How Well Do We Carry Out The Works Of Mercy?
As the Jubilee of Mercy draws to a close (officially with the liturgical Solemnity of Christ the King on Nov. 20), we might consider an examination of conscience to ponder how well we carry out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. It is one thing to know them—I would imagine that practically every Catholic school student has had to memorize the list—but another to put them into daily practice of living out an authentic Gospel witness. The list is presented here to assist in the examination process:
“The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid
of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising,
comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs
patiently. 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 to the poor is one of the chief
witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447).
During World Youth Day, held earlier this summer in Krakow, a special Way of the Cross included the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Along with scripture and prayer for each station of the cross, a reflection was provided for a particular work of mercy. They included the following: Station I (Jesus is Condemned to Death—Shelter the Homeless); Station II (Jesus Takes Up His Cross—Feed the Hungry); Station III (Jesus Falls the First Time—Admonish the Sinner); Station IV (Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother—Comfort the Afflicted); Station V (Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross—Visit the Sick); Station VI (Veronica Offers Her Veil to Jesus—Visit the Imprisoned); Station VII (Jesus Falls the Second Time—Forgive Offences Willingly); Station VIII (Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem—Instruct the Ignorant); Station IX (Jesus Falls the Third Time—Counsel the Doubtful); Station X (Jesus is Stripped of His Garments—Cloth the Naked); Station XI (Jesus is Nailed to the Cross—Bear Wrongs Patiently); Station XII (Jesus Dies on the Cross—Give Drink to the Thirsty); Station XIII (Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross—Pray for the Living and the Dead); and Station IV (Jesus is Laid in the Tomb). It is my understanding that the auxiliary bishop of Krakow designed this unique Way of the Cross in connection with the Works of Mercy.
In his September 1 message, marking the celebration of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, referencing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, Pope Francis commented as follows; “So let me propose a complement to the two traditional sets of seven: may the works of mercy also include care for our common home.” He added;
As a spiritual work of mercy, care for our common home calls for a
“grateful contemplation of God’s world” (Laudato Si, 214), which “allows us
to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us” (ibid.,
85). As a corporal work of mercy, care for our common home requires “simple
daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfish-
ness” and “makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world”
(ibid., 230-31). [Message of His Holiness Pope Francis, 1 Sept. 2016]
If anyone wonders about the tinkering of traditional teachings of the Church, it should be kept in mind that Pope Francis’ proposal is in keeping with Catholic tradition. Care for God’s Creation is one of the seven key principles of Catholic Social Teaching. In October 2002, Pope St. John Paul II took the initiative of proposing a fourth set of mysteries for praying the rosary; namely, the Luminous Mysteries (or Mysteries of Light).
Pope Francis has made it quite clear that caring for the earth, our common home, is a fundamental obligation for each and every human being. As he makes clear in his Encyclical Letter, “Laudato Si’”(“On Care for Our Common Home”), our relationship with creation is integral to one’s relationship with God, others and self. It is simply not just for the more affluent to take advantage of power and wealth to rob the poor and vulnerable of equal benefit to the resources of mother earth.
In his Message of September 1, Pope Francis invites us to allow our hearts to be moved with the deepest of gratitude and understanding for the gifts of creation. All that we have and all that we are comes from God. To that end, he beckons us to embrace the notion of stewardship. We are the stewards of creation. God has entrusted to humanity all the beauty of creation, counting on us to care for the earth’s wellbeing while drawing on the resources the world has to offer us. In order to maintain the proper attitude of being good stewards, the Holy Father encourages us as both individuals and societies to make an examination of conscience. We might consider the following: Have we truly appreciated the blessings of God as experienced in creation? Does our relationship with the earth reflect a spirit of gratitude, or one of greed and indifference? How have we embraced the notion of stewardship in relation to the earth and its resources? Do we consider the plight of the poor and vulnerable in our daily activities? Pope Francis even challenges us to acknowledge sins, both individually and collectively, committed against our common home. These, of course, would include sins of both commission and omission.
As the Holy Father makes clear, as with the traditional set of spiritual and corporal works of mercy, care for our common home is proper to an authentic Christian way of life. Any credible intent to live a life of discipleship in Jesus Christ must take into consideration the manner in which the Son of God related to all of creation. We would do well to consider simplifying our lives, increasing ways in giving back to creation (e.g. planting trees and flowers, respecting crucial habitats of various animals), thinking more of ourselves as stewards rather owners or lords over that part of the earth temporarily entrusted to our care, advocating for better care of the earth, and striving to be more attentive to the divine presence permeating all of creation. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth…Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (MT 5:6, 7).
