Mercy

Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called "to practice mercy" towards others. The works of mercy have been traditionally divided into two categories, each with seven elements. Corporally, it means simple daily gestures of peace and love; spiritually, it means contemplation of the world.

Corporal works of mercy are those that tend to the bodily needs of other creatures.The works include:

1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To welcome the stranger. (Previously referred to as "harbor the harborless" and "shelter the homeless")
5. To visit the sick.
6. To visit the imprisoned. (Previously referred to as "ransom the captive")
7. To bury the dead.
   
   
   Just as the corporal works of mercy are directed towards relieving corporeal suffering, the aim of the spiritual works of mercy is to relieve spiritual suffering. The works include:
   
   
   1. To instruct the ignorant.
   2. To counsel the doubtful.
   3. To admonish sinners.
   4. To bear patiently those who wrong us.
   5. To forgive offenses.
   6. To console the afflicted.
   7. To pray for the living and the dead.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   These are spiritual callings to each of us as individual human beings. Not by law, or by the force of government, but by our own hearts.