How will God see us at the end of our lives? It is a question we all ask, and Jesus is sympathetic enough to provide an answer. He explains that at the final judgment, he will distinguish between those who attended to “the least” of his brothers and those who did not. Those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned will be invited into Jesus’s kingdom, his abode (Mt. 25:31–46).
Jesus values these gestures so much because he identified with them. He knows what it means to be hungry (Mt. 4:2). He suffered thirst at his crucifixion (Jn 19:28). He had no place to stay at his birth (Lk. 2:7). He was captured, stripped naked on the cross, and abandoned by his own disciples. He took on human flesh because he wanted to become like us, even if it meant hurting like us.
The Catholic Church treasures these actions named by Jesus because of their service to Jesus through those in need. They are called the Corporal Works of Mercy, meaning they attend to the physical needs of a person.
What makes these works “merciful?” Does it mean feeling something specific, like compassion? Well, no such feelings are mentioned in the final judgment. It is beautiful to act with compassion, like the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10:25–37), but compassion does not seem to be necessary for mercy. Nor does mercy require grandiose, impressive deeds. Jesus appreciates anyone who nourishes, clothes, or visits those who are suffering. He does not ask anyone to solve world hunger, end homelessness, or cure cancer.
So does it mean recognizing Jesus in those who suffer? Not necessarily. It is worth noting that in Jesus’s accounting that nobody recognized him (cf. Matthew 25:37–39, 44), whether they acted mercifully or not. As Jesus is willing to hide his presence in the Eucharist, he also disguises himself among the poor and needy. This corrects any misunderstanding of mercy as a demeaning gesture of “looking down” on another. Nobody is more exalted than God, but God expects us to offer him these merciful gestures.
Pope St. John Paul II dedicated a document to this topic, specifically an encyclical with the Latin title Dives in Misericordia, meaning “rich in mercy.” He says mercy “does not consist only in looking, however penetratingly and compassionately, at moral, physical or material evil: mercy is manifested in its true and proper aspect when it restores to value, promotes and draws good from all the forms of evil existing in the world and in man.”1 Anything that helps the person live out their dignity is a merciful act, especially in a world that usually does not uphold human dignity.
Over the years, other deeds have been included in the list of merciful works. A natural addition, for example, was giving alms to the poor. Another that might be less obvious is burying the dead. Why is this merciful if the person has already passed? Because this body belonged to a child of God. Similarly to how we give special treatment to churches because they house the Eucharist, we take special care of the body that was a temple of the Holy Spirit (CCC 2300). Since the body was dignified to house a human soul, we treat the body with dignity even once the soul has left it.
Most recently, Pope Francis has named care for creation a work of mercy. This may seem strange at first, but Pope Francis only proclaimed what was already analyzed by his predecessor. Pope Benedict XVI, who has been referred to as “the green pope,” reminded the Church that the earth is the place we live in.2 Similarly to how people clean their houses so that it can be a dignified place to live in, taking care of the earth gives all people a dignified place in which we can live. Proper care for creation means caring for people.3
Jesus clearly takes seriously the body’s dignity, but he recognizes something deeper. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing” (Mt. 6:25)? “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul” (Mk. 8:36)? Our bodies are important, but the soul’s needs are far more serious and dignified. Even when he did not eat for 40 days, Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4). People need the bread of life (Jn. 6:35–40) and living water (Jn. 4:10–16). Sin is the soul’s sickness, and anything that helps heal it is mercy (see Mt. 9:12–13).
Deeds that support the soul’s need for truth, forgiveness, and grace are called Spiritual Works of Mercy. When we counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, and admonish sinners as Jesus did, we are offering the truth that sets us free (Jn. 8:32). When we comfort those who suffer, forgive wrongdoings and bear them patiently, we share in Jesus’s saving mission. Most importantly, when we pray for the living and for those in Purgatory, we ask God to provide others with the healing grace to be united with him forever.
At the end of our lives, Jesus will examine us for the trait that he most values: mercy. If we perform these works, we may hear those beautiful words promised to the merciful at the end of their lives: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. […] Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Mt. 25:34,40).
1 Dives in Misericordia, 6.
2 Caritas in Veritate, 43–52.
3 Message for the World Day of Peace, 2007, 8–9.
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Christ in the City missionaries live in a common house, sharing a life of prayer, service, simplicity, and accountability. Drawing from that as their foundation, they are able to go out and bring the love of Christ to the homeless in the streets. Missionaries walk the same street routes, Monday thru Friday, building friendships with the homeless. Our sole purpose is to bring love where there is no love, to bring relationship where it does not exist. And in doing so, we are re-cultivating a foundation in someone to have hope, walking with our homeless friends toward healing and re-integration into society.
