Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy

Church tradition speaks of certain acts of mercy that we rightly ought to do for others here on Earth, and the Church has named seven of them as the most important. And because these acts are encouraged for us to do for other members of the Body of Christ here on Earth, they are called “corporal” acts of mercy (“corporal” being derived from corpus, the Latin word for “body”). The Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy, then, are these:
Feeding the hungry
Giving drink to the thirsty
Clothing the naked
Sheltering the homeless
Caring for the sick
Visiting the imprisoned
Burying our faithful departed
And each of these acts of mercy are things that we can all do. We already feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty when we contribute to the food pantry here in our own parishes or when we contribute our time, talent, and treasure with Catholic Charities. We clothe the naked when we donate clothing to folks and to services that deliver our donations directly to those in need. We shelter the homeless when, again, we share what God has given us with Catholic Charities and other non-profits that operate shelters for the homeless. We care for the sick even if we ourselves are not doctors or nurses; we care for them when we spend time with them and visit them in hospitals, nursing homes, Long Term Care, and in their own homes. We visit the imprisoned literally if we are able to visit them in jails (because even convicted felons are human beings and children of God in need of love); but we visit them figuratively as well when we visit the homebound, the shut-ins, and other folks unable to get out and about on their own. And we bury our faithful departed as part of our Catholic funeral liturgy and more generally when we do what we can to show our utmost respect for our beloved dead.
May God inspire us to a renewed commitment to the Seven Corporal Acts of Mercy.