized, what about those who suffer other forms of sickness? Those who struggle with mental illness, depression and anxiety (prudence is needed here as need to know our limits and boundaries as to what is helpful and what will be detrimental to them and others). Of dire importance now to encourage the sick when despair begins to set in and the temptation to end their lives becomes more apparent. We are on the brink of a brave new world in Canada as Euthanasia is legalized, and the devil will tempt us to see it as a good, to end pain, to let them be at peace, all the while deceiving us to begin playing God and deciding when someone shall die, forgetting our God is Lord of life and death and not us! Eg Story of priests in Holland, what has become, what we cannot allow to happen Bury the dead: Globally: have we ever considered how we might aid in the funeral rites of those aboard??? Rare to think now a days about burying the dead. Burial and funerals have become the expertise of funeral homes which is not a bad thing but often we are much removed from going through the rituals of caring for our beloved dead. We need to be present for the funerals and burials of friends and family, but as we are able, those unknown to us, the stranger, the suicide victim in our parishes with few family or friends, the long lost friend who died and has only a handful of people at the their prayers. We can be great ambassadors of mercy in these moments. EG Share story of burial of two young girls, outpouring of generosity. Also helping people to make funeral arrangements! Too often devout Catholic are denied a funeral Mass and proper burial because they do not leave instructions with family about what they want done. A work of mercy can be to help a friend or family member who is near death to plan their funeral to assure they are given the full burial rites of the Church. Unburden your family from having to guess what arrangements they think you want by planning them out in advance.

5 5 Spiritual Works of Mercy Admonish Sinners: Is a fear among Christians to not be seen as judgmental. We have begin to believe that to be Christian is to never anything negative to another, that we must accept people as they are, that it is not our place to challenge them if we can see sin present in their lives, in a sense to be spiritually paralyzed in never uttering those life changing words that Christ offered to a women caught in adultery long ago I do not condemn you, go and sin no more. Our Holy Father recently published a book of an interview he did with a prominent Italian journalist who covers Church affairs. The Pope made reference to this passage of scripture as being a key to understanding the mercy of God. He affirmed it is never the right of anyone to condemn another, that is to consider them unworthy of forgiveness, unable to be saved and most certainly destined for hellfire. That judgment belongs to God and God alone, he is judge of the living and the dead, who will separate the sheep and goats, and so we leave judgement to God least we be judged for taking the place of our Lord. God does not desire anyone to be condemned to hell, be it for eternity in that realm where the fire is never quenched or the living hells that people experience now as they delve deeper and deeper into sin. He wants to save and be merciful, to suffer with the sinner but never to say I forgive you, you are free to continue to live in your sin, because there is no mercy in this attitude, it is false mercy, it gives the impression of being merciful while allowing someone to commit spiritual death time and time again. To think Pope Francis is one who says forgive someone but do not compel them to turn away from sin is to gravely misunderstand the Holy Father and betray the mission of Christ who said go and sin no more. Rather, he calls us to be merciful and willing to accompany someone as they untangle the bonds of sin that enter into our lives. We can do so in many practical ways: by prudently and respectful inviting someone to turn away from their sins, a sinful relationship or behaviour that is causing both the person and others to suffer. It is the willingness to be thought poorly of for doing so and being courageous in calling people to holiness which so often means living behind sins they have become accustomed to and may very much have little to no desire to give up. It is to encourage someone that to make confession a regular part of their lives as a very good and holy thing. The confessional is the great seat of mercy, it is where we speak to Christ in the person of the priest, once again saying Lord have mercy on me, forgive me, strengthen me, transform me and deliver me from my sin. It is telling someone you will never give up on them, never hate them and always love them, but in the same breathe calling them to let go of their sin and start again, and again and again. That is the love and mercy of Jesus Christ radiating from within our lives.

