1. Learning to Practice what we Preach
The Works of Mercy
Learning to
Practice what we Preach
Here is Pope Francis’ instruction to us:
It is my burning desire that, during this Jubilee, the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty. And let us enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy. Jesus introduces us to these works of mercy in his preaching so that we can know whether or not we are living as his disciples. Let us rediscover these corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. And let us not forget the spiritual works of mercy: to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead.
--Pope Francis: The Face of Mercy #15, 2015

2. Works of Mercy Traditionally: Not based on the Ten Commandments
Corporal
Spiritual
Not based on the Ten Commandments
Based on love
Flowing from the Gospels
Here’s what the CCC says:
"The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his [or her] spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, 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" (#2447).
It is important to note that these works of mercy do not flow from the Ten Commandments or any sort of law. The works of mercy flow from love; from receiving, being, and becoming the Body of Christ in each Eucharist; and from the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus. Those judged harshly in Matthew 25 are the ones who, even if they followed the law, failed to live with charity toward their neighbor.

3. The Spiritual Works of Mercy

4. Spiritual Works of Mercy
Spiritual means “of the soul”
These are less tangible matters
Worry, doubt, sinfulness, and ignorance
Forgiveness, patience, and prayer
We care for our own souls
And the souls of those near us
An early Christian saint earned his place in history by having this revealed to him in a dramatic way. St. Christopher is said to have carried a child to safety across a river. Upon arriving on the far bank, the child revealed himself to Christopher as Christ himself. In every hungry person we feed, in every homeless person to whom we lend a helping hand, in every immigrant we welcome, and in every person we teach, forgive, or care for, we find Christ revealing himself to us.
Some of the works of mercy we will discuss here seem difficult to do. They are outside our usual comfort zones. But anytime we practice mercy we know that we do not act without grace. Grace is a power; it gives us the ability to get moving to do what must be done! Christ is with us at all times. In fact, one could say that we act in place of Christ. He healed, reached out, accepted, and took in – all actions of mercy. He defended sinners; he did not accuse and condemn them. Now he works through us.

5. The List Teach the uneducated Assure the doubtful Caution sinners
Bear wrongs patiently
Forgive offences willingly
Comfort the sorrowful
Pray for the living and the dead.

6. Teach the uneducated Starting with ourselves Parents
Form our consciences
Become aware of the world
Know our own faith
Learn how to cook
Parents
The “first teachers” of their own kids
The Church has long been invested in this work of mercy. Building and running schools throughout the world has been a mission of the Church for centuries. And certainly this community-based work on our part is essential. Jesus was, after all, a great teacher himself.
But the first teacher of children is actually not the school, nor the religious education program, nor even the parish priest. The first teacher is mom and dad. When you who are parents take the time to sit with your kids and read, talk, or learn together, you are practicing this work of mercy.
Such parental teaching extends well beyond religious instruction into all of life: how to relate with others, how to handle money, how to be generous, kind, and loving toward the neighbors, how to have a healthy sexuality, how to be morally upright, and how to listen to one’s conscience in decision-making. These “lessons of life” are not taught like lessons on spelling or arithmetic are. These life lessons are taught by example and osmosis. So when parents live an authentic and convincing Christian life in all these dimensions – and teach their children to follow – they are also practicing this work of mercy.

7. Example The best teacher
People learn by watching you
So what you do matters!
It’s the chief way you “instruct” others
What are some things you can do which “teach” others?
Live convincingly – others will see your example
Don’t waste things
Defend the vulnerable
Live simply
Keep sustainability in your way of living
Speak up for justice and right when you have the chance
Especially the poor
Children
Let others see that faith helps direct your life

8. Education Key to moving out of poverty And it turns out
People want to learn
They know that being educated will help them find jobs
This is what leads to human dignity
Practicing this work of mercy is essential for the world
Support education for the poor
Everyone in the first world can go to school
72 million children ages 4-12 were not in school this year around the world
57% were girls
Many children drop out to work in order to support their family
Schools in poor nations have few or no books

