Showing mercy may not always be easy but we must show mercy as God calls us to do, writes Andrew O’Connell
One sure way to attract more readers to an online article is to mention a list in the headline. For instance, a piece headlined, ‘Five leadership lessons from Pope Francis’ is bound to attract more readers than the same article headlined, ‘Leadership lessons from Pope Francis’. A list suggests a succinct and logical presentation of some helpful ideas.
The Church has often used lists to present teachings. Older generations learned these at school and were able to recite them for the rest of their lives. There was always the danger, of course, that the list would be more learned than lived.
During this Year of Mercy, it might be helpful to revisit two rarely mentioned, but very helpful lists: the spiritual works of mercy and the corporal works of mercy.
In his letter announcing the year, Pope Francis, wrote: “It is my burning desire that, during this Jubilee, the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.”
They appear in the Catechism of the Catholic Church beneath the commentary on the seventh commandment, “Thou shall not steal”, and alongside discussion of social justice, respect for creation and love for the poor.
The corporal works of mercy sound familiar on account of their Scriptural origin: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to ransom the captive and to bury the dead.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ makes it clear that we will be judged according to our faithfulness to these expectations.
The spiritual works of mercy are less known and suffer perhaps from the language used in the traditional formula of expression: to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences willingly, to comfort the afflicted, and to pray for the living and the dead. Not everyone has the capacity, or the tact, to instruct, to counsel and to admonish, but no Christian can claim exemption from comforting, forgiving and praying.
The spiritual and corporal works of mercy are helpful as they remind us that mercy has two important dimensions, spiritual and corporal, neither of which should be overlooked.
Mercy is challenging. The boundless mercy of God demands a similar attitude of mercy from us in our relationships with others.
A fundamental way of showing mercy in the Christian tradition is to give alms.
The origin of the word ‘alms’ is related to mercy. So, the instruction to give alms is an instruction to dispense mercy.
Much commentary about the Year of Mercy has focused on God’s mercy for us. But it’s important to remember that mercy is demanded of us too.
Be merciful, as your Father is merciful. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
Planting faith: I previously mentioned the stark statistic that, on average, 20 Anglican churches have closed in England each year over the past two decades, and a quarter of the 16,000 churches now have a congregation of fewer than 20 people.
There is positive news though. The church at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, home of the world-famous Alpha course, has pioneered the practice of ‘planting’. It involves groups of committed Christians revitalising failing church communities. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is a supporter.
There are now over two dozen church ‘plants’ from Holy Trinity with the more recent successes taking place in working class areas with no tradition of middle-class Christianity upon which to build.
Christmas is coming
In a few weeks’ time the churches will be full again. At Christmas, the people we try to attract all year give themselves up voluntarily. It’s vitally important to prepare well for this occasion.
Some priests in large, urban parishes tell me they can no longer assume people even know where the parish church is located so they are distributing invitations door-to-door in the large estates.
Another Parish Pastoral Council, realising that large congregations, unfamiliar with being in a church, tend to chat loudly, will lead prayers for peace before Masses to establish an atmosphere of reflection.