Reflection – May

WORKS OF MERCY

Pope Francis encourages us to reflect on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. These works are a straightforward, practical expression of the Father’s mercy.  In this Holy Year, we are invited to choose and exercise one or two of these works, those that we do not normally practice.

The corporal works of mercy:

·            To feed the hungry

·            To give drink to the thirsty

·            To clothe the naked

·            To welcome strangers

·            To care for the sick

·            To visit prisoners

·            To bury the dead

The spiritual works of mercy:

·            To counsel the doubtful

·            To teach the ignorant

·            To caution sinners

·            To console the sorrowful

·           To forgive offences willingly

·            To bear wrongs patiently

·            To pray for the living and the dead.

Questions:

Jesus asks us to be his heart, his hand and his voice.  Do we pray to Him for guidance before we make a home visit?

We believe that when we visit the poor we are seeing the suffering face of Jesus. What privilege this is!  Perhaps at the end of our visit should we thank the poor for inviting us into their house?

We are all human and we have days that we are not as understanding of the needs of the poor.  What do we do to try and change that feeling before we visit the poor?

Works of Mercy