The Spiritual Works of Mercy

When I was in elementary school, I remember my dad sitting at the dining room table with me at night listening to my Catechism questions.  This was in the days of the Baltimore Catechism.  One of the things we had to memorize was the Spiritual Works of Mercy.  I have to admit that I haven't thought about them under this title for years but when I reviewed them this morning, I thought, "of course."

In living out our life as followers of Jesus, we are asked to show by example our faith means to us and to share that with others, especially those who doubt their faith.  We are asked not to judge or criticize others, to reach out to those who are marginalized.

We are asked to pray for the sick and the dying and for those who mourn losses in their lives.  None of these works of mercy take a lot of time and can be done as we go about our daily lives here at school. Have you got a minute this Lent to reach out to someone else?

KM Donohue, OSU