We are now in the Extraordinary
Jubilee Year of Mercy. While the year is extraordinary, mercy should not be.
Perhaps in this world of sin and failed intentions mercy is not nearly as
common as it should be. Nonetheless, mercy ought to be a regular and usual part
of our Christian life. According to the Catechism
of the Catholic Church, # 1829, mercy – along with joy and peace – is a
fruit of charity. This is not charity in the sense of donations to the poor,
but charity as love. Charity is the type of love that Christians are called to
have, and is the gift of God. Mercy, joy and peace are the hallmarks, the
tell-tale signs, the evidence that shows that the love of God is in our hearts.
Where there is no mercy, nor joy, nor peace, then the love of God is not there.
Because Church scholars loved
making lists in the past, and because they were particularly devoted to the
number seven, there are traditional lists of the seven corporal (i.e. bodily)
and seven spiritual works of mercy. The lists are:
Corporal
Works of Mercy: Spiritual Works of
Mercy:
To feed
the hungry To
instruct the ignorant
To give drink to the thirsty To counsel
the doubtful
To clothe the naked To admonish sinners
To harbour the harbourless To
bear wrongs patiently
To visit the sick To
forgive offences willingly
To ransom the captive To
comfort the afflicted
Over the next several weeks let
us look at these works of Mercy, and see how we can better practice them in our
daily lives both as individuals and as a Catholic parish.
Starting with the Corporal Works
first, which are easier to get a handle on, we have at the top of the list “to
feed the hungry.” Well, that is something we do here in several ways. We feed
the hungry through our St. Vincent de Paul chapter. They have a food pantry and
bring food to families in need in our area. They back up their merciful actions
with an active spirituality, which is so important. The St. Vincent de Paul
Society is always ready to welcome new members and also donations of food and
of money. If you are interested in finding out more, please contact
StAustinSVDP@gmail.com or call parishioner Mike Murphy at 512-923-3538.
Another way we at St. Austin’s
help feed the hungry is by our participation in the MICAH 6 Food Pantry. The
University area Christian Churches work together to support an active food
pantry. Housed in the basement of the University Presbyterian Church, it is
open twice a week and serves hundreds of needy families each week. St. Austin
supports the pantry with our annual dues to Micah 6, occasional food drives,
and parishioner volunteers. The pantry needs workers on early Thursday morning
to help unload a huge truck full of food from the Capital Area Food Bank, and
volunteers on Tuesdays and Saturdays when the Micah 6 Pantry distributes food.
If you are interested in helping please contact Pat Macy at pmacy@staustin for
more information. You can also check out their website at
http://www.micah6austin.org/pantry.
Here are two concrete and
profitable ways to feed the hungry. Pope Francis is calling on you in this Year
of Mercy to get involved.
God bless!
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