9. Assure the doubtful We’re all doubtful Start by admitting that
We walk by faith, not by sight
Our own assurance is the strongest comfort
Of what do you feel sure?
The summons to love is delivered humbly. It is embedded in a hundred situations from daily life that present themselves to us day in and day out: a sick child, financial hard times, bad weather for the crops, news of war and disaster from around the world, knowledge of grinding poverty in other nations or even close to home, a friend who calls “just to talk” but whose life is falling apart, neighbors down the street, a sense of well-being and happiness, the beauty of the gardens, the need of your community for leaders, the slow poisoning of our land and water, habits we may have formed around addictive behavior, awakening to a vocation to religious life – all of these (and many other situations in life) have embedded within them the call to die to ourselves in order to respond with self-giving love.
When we speak of assuring or counseling the doubtful, we mean helping people be assured that what they are seeing in their daily lives does indeed have embedded within it this call to holiness. Yes, within the situation of a sick child, for example, we are called to be self-giving and loving. We often cannot hear this call until we talk it over with a spouse, friend, or pastor. We become blind to how God calls us unless we allow ourselves to be so assured and counseled.

10. Caution sinners Need I say? Caution without judgment
Start with yourself
Always be conscious of your own spiritual frailty
Caution without judgment
Instead, speak of your own journey
Humbly let others see how you have grown to see self-giving love as the way of the Cross
(From Pope Francis’ daily homily on June 23, 2014)
People who judge others are wrong, mistaken, and defeated
because they assume God’s place;
but God is the one and only judge.
God often "takes his time" when rendering judgment
and does not operate according to human ways or conceptions.
Jesus spoke of picking a splinter in a neighbor's eye
while failing to tend to the plank in our own.
“He who does this is so obsessed with the person he wants to judge…
that the splinter will not let him sleep!
He who judges becomes defeated, ends badly,
because the same measure will be used to judge him.
Jesus, before the Father, never accuses,
it is the opposite, he defends!”

11. Caution sinners Self-giving love is the key Call people to it
This is the “Paschal Mystery”
When we follow the way of love we move away from sin
This requires self-emptying
Which is not easy for most people
But it’s the only pathway to happiness
Invite participants to tell stories about how they lived the Paschal Mystery
How did they “die to themselves”?
How did they follow the way of love?
Forgiveness
Generosity
Hospitality
Putting others first
Being the “big one” in situations
Not always having to assert that one is right about things
Reaching out with love, even to “enemies”
Who are your enemies? you might ask

12. Bear wrongs patiently What wrongs are we talking about here?
That lady in the check out lane
That driver who cut us off
Our kids when they annoy us
And bigger things
People who slander us
Hate us
Gossip about us
When we imitate Jesus in this work of mercy and forgive others, offering them that second or third chance, then we are freed like Peter was freed. As we practice this work of mercy, do not scold or withhold forgiveness from others.
Parents, you play a special role in this with your children, of course. You teach them to forgive by forgiving them. And spouses, your happiness and love flows from how quickly and repeatedly you forgive one another. Spouses live in very close quarters with each other, compromising their own tastes and giving up their own space; this can be difficult and cause conflict. When it does, leap to forgiveness.
Beyond the family or household, we practice this work of mercy in our public lives when we are moved to be patient with that lady in the checkout lane who just took her time like no one else was shopping that day. (You’ve been the one behind her in line, haven’t you?) Mercy moves us to try to understand her situation in life, her circumstances. She may live alone and this encounter with the clerk may be her only personal encounter for the day. If it takes but a minute or two longer than usual, what’s the real harm in that? This work of mercy opens our hearts at such moments to be compassionate toward the ones who offend us.

13. Forgive offences willingly
Have you ever made a mistake?
Hurt someone?
Lied or misrepresented something?
Been selfish instead of generous?
Who has forgiven you?
Gandhi once said: “an eye for an eye make this world blind”.
We all have made mistakes in the past. And we all have been hurt by someone in the past. Our faith challenges us to forgive and to seek forgiveness.
Forgiveness is one of the most powerful liberating human experiences. Ironically, forgiveness is at the same time one of the most difficult acts to offer.
As Christians we are called to forgive seventy times seven meaning, “always”. Matthew 18: 21-22

