Continuing our occasional look at
the Corporal Works of Mercy in this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, we
come now to the work of Visiting the Sick. This is something you can do most
easily and naturally with those you know who are sick, infirm or elderly. You
do not have to be witty, nor entertaining, nor even interesting. The sick, the
homebound, those in nursing homes and facilities, just enjoy company. Touch is
very important. Be sure to shake hands and if appropriate, give a hug. Just
your presence and your smile are enough. Any small talk you can add is a bonus.
Visits to the sick may not take much effort, but they are very worthwhile.
I try to not visit immediately
after surgery. Give the patient a day or two to recover from anesthesia and the
medical procedure, and they will get more out of your visit. And again, all you
have to do is show up.
We also are blessed here at St.
Austin Parish with a core of Eucharistic Ministers that take the Blessed
Sacrament to 3 hospitals and 2 nursing homes that St. Austin covers, as well as
to our homebound parishioners. This is a great help to the priests, and those
who do this ministry find it very rewarding. If you would be interested in this
ministry then please contact Fr. Dick Sparks.
Sometimes it is not possible to
go visit in person. A phone call or a note card expressing your wishes for
health and wholeness can also be a boost to the sick person. It does not take a
large investment in time or money but can pay very big dividends. Don’t put it
off until the person has healed or passed on. It is important to do it
promptly.
The
next Corporal Work of Mercy, Visit the Imprisoned (sometimes listed as “Ransom
the Captive”) is similar to the last work. You would think in a country that
has more people locked up than any other country, with the world’s highest rate
of imprisonment, it would be easy to do this. But it is not so easy today to
visit those in prison. Having visited a couple of times to the Travis County
Correctional Center in Del Valle, it is a bureaucratic hassle. However, you can still
practice this important work through a program sponsored by the Dominican
Fathers called “Postcards to Death Row Inmates.” The name pretty much explains
it. Each week a Dominican priest in North Carolina lists the names of several
NC death row inmates. You can see it at http://www.preacherexchange.com/latest.htm.
First Impressions is primarily a tool for preachers, but the death row inmates
are also listed on there. I don’t know of anything like this for Texas death
row inmates. If someone does, please let me know. Perhaps tcadp.org might have
something like this. And you can always pray for the imprisoned.
It is
also important to understand why we lock up so many people in the U.S. and the
inhuman use of solitary confinement, and then to urge your elected officials to
address these problems, and for you to vote accordingly. That is what the Lord
calls us to do.
The part of “Ransoming Captives”
goes back to the days when the Mediterranean was full of pirates. Moorish
pirates captured Christians and sold them into slavery. Ransoming the captive
meant buying some Christian’s freedom from slavery. Today we don’t have that
problem, but you can still practice this work. Human trafficking is a huge
problem in the world today. You can help stop this nefarious trade in human
beings by first of all becoming informed. Check out www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign. Several
congregations of Catholic women religious have become active in combating human
trafficking, especially of women and girls for the sex trade. You can read an
article on this at
http://www.cruxnow.com/life/2014/09/19/women-religious-fight-human-trafficking.
It is important to learn the signs of a possible case of modern slavery, and if
you see something to say something.
In all these ways (and many more)
you can put into concrete action the corporal works of mercy.
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