SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY---PRACTICE THEM!

The greatest of all commandments is the double commandment of love. If you look up to the cross you can contemplate a graphic depiction of this double dimension of love in the two bars of wood that cross; there is the horizontal bar that extends outward and then there is the vertical bar that extends upward to the sky. First and of greatest importance is the symbolic interpretation of the vertical bar that points to the sky, where we picture God’s presence. Our first pledge of love must be towards God. We should strive to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. (Lk. 10:27) This is by far the first and greatest of all commandments. Contemplating the horizontal bar that extends outward symbolizes the second part of the double commandment of love: our love for our brothers and sisters who were created in the image and likeness of God and were created for eternal life with the loving God in heaven forever.

To cultivate an authentic love for our neighbor, we must first strive with all of the energy in every fiber of our being to love God totally, fully, and unreservedly! True love for neighbor must flow from an authentic love for God!

Consequently, if we truly do love God as the center, source and essence of our existence, then it necessarily follows that we should love with all our heart what God loves most. In all the created world of beings, by far, God loves the human person, man and woman far above any other created beings.

Therefore, the thrust of this short essay will be to present the seven spiritual works of mercy and offer some concrete and practical ways that we can implement in our lives these spiritual gems and thereby show our love for God by trying to draw souls closer to Him and eternal salvation.

LIST OF THE SEVEN SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY:

1.    To admonish the sinner.

2.    To instruct the ignorant.

3.    To counsel the doubtful.

4.    To comfort the sorrowful.

5.    To bear wrongs patiently.

6.    To forgive injuries.

7.    To pray for the living and the dead.

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.  I invite all of my readers to pray briefly to Our Lady, the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit and then to the Holy Spirit, the Sweet Guest of our souls, for interior light to perceive which of these spiritual works of mercy God would like you to put into practice in your daily walk. Remember that we are called to live out mercy in word, prayer and action. Jesus commands us: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.”(Lk. 6:36)  Also: “Whatsoever you do to the least of your brothers and sisters we do to Jesus Himself.”(Mt. 25:45)  Now we will take each of these seven spiritual works of mercy and give some hints, suggestions, and some lights on how we can live out these spiritual gems and prepare for ourselves and our loved ones an eternal resting place in heaven.

1.    TO ADMONISH THE SINNER.   We are all sinners, but God’s mercy is beyond our human comprehension. St. Paul reminds us: “Where sin abounds the grace of God abounds all the more.”(Romans 5:20) Saint Faustina also reminds us in the Diary that the greatest sinners can become the greatest saints depending on one quality: TRUST!  JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!  The great Saint Augustine who lived a life of slavery to his own lusts into his early thirties asserted:  “God allows evil so that He can bring even greater good from the evil.”  The best example is the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve that we call Original Sin. (Gen. 3) This was a moral tsunami that has repercussions until the end of time and all the way into eternity. However, due to this Original Sin, God the Father sent us our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the world to show us how to live, love and die and opened for us the gates of heaven for all eternity!   One concrete suggestion on how we can admonish the sinner: try to bring a sinner back to the Sacrament of Confession so that he can experience the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. However, before admonishing him to enter the confessional, you go first. Your example will be a powerful stimulus!  Tell him where, how, when the priest is available and provide him with a good booklet to examine his conscience!  If done well, this sinner will experience the loving embrace of the Father that we read in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. (Lk. 15: 11-31 )

2.    TO INSTRUCT THE IGNORANT.  IN the Easter vigil Mass, the Church is in darkness; the fire is lighted and then the Paschal candle is lighted. From the Paschal candle’s light all the smaller candles receive their light. This symbol is powerful. Its meaning? Jesus is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. However, we are called to be a light to the world also by being enlightened by Jesus so as to enlighten others. Jesus also said to us: “You are the light of the world.”(Mt. 5:14) In the Dogmatic Constitution of the Documents of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudiem Et Spes (meaning: joy and hope) the Church insists that the first teachers of the children must be the parents. It is the primary responsibility of the parents to instruct their children in the ways of the faith and to be solid living bridges by which their children can cross from here to eternity.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church reiterates the same message, in its explanation of the 4^th Commandment: “Honor your father and mother.”( ref. Catechism of the Catholic Church #’s 2225-2226) Three short and concrete suggestions for parents so as to implement their duty as the first educators of their children in the way of faith, as solid bridges to heaven:

a)    CATHOLIC DVD’S—once a week can be movie night in which all of the family members will be viewing a good and solid movie so as to work on the permanent formation of their children whom they are responsible for taking to heaven. After the movie discuss with the children what they learned! Then encourage the children to share the Good News with others. Ignatius press has published many great films over the past 15-20 years!

b)    GOOD BOOKS—Parents buy good books for your children and encourage them to do spiritual reading so as to form their intellect by solid reading. Indeed, good books can be our best friends!

c)     FAMILY RETREAT—This may take pre-planning, but verify where and when you might be able to take your family members on some form of retreat, seminar, congress—a weekend experience so as to fortify the family as the domestic church in a longer extended time! If the family can go on vacation for two solid weeks, then a weekend retreat can be done!  Priorities!  Let us always put God first! Jesus told the Apostles to come apart and rest a while. May we find our rest in the Lord!(Mk. 6:1)