14. Comfort the sorrowful When people are sad
We tend to avoid being near them
Because we don’t know what to say
Worry not
The Spirit will give you the words
Mercy moves us to pay attention to those around us: who is suffering now? Who needs our word of comfort or consolation? Who is anxious and fearful? Moms and dads, you have a special role to play with your children in this regard, but children, you also tend to your parents with the same level of life-giving consolation. Beyond those who live in your household, you can also pay attention to neighbors and friends. Don’t be afraid to go to them; the words you need to comfort them will be given to you at the right moment by the Holy Spirit.
The secret to this work of mercy is to give of our time. Time can be the most valuable gift we have, and often it is a gift we may give reluctantly. We may feel we have so many things to do: errands, TV programs, , Facebook, laundry, or shopping. Giving our time to someone who needs our presence can feel like a huge demand, and yet giving our time in this way is how we practice this work of mercy.

15. Compassion The word means Small acts done with love
“To suffer with…”
Small acts done with love
A card or note
A flower on the table
A word of support
You don’t have to fix things
Just stand together
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:1-5).

16. Pray for the living & the dead
This is about being in the “Communion of Saints”
Who is in your “personal communion of saints?”
How do you pray for them?
Prayer is all about deepening relationships. For most people, prayer of this sort is more meditative than demanding.
It doesn’t take a lot of words. It requires a quiet heart and the ability to recall those around us, both living and dead, and to hold them simply before the Lord.
We simply bring to mind the people whom we encounter:
friends, family, neighbors, co-workers,
even strangers we encounter while traveling, shopping, or walking.
We likewise bring to mind those who have died.
We reflect on them all in the presence of God and simply wait for God’s word to come to us. It does come.
In God’s word we find the relationship that exists between us and others, both the living and the dead. And in this process we are moved to action! The insights and intuitions that come to us in this prayer are powerful.

17. The Corporal Works of Mercy

18. Corporal Works of Mercy
Corporal means “bodily”
Material works of mercy
Actual actions you take for the physical well being of others
How can you help others?
Think: daily life needs
The Gospel comes to life when we put our hands, feet, and hearts to work. That’s why we call these the works of mercy. They aren’t merely a theology or an answer to a catechism question. This is our test. This is how we’ll be judged. "…just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,” Jesus tell us in Matthew 25, “you did it to me.”

19. Jesus is incarnate He is “in the flesh” What does this mean?
When we receive Eucharist
We commit ourselves to care for Christ
Hungry, thirsty, held captive, or homeless
Jesus is more than “just a theology”
Does this sound familiar?
From Mother Teresa:
Mother Teresa was once asked where she got the strength to care for the dying, starving, sick, and homeless people whom she encountered every day. “I begin each day by going to Mass and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion,” she said, “hidden under the form of bread. Then I go out into the streets and find the same Jesus hidden in the dying destitute people, in the lepers, in the abandoned babies, in the AIDS people, and in the homeless and the hungry. It is the same Jesus.”

20. Jesus continues a long history
Old Testament people were called to action, not just words!
Fasting had to lead to justice.
We were called to share our bread with the hungry.
This is what God wants.
Isaiah 58:6-10
Is not this the fast that I choose:     to loose the bonds of injustice,     to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free,     and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,     and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them,     and not to hide yourself from your own kin? 8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,     and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator[a] shall go before you,     the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;     you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you,     the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 10 if you offer your food to the hungry     and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness     and your gloom be like the noonday.
If you want to cite
the actual text of
Isaiah, here it is.
This is the reading
for Ash Wednesday.

21. The Incarnation The Incarnation A key dimension of Christian theology
God is in the flesh
We don’t like this
It makes us uncomfortable
We prefer to keep God at a safe distance
Up in heaven
Or over in the next state…

22. The body of Christ But this is the core of our belief
The Incarnation did not end at the Resurrection
It was not a 33 year divine experiment
God is still among us in the flesh
Christ still lives within and among us
There is always a temptation for us Christians
To make religion more pure
To try to dwell among the angels
To spend our time tinkering with rubrics
…the formula of words we pray
… who gets to play what role in our rituals
This takes us away from the nitty-gritty of real faith
Real faith is in the flesh or it’s not of Christ

