The fifth Corporal Work of Mercy is “Visit the Imprisoned.” This work of mercy is important, and often neglected. When I was in college, I had the privilege of being involved in the Legion of Mary, a Catholic lay apostolate that began in Ireland, that involves a commitment of two hours of apostolic work done […]
Spiritual Works of Mercy: To Bear Wrongs Patiently
One of the Works of Mercy that can be the hardest to live, but is absolutely necessary for all of us is to “Bear Wrongs Patiently.” There are many times in our lives in which people mistreat us, or speak to us in ways that might hurt our feelings. And so often … we just […]
Corporal Works of Mercy: Shelter the Homeless
The fourth Corporal Work of Mercy is “Shelter the Homeless,” but in some older listings, it is “Harbor the Harbor-less.” What, essentially, does it mean? Down through history, there have always been a certain number of people who were homeless, or, for those who were sailing but didn’t have a home port, they were “harbor-less.” […]
Spiritual Works of Mercy: Admonish the Sinner
One of the most difficult Works of Mercy for any of us to perform is to “Admonish the Sinner.” It is very difficult to correct someone, especially when the thing they are doing is morally wrong! Oh, we can correct someone for holding their knife and fork incorrectly, or for chewing with their mouth open, […]
Corporal Works of Mercy: Clothe the Naked
The third Corporal Work of Mercy is “Clothe the Naked.” In times past, there may have been many people who only possessed the clothes on their backs, and those might have been so threadbare and worn out that the person might have been virtually naked. Although times have changed, and there are few people (in […]
Spiritual Works of Mercy: Counsel the Doubtful
The second Spiritual Work of Mercy is to Counsel the Doubtful. What does this mean? How can we live this work of mercy? Many people today are confused. They might be looking for meaning in their lives, for answers to the biggest questions (Why do I exist? Is there a purpose for my life? What […]
Corporal Works of Mercy: Give Drink to the Thirsty
The second Corporal Work of Mercy is To Give Drink to the Thirsty. What are we talking about here? I am sure that somebody, with tongue in cheek, will say that we should give free booze to alcoholics! But that it NOT what the Gospel tells us: Jesus said that the person who gives even […]
Spiritual Works of Mercy: Instruct the Ignorant
The first of the spiritual works of mercy is “Instruct the Ignorant.” We sometimes think that it is an insult to say that someone is ignorant, but in reality, it simply means that the person is without knowledge — of something that they would benefit from knowing. To give knowledge — to give someone the […]
Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the Hungry
The first of the Corporal Works of Mercy (“corporal” is derived from “corpus,” Latin for “body” = Bodily works of Mercy) is the Feed the Hungry. In a day and age in which millions of people go without basic food — as the result of famines, hurricanes, earthquakes, wars and deliberate starvation by corrupt and […]