Holiness and the Works of Mercy
Holiness and the Works of Mercy
Our Daily Actions
There is a connection between our daily actions and the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, especially during the season of Lent. For the baptized, every moment and decision should echo the merciful love of Christ—this is why there is particular focus during Lent regarding prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
Let us reflect on the importance of cultivating habits that align with the Works of Mercy—feeding the hungry, comforting the afflicted, and instructing the ignorant, among others. May we seek to live out our baptismal promises and embody God's mercy in every aspect of life; may we transform our ordinary actions into merciful spiritual exercises.
The Works of Mercy
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church - §2447
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, 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:
He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise. But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?
Luke 11:41; James 2:15-16; I John 3:17