23. Who is the body of Christ?
This is the core of all spirituality
If it is true (and it is)
that we are the Body of Christ
Then, at Eucharist:
We accept
& internalize
The Body of Christ:
Ask participants to share times when they experience solidarity with the Body of Christ through the poor, vulnerable, rejected, or others who were unloved.
Ask them to think about Jesus’ ministry. He did not hand with the rich but taught the people who were average, poor & working class people.
The Body of Christ
…is hungry today
…can’t get a good education
…has a high infant mortality rate
…has AIDS and cancer
…lives in poor housing and drinks bad water
…is treated with injustice

24. It’s our Test Where the rubber hits the road
Where faith becomes earthy and real
Matthew 25: 35-40
I was hungry and you gave me to eat
I needed clothes and you helped me
Whatever you did for my brothers or sisters, you did for me
Matthew 25:35-40The Message (MSG)
34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:
I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’
37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’
The Message (MSG)

25. The List Feed the hungry Give water to the thirsty
Assist those who need clothing
Shelter the homeless
Visit & comfort the sick
Visit those in prison
Bury the dead

26. We forget We forget how rich we really are.
We think of ourselves as being middle class
Having modest homes
A couple of cars
A closet full of clothes and shoes
We are still among the world’s rich

27. How to help the poor Understand the issues.
Treat the poor and homeless with respect and understanding.
Stay politically aware.
Become an advocate.
Donate your old belongings.
Hold a collection drive.
Understand the issues. Educate yourself and your children on poverty and homelessness on a local, national, and global scale. Stay informed of related news stories.
Treat the poor and homeless with respect and understanding. Sometimes this is the one and only thing that makes a real difference.
Stay politically aware. Find out how your local, state, and federal representatives stand on the issues surrounding poverty and homelessness. Write to them and let them know how you feel.
Become an advocate. Speak up and speak out! Inform others of the issues and clear up common myths.
Donate your old belongings. We can utilize everything from your old clothes to appliances and furniture.
Hold a collection drive. Collection drives for food, clothing, and toiletries are a great project any time of the year that both reminds people of the issues as well as collecting the goods.

28. How to help the poor
Raise funds or make a personal financial contribution.
Become a regular volunteer.
Get your group involved.
Support living wage laws.
Raise funds or make a personal financial contribution. Agencies serving the poor are always in need of cash donations to cover their costs.
Become a regular volunteer. Many groups utilize volunteers in areas ranging from hands-on work in kitchens and warehouses to more behind-the-scenes projects in administrative offices. Volunteers can also be placed who have professional skills or special abilities in positions that fully utilize their expertise.
Get your group involved. Many agencies regularly use school, religious, civic, business, and professional groups to serve and often rely on their support for special events throughout the year.
Support living wage laws. Living Wage laws and other new programs designed to eliminate poverty need your support to become public policy.

29. Feed the hungry
Why are people hungry when there is enough food in the world for all?
Think first: in your nation?
Then: in poor nations?
What is our call in regard to this?
Here lead a discussion and conversation about the questions on the screen. Note people’s comments on a white board or flip chart. Take the questions separately, beginning with the first two. Why ARE people hungry?
Then take the second, What can we do?
Ask folks to share about how much food we waste, especially when eating in restaurants.
Ask them to think about how much food they have in their frig at home, or in their cupboard – for some this is more food than they even know they have.

30. Food Nearly everyone we know has enough to eat every day
We spend about $79 million on weight loss programs per day in the United States
80% of people worldwide live on less than $10 per day
24,000 children die each day of starvation or illness that could be prevented
Most die in rural villages, unseen
Many have siblings who have also died
27% of children are underweight or stunted
What is our responsibility in light of these facts?
Are we supposed to feel guilty about eating a good meal?
In the Gospel of Luke, there is a disturbing and haunting story which illustrates this. It’s found in Luke 16. There was, it seems, this rich guy who lived extremely comfortably, dressed in beautiful clothing and jewelry, and living the high life. Like many of us may do occasionally, he ate very well, even lavishly, but he did it every day. Outside his house, in fact, at his very gate, lay a poor fellow named Lazarus. Lazarus was down on his luck, unable to work, covered with sores, and starving. He longed to satisfy his hunger with what the rich man threw out every day. Sound familiar?
In this story, Lazarus died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. Coincidentally, the rich guy also died and was buried but he went to a place of torment and suffering. As the story goes, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. From his place of torment, he called out, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham said, “So sorry, my good man. Remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and comfort. Meanwhile, Lazarus suffered and begged but you never lifted a finger to help him. Now he is in comfort and you have created your own hell.”
Data: UN Children’s Fund

