The corporal work of mercy for December is dedicated to sheltering the homeless in honor of Our Lord who by choosing to be born in a stable, gave witness of this particular work.
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The Work of Mercy for September is, To Visit the Imprisoned.There are a number of ways that we can fulfill this corporal work of mercy if it is not convenient or practical to physically visit a jail or prison. Some of the things we can do include:
To recruit and train volunteers to visit prisoners and/or help in other ways; i.e., corresponding as a pen pal. (If you choose to become a pen pal with a prisoner it is important never to give out any personal information. A program like this might be best co-ordinated through your local Parish using their address to send and receive letters.)
To provide the prisoners with religious materials, such as Order of Malta Bibles and Prayer Books, rosaries, other books, magazines, and materials.
To inform the public and legislators of needed reforms in laws and practices.
To improve the public perception of people who are imprisoned.
To support halfway houses and foster employment opportunities for prisoners after they are released.
To work with families of prisoners to offer them hope and support at a difficult time in their lives.
The Work of Mercy for September is, To Visit the Imprisoned.There are a number of ways that we can fulfill this corporal work of mercy if it is not convenient or practical to physically visit a jail or prison. Some of the things we can do include:
To recruit and train volunteers to visit prisoners and/or help in other ways; i.e., corresponding as a pen pal. (If you choose to become a pen pal with a prisoner it is important never to give out any personal information. A program like this might be best co-ordinated through your local Parish using their address to send and receive letters.)
To provide the prisoners with religious materials, such as Order of Malta Bibles and Prayer Books, rosaries, other books, magazines, and materials.
To inform the public and legislators of needed reforms in laws and practices.
To improve the public perception of people who are imprisoned.
To support halfway houses and foster employment opportunities for prisoners after they are released.
To work with families of prisoners to offer them hope and support at a difficult time in their lives.
I think March is a good time to focus on the Spiritual Work of Mercy - Bearing Wrongs Patiently. When we think of the agony Jesus endured in the Garden, knowing the suffering he was to undergo for our sins, allowing himself to be humiliated by Judas's kiss and arrest and all despite his innocence, how can we complain of the injustices done to us?
It was revealed to St. Gertrude the Great that reading and meditating on the Passion are far more useful and efficacious than all other spiritual excercises. Here is the first of her short prayers on the Passion.O Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal sweetness and jubilee of those who love Thee, remember all the presentment of grief Thou didst endure from the moment of Thy conception, and especially at Thy entrance into Thy Passion, when Thou didst say: My soul is sorrowful even unto death; and when, by reason of thy overwhelming dread and anguish and grief, Thou didst sweat, as it were, drops of Blood trickling down upon the ground. Remember all the bitterness of Thy sorrow when Thou wast seized upon, accused by false witnesses, condemned by Thy three judges, buffeted and smitten, spit upon, scourged, and crowned with thorns. O sweetest Jesus, I implore Thee, by all the sorrows and insults Thou didst endure, have mercy on me a sinner. Amem.
