Mercy is such a big idea in Catholicism. We love mercy! We have the devotion of Divine Mercy, at every Mass we ask for mercy, we have confession to obtain mercy, and we are asked to give mercy toward others. So, what’s mercy? The Church actually divides the concept of mercy into two groups: Corporal & Spiritual. Yesterday, and now today, we’ll go over what these two types are and what it looks like to give mercy to others and also what it looks like to receive mercy from others & God.
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Matthew 25:31-46; Isaiah 58:6-7; Hebrews 13:3; 1 John 3:17; Tobit 4:5-11; Matthew 6:2-4
There are so many things “to-do” that it can get overwhelming. How do we sort through these things and fit it to modern day living? Here is a great list put out by FOCUS ministries that we just had to share. Why rewrite something amazing?!
Today – we have a challenge for you – pick one thing from each section and set a goal to accomplish your list by Christmas. With so many charities, neighbors, and family members in need this time of year – it’s a great time to live out corporal mercy!! We think it’s a God-incodence! What actions of corporal mercy are on your list? In bold are the 7 acts of Corporal Mercy:
Feed the Hungry
•Make sandwiches and pass them out to the homeless.
•Keep granola bars in your car to pass out to people in need at stoplights.
•Pick up leftovers at a local grocery store, bakery, or restaurant and deliver them to a food bank or homeless shelter.
•Take a friend out to lunch, your treat.
•Keep a list of local food banks and soup kitchens on hand to pass out to those you encounter around your town who could use such services.
•Volunteer at a food bank.
•Serve at a soup kitchen.
•Prepare and take a meal to someone in your community who is seriously ill or welcoming home a newborn.
•Help out at a Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast.
•Give to or host a food drive.
Give Drink to the Thirsty.
•Pass out water bottles to the homeless.
•Pay for the coffee of the person behind you at a coffee shop.
•Take a cold glass of water to a neighbor doing yard work.
•Donate baby formula to a local pregnancy help center.
•Work a drink station at a local charity race.
Clothe the Naked.
•Go through your closet and give away what you don’t need.
•Host a clothing drive and donate the items.
•Knit, crochet, or sew baby blankets for your local pregnancy help center.
•Knit, crochet, or sew scarves, hats, and gloves for your local homeless shelter.
•Score some sweet deals at garage sales and send the items to a foreign mission site.
Shelter the Homeless.
•Attend a mission and help build homes
•Volunteer to do manual labor to help in the upkeep of a homeless shelter.
•Keep a list of local homeless shelters on hand to pass out to those you meet on the street.
•Become a mentor to a foster child.
•Send a care package with special treats to an orphanage.
•Help a family working towards adoption by hosting a fundraiser for them.
•Sponsor a child through the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA).
•Donate to or volunteer with programs such as Christ in the City to further their efforts in working with the homeless.
Visit the Sick.
•Volunteer at a hospital.
•Volunteer to call Bingo at a nursing home.
•Send flowers or a card to someone you know who is in the hospital.
•Take the Eucharist to the homebound in your community.
•Visit a seriously or terminally ill member of your parish.
Visit the Imprisoned.
•Lead a bible study at a local prison.
•Help with a communion service or Mass at a prison.
•Donate bibles and/or spiritual reading materials to a prison.
•Mentor a teen at a juvenile correction center.
Bury the Dead.
•Attend wakes and/or funerals of those you knew.
•Volunteer with a hospice program.
•Supply a dish for a funeral luncheon.
•Help a widow or widower in need with yard work or errands.
•Visit the cemetery and pray for the dead.
•Donate to ministries that offer free Catholic burials to those who are unable to afford one.
•Pray at an abortion clinic for the lives lost to abortion.
•Attend services for an inmate who was executed.
How is God speaking to you in this post or today's reading? Enter a comment below or click HERE if you are reading from your phone. (Commenting is optional, but always grace-filled.) Thank you for letting us into your life and for being a part of ours!