6 6 Forgive offenses willingly Forgive and you will be forgiven. Among the most challenging commands of Our Lord because if there is one demoniac attack that the Devil will not hesitate to launch against us, it is to either harden our hearts to forgive, to deny forgiveness to another or to convince us that we cannot forgive or be forgiven. It is the despair of un-forgiveness that he desires to inflict upon all of us, because when we are robbed of forgiveness, we can still carry on with life and even do much good but with an ever lingering doubt as to whether or not salvation awaits me at life s end. We must be very attentive to allowing this spiritual work of mercy to resound in our Christian lives: WE MUST ask God for the grace, every single day, to forgive those who trespasses against, to ask God to forgive us when we sin against others and to forgive ourselves through his grace. Why we must learn to approach the confessional far more often that we may already be doing. (IN fact, this Jubilee of Mercy could be considered somewhat of a failure if it does not lead to a renewal of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the life of the Church)!! And consider how often do we confess the sin of un-forgiveness- to others, towards God, towards enemies, towards ourselves. This is the place of being set unbound by the sin of un-forgiveness and where we can then go out to forgive others. Cardinal Newman to his brother: You have to will it! We must not do so grudgingly or with resentment, but we must learn to love forgiveness. And to remember that God will give us special, extraordinary graces to forgive in moments when we think it impossible. Those who have forgiven the unthinkable and un-forgiveable (the murder of a child, etc) have been able to do so because God provided the grace and they willing accepted the spiritual freedom that came with forgiveness. A practical way to do this every day: Hopefully we all have the practice of examining our conscience at some point in the day: Make sure we forgive at least one person, one situation, one fault in ourselves or moment we were angry with God. The more this becomes a daily part of who we are, a daily spiritual work of mercy that we participate in, the more we become men and women of forgiveness and find ourselves more able ready and willing to forgive. This could very well be the most important spiritual work of mercy we practice in this life and perhaps the one we find most difficult! Pray for the living and the dead We know that are to pray for others. This is what makes our belief in that article of the Nicene Creed, I believe in the Communion of Saints, to be real. That we are a people called to pray for one another, and that our prayer does no simple reside among that alive here on earth, in days gone passed called the Church Militant, but that our prayer is also united to the Church Triumphant, the whole company of saints in heaven who never cease to pray and intercede for us, alongside the angels of God, but also the prayer the exists for the Church Suffering, that is for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. There is so much that could be said about pray for the living as a spiritual work of mercy, may I say simply that we look for ways to assure we are praying for a whole spectrum of humanity.

7 7 Often we pray for our families, our friends, those we know are sick and suffering, in short, the people who know and care about. But how often do we have the same intensity of prayer for the stranger, the outcast, those who are and were once enemies, those who have hurt us, those who are so often forgotten. It may be quite difficult to pray for these individuals but what mercy we show them when we do. I would like to focus more thought on prayer for the dead. Pope Francis often speaks of going out to those on the existential peripheries. We know he means to seek out the poor, the lonely, the rejected, the outcast, in short those who live on the margins of society and are forgotten. Does this existential periphery also extend to the Holy Souls in Purgatory? We believe these men and women who died in the friendship of Christ and in a state of sanctifying grace will not go to hell but are not yet ready for heaven. The consequences of their sins remain with them. They are like a gold chalice that has been dulled and has spots of rust on it. Only he or she who is totally scrubbed clean of all remnant of sin can stand face to face with God in heaven, and so that chalice needs some polishing, removal of rust and restoration to shine like a star in the heavens. The souls in purgatory are no longer able to perform good works and acquire indulgence from God to remove these effects of sin. But we can do this for them! In God s unfathomable mercy, he has allowed us to assist these holy souls, to make them ready for heaven, to show that love extends beyond the confines of our sensible universe, of our own little planet and resonates throughout the entirety of God s creation, reaching those in most need of our prayer and sacrifice to bring them to the joy of the Father s house. And if we struggle to understand how our prayers assist those in Purgatory and why we pray for them, allow me to offer some words of wisdom from the character Bram in the movie Interstellar: Love is the one thing working for fully perceiving that transcends the dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that even if can t understand it yet. It concerns me at a funeral when I hear someone speak of their loved one already in heaven. It may be so, I am not the one to decide is someone is in heaven or not or when this will occur, that is the judgment of God alone. Our Church teaches us we should not presume anything but rather pray for those who have died, giving them an outpouring of mercy through the funeral rites of the Church and continued prayer for them in the days and months following their death. How can we go wrong in praying for them? Pray will make us of those prayers if our loved one is in heaven, offering them to another soul in purgatory instead. May we all have a deep love for the souls in purgatory, may we never tire in offering them the spiritual work of mercy of praying for those who can no longer pray for themselves, trusting that once they are in heaven, they will in turn pray for us so that we too will one day experience the fullness of God s mercy which is eternal life in heaven. Be merciful as your heavenly father is merciful, the ability to do is within all of our grasp because God will provide the grace to do so, and it is not optional for us as Christians, we must abide and live out mercy in order to know eternal salvation with Our Lord.