3.    COUNSEL THE DOUBTFUL. In the history of humanity never has there been so much knowledge as well as easy access to that knowledge via the Internet. At the same time, we have never lived in a time in history with so much moral, spiritual, and over-all confusion! Suggestion in this area: follow in the footsteps of SAINT JOHN BOSCO.  A group of individuals that are neglected all too often today are the teenagers, especially the teenage boys. For your part, do all you can to counsel, give advice, enlighten and listen to the young people. Transgenderism, the Gay Agenda, Euthanasia, Embryonic experimentation, operations changing one’s sexuality—are just to mention a few of the atmosphere of moral confusion that young people are exposed to!  Why don’t you step up to the plate and help many young people to dissipate this cloud of confusion that is smogging and blurring their spiritual vision? Offer to teach Confirmation or at least be a helper. Volunteer at youth retreats. And first and foremost, if you have your own teenagers listen to them and give them advice always pointing to Jesus who is the WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. (Jn. 14:16) Many young people fall into a moral quagmire of sin because nobody gives them proper advice!

4.    COMFORT THE SORROWFUL. One of the Beatitudes is: “Blessed are those who mourn they will be comforted.”(Mt. 5:4) Saint Monica for many years wept bitter tears for the conversion of her son who eventually was converted—the great Saint Augustine. (Read the Confessions of St. Augustine) What then might be ways that we can comfort the sorrowful, aware of the fact that we are doing this for Jesus the Lord? We will offer three concrete suggestions for your reflection:

a)    GRIEVING MINISTRY.  Some parishes have what is called a Grieving ministry. In short, this basically consists of being present, supporting, consoling and praying for and with those who are grieving over the loss of one of their loved ones. Join this group or ask your Pastor to start one in your Parish.

b)    CONSOLE THE BROKEN-HEARTED.  If a sad, depressed, disheartened, possibly despairing person comes to you, stop to listen attentively to that person and encourage him by words of kindness. Once again, this is done to Jesus the Lord.

c)      SMILE.  One of the most evident signs that we are truly Sons of the light and followers of the Lord Jesus is the simple manifestation of the smile. Sadness is contagious; but also joy is contagious and it starts with a smile—the joy of the Holy Spirit!

5.    TO BEAR WRONGS PATIENTLY.   This is very difficult! However, in social settings this is very necessary! In our family circumstances we might have a family member that simply drives us up the wall by certain mannerisms, idiosyncrasies or eccentricities—in all of this: be patient!  Offer the discomfort and suffering for the souls in Purgatory, the conversion of sinners as well as for your own conversion and salvation, as well as all of your family members.  What can be of incalculable value in all of this is to contemplate Jesus’ patience on the cross and call to mind your own faults and how patient God has been with you and your own past wanderings!!!

6.    TO FORGIVE INJURIES.  Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in no uncertain terms has constantly commanded us to practice mercy by forgiving those who have hurt us. It might be of great utility to call to mind some verses:

·       “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.”(Lk. 6:36)

·       “Forgive us our trespasses us we forgive those who trespass against us.”(Mt. 6:12)

·       Jesus from the cross: “Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.”(Lk 23:34)

·       Jesus to thief in forgiveness: “Amen I say to you: today you will be with me in Paradise.”(Lk. 23:43)

·       “Reconcile with your brother first and then come back to offer your gift at the altar.”(Mt. 5:23)

·       “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”(Mt 5:43-48)

These are just a few Biblical passages that command us to practice mercy by forgiving. On forgiving those who hurt us three short suggestions to help us in this very challenging and difficult Divine command: 1) when offended, forgive immediately; the Bible says: “Never let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26). 2) Pray immediately for the person that hurt you—right away! 3) Finally, if the wound is  exceedingly deep then offer a novena (9 days in a row) in which you pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for him, showing your forgiveness towards him by living out DIVINE MERCY—through the Chaplet! Jesus, through Saint Faustina, encourages us to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as frequently as we can.

7.    TO PRAY FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD. Of greatest importance in living out the Gospel of charity, the Gospel of love, is to be concerned for the salvation of others. Therefore, praying for others, their conversion, perseverance in grace, and their eternal salvation is one of the greatest acts of charity that you can offer! Any prayer said with humility, purity of intention and purity of heart for the purpose of pleasing God is good! However, there is a prayer which is by far the best and the most efficacious for both the living and the dead: THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS! You can do one of two things or both of them! Offer Mass for the living and the dead. If this is not always possible, then offer your Holy Communion for them. However, as a birthday gift, anniversary gift, baptismal anniversary to have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered is by far the greatest gift to give to anyone below the heavens. Indeed one Mass is worth more than the whole created universe because it is the offering of Jesus the Spotless Victim, the Lamb of God, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of all souls—past, present and future. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is Jesus loving and embracing all of humanity in time and eternity by the shedding of His most Precious Blood. How great is the love of God for us in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!

In conclusion, read prayerfully the spiritual works of mercy, which are indeed spiritual gems, as well as this humble article, and then pray to Our Lady and the Holy Spirit for the grace to put into practice these spiritual works so pleasing to God.  You are preparing for yourselves an abundant harvest of immortal souls for the Kingdom of Heaven!