Monday, May 02, 2011

Obtaining Mercy

Every Sunday we hear that Jesus said, "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."  But sometimes it is hard to be merciful.  If we give money to a charity, such as Feed the Children, can we be sure we are being merciful?  Or, is most of the money given being spent on fundraising and salaries of employees?  

Thankfully, the Church does give us guidelines to help us be merciful, and in many instances, it seems to me, these works of mercy are best performed by individuals or by by families, but not by large charity organizations, or even by parishes.    


The corporal 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;
  • To bear wrongs patiently;
  • To forgive offences willingly;
  • To comfort the afflicted;
  • To pray for the living and the dead.

Of these, it seems to me, that only burying the dead requires group effort, unless one is unusually rich and able to buy land for the poor.  

1 comment:

Unknown said...

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