31. Give Water to the Thirsty
Nearly every home in the US has a flush toilet and clean drinking water
You turn on the tap and clean water comes out
2.6 billion people live like this
About half of the poor have water borne illnesses
As with the slide on hunger in the world, what is our responsibility to those who have no water?
Why don’t we reduce our own consumption in order to give to others?
Some people say
They should work and earn it
They would waste it
I had to earn my own way
Helping them is bad for the economy
What do you say?
Data: UN Children’s Fund

32. Assist those who need clothing
Almost no one is naked today
But many don’t have the clothing needed
To interview for a job
To succeed professionally
And many don’t have warm clothes for winter
As well as blankets
“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (Luke 3:11).
The poor often have only minimal clothing; they often have one pair of shoes and a thin closet of spare clothing. So this work of mercy calls us to a special task: mercy moves us to clean out our closets; count our shoes and give half to the poor. We should not allow our unused clothing pile up but rather this work of mercy moves us to donate it so that others who need coats, blankets, shoes, suits, and other items can easily find them. And our giving must be pure, without having idea in the back of our minds that we can now replace these items with new ones. Mercy moves us to make this a true sacrifice and to live more simply ourselves.

33. Shelter the homeless Causes: Poverty
Eroding Work Opportunities and Housing
Decline in Public Assistance
Lack of Affordable Health Care
Domestic Violence
Mental Illness
Addiction Disorders
In each of these situations of the homeless, it’s very difficult for any one person to find a way to practice this work of mercy
but we can all donate to other organizations that are already active in this work such as Catholic Relief Services.
Every city has programs to rescue homeless youth, feed homeless people, or provide a pathway out of homelessness.
Worldwide, we can join forces with existing groups such as Common Hope, where children and whole families are rescued from poverty by providing them a means to earn health care, homes, and educations.
Habitat for Humanity provides clean homes for those willing to earn them. This work of mercy calls you into action!

34. How about you? How close are you to being homeless?
Many are one big illness away
Others: 2 to 3 months of no income
Who else has lost their home?
Older members of the community
Kids who run away
Faith without works of mercy is dead
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead (James 2:14-17).

35. Visit and comfort the sick
A major part of Jesus’ ministry
A formal and public ministry of the Church
Hospitals and nursing homes
Hospice care
Parish pastoral care ministry
Tending the sick is something that dads and moms do very often in the care of their children.
Such care is a generous act of love on the part of the parents.
Each time you change a diaper, hold a child when he or she is fearful, or put a bandage on a bruised knee, you are tending the sick and practicing this work of mercy.
Visiting the sick is also something that children often do as their parents age or as chronic illness comes into a family;
spouses do this as they tend their loved one in old age or dementia.
Tending to the needs of older parents can also be demanding, but it is a work of mercy whose results last our entire lifetimes. Such work demands that we be patient with their oddities and old age foibles. It requires that we work at their pace and in their times of need.
This work of mercy forms us as self-giving, self-emptying people who imitate Christ.

36. Health care When we’re sick here, we go to the hospital.
10.6 million children worldwide die before age 5
Equal to all kids in France, Germany, Greece and Italy, combined
2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized
When combined with lack of food, this is a real killer.
Data: UN Children’s Fund

37. Visit those in prison Who is held captive today? Legitimate prisoners
Those fighting for justice
Homebound folks
People who care for others
Legitimate prisoners
Death row
Doom to you who legislate evil,     who make laws that make victims—
Laws that make misery for the poor,     that rob my destitute people of dignity, Exploiting defenseless widows,     taking advantage of homeless children.
Isaiah 10:1-2 (Message)
The captive was a special person of mercy for Jesus. In his inaugural speech at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus quoted Isaiah when he read,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,     because he has anointed me         to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives     and recovery of sight to the blind,         to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (4:16-19).

38. Bury the dead What can we do? Don’t be afraid to speak about death
Attend funerals
Bring food for the family
Remember the dead a year later
Don’t be afraid to speak about death
It’s a vital part of life