Back in April, I completed my
sporadic review of the Corporal Works of Mercy. I hope you found them, if not
instructive, then at least not boring. As we are still in the Extraordinary
Jubilee Year of Mercy, I now intend an inspection tour through the Spiritual
Works of Mercy. Perhaps because they are more ethereal (spiritual, after all)
and less corporeal then the Corporal Works of Mercy, the Spiritual Works are
less easily grasped, less referred to, and probably less practiced. Ours is not
a particularly spiritual age. What cannot be measured, quantified, labeled and
categorized is held either to have no existence, or at least to be of no
account. Nonetheless we shall buck this current materialistic outlook and
examine the Spiritual Works of Mercy.
The first such work in the
traditional list is “Instruct the
ignorant”. Perhaps in this politically correct time we could find a more
felicitous phrase for this virtuous practice. In any case do not be put off by
the name, which is merely a wrapping, but concern yourself with the content of
this good work, which is to share the knowledge and insight you have freely
received with others for their benefit. After all, Jesus tells us “You will know the Truth and the Truth will
set you free” (Jn 8:32). Even the UT Tower, infamous in its own right,
bears witness to this inscription.
How to practice this good work? So often when we try to instruct
others we seem to be trying to teach or convince them of something that has
importance and meaning to us, but is of little interest to the person we are
trying to instruct. This rarely works. Far better is to entice the notice and
curiosity of the other by the quality of your life, by the joy and faith that
you exhibit. If you look joyful and at peace, people will notice. If they sense
in you a peace, a joy, a contentment and a firm faith, they are very likely to
want to know what is the cause of it. Is it something you are smoking? Or a
pill you are taking? Or some special course in meditation? Once their curiosity
is piqued, then is the time to instruct. As St. Peter tells us: “Always be ready to make your defense to
anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do so
with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pt 3:15).
You do not need to go to foreign mission lands to practice this
work of mercy. Parents do it with their children, spouses do it with each
other, friends do it for each other, RCIA teams and Religious Ed teachers do it
with their students, neighbors do it with each other, and co-workers can do it.
Every time and every place can be an occasion to instruct. In doing so both
parties are blessed, for your own faith grows by witnessing to it, and the
faith of the other is instructed. Even if your instruction falls on deaf ears
you still benefit from witnessing to your faith. And if the person does listen,
and you become a vehicle of the Holy Spirit for another to grow in faith, that
is a wonderful blessing for you both.
It is not only the “ignorant” that need instruction. Faith is a
deep, deep well. We will certainly never have God figured out in this life, nor
indeed for all eternity. To go deeper and deeper into the mystery of Faith
expands our hearts, for our hearts expand to hold more and more of the grace of
the Holy Spirit. If our faith is small, our heart is small. If our faith is
great, our heart will be great. So this is a work of mercy we can practice for
all our life long.
God Bless,
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