Works of Mercy

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The Works of Mercy or Acts of Mercy are actions and practices which the Roman Catholic Church considers expectations to be fulfilled by believers, and which are also recognised as spiritual aids amongst members of other denominations of Christianity. These works, it is believed, express mercy, and are thus expected to be performed by believers insofar as they are able in accordance with the Beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). These acts are to keep the two greatest commandments:

  • "I am the Lord your God and you shall not have strange gods before me.' This is the greatest and the first commandment.
  • And, the second is also like the first one, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'"

Like many theological principles in Catholicism, they are expressed in organized, numbered form. There are two sets of these works, the Corporal Works (or Acts) of Mercy, relating to material needs of others, and Spiritual Works (or Acts) of Mercy. Although not so legally defined, these concepts exist in the Eastern Orthodox Church as well.

Contents

[edit] Corporal works of mercy

Corporal works of mercy are those that tend to bodily needs. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) enumerates such acts -- though not this precise list -- as the reason for the salvation of the saved, and the omission of them as the reason for damnation. The last work of mercy, burying the dead, comes from the Book of Tobit.

  1. Feed the hungry
  2. Give drink to the thirsty
  3. Clothe the naked
  4. Shelter the Homeless
  5. Visit the imprisoned
  6. Visit the sick
  7. Bury the dead

[edit] Spiritual works of mercy

The spiritual acts of mercy provide for the needs of the spirit.

  1. Warn the sinner
  2. Instruct the ignorant
  3. Counsel the doubtful
  4. Comfort the sorrowful
  5. Bear wrongs patiently
  6. Forgive all injuries
  7. Pray for the living and the deceased

[edit] Nature of the obligation

The actual obligation in a given case depends largely on the degree of distress to be aided, and the capacity or condition of the one whose duty in the matter is in question. There are easily recognizable limits as the performance of the corporal works of mercy are concerned.

Likewise the law imposing spiritual works of mercy is subject in individual instances to important reservations.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Ralf van Bühren: Die Werke der Barmherzigkeit in der Kunst des 12.–18. Jahrhunderts. Zum Wandel eines Bildmotivs vor dem Hintergrund neuzeitlicher Rhetorikrezeption (Studien zur Kunstgeschichte, vol. 115), Hildesheim / Zürich / New York: Verlag Georg Olms 1998. ISBN 3-487-10319-2

[edit] External links

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.

[edit] References

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