Works of Mercy

Catholicism is a religion of lists.  A list is a memorizing technique, and Catholics love to memorize things.  It avoids having to actually think about them.   Of course, our family is also very familar with the technique.  First, Bob memorized all the stops of the Erie Lackawanna Railroad between Maplewood and New York City (partial list:  Maplewood, South Orange, Mountain Station, Highland Ave., Orange, Brick Church, East Orange. ...).  Then, Steve memorized the names of all the guys in his platoon (or some other military unit -- you have to ask him) in alphabetical order at Norwich.  Then, came the "one hen, two ducks," etc. memorization mania which occupied several weeks of our lives one summer.  My son John, in first or second grade, with no prompting from anyone, decided one day to memorize all the ranks of the U.S. Navy, for no other reason than they happened to be listed in a book he discovered at school. In my attempt to be like Bob in all ways, I memorized all the stops of the Amtrak line betweeen Harrisburg and 30th Street Station (I dragged Sue and later Ellen into the same project). Anyway, the following is a partial list of the lists Catholics should memorize: The 7 Sacraments The 7 Corporal Works of Mercy The 7 Spiritual Works of Mercy The 3 Eminent Good Works The 7 Gifts of the Holy Ghost  The 12 Fruits of the Holy Ghost The 3 Theological Virtues The 4 Cardinal Virtues The 7 Capital Sins & Their Contrary Virtues The 6 Sins Against the Holy Ghost The 4 Sins That Cry Out to Heaven The 3 Conditions of Mortal Sin The 9 Ways We Participate in Others' Sins The 10 Commandments The 2 Greatest Commandments The 3 Evangelical Counsels The 6 Precepts of the Church The Holy Days of Obligation (they differ from country to country) The 3 Powers of the Soul       The 4 Pillars of the Catholic Faith The 3 Pillars of the Church's Authority The 3 Munera (Duties of the Ordained) The 3 Parts of the Church The 4 Marks of the Church The 12 Apostles The 12 Tribes of Israel The 8 Beatitudes The 14 Stations of the Cross The 7 Sorrows (Dolours) and 7 Joys of Our Lady The 7 Sorrows and 7 Joys of St. Joseph The 15 Mysteries of the Rosary The Order of Creation The 9 Choirs of Angels The 3 levels of reverence The 14 Holy Helpers The 7 Last Words of Christ The 4 Last Things (The Novissima) The whole reason for this post was to say a just few words about the Works of Mercy, both corporal and spiritual.  A recent discussion with a fellow attorney in my office, more steeped in Catholicism than I, led me to an internet search for the works of mercy, and I discovered some pretty interesting things.  First,  let's consider the corporal works of mercy.  Here is the original list: To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To harbour the harbourless; To visit the sick; To ransom the captive; To bury the dead. It's hard to argue with the first three.  The next one gives one pause:  harbouring the harbourless.  Does one need to buy a dock to do this?  I think, quite letigimately, it's a metaphor for giving refuge to anyone in need.  Perhaps, it might have been stated as giving refuge to the refugee, or shelter to the homeless. And then visiting the sick and burying the dead seem clear enough, but who has ransomed a captive lately?  That's one we should all probably work on. OK, on with the spiritual works of mercy: To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To admonish sinners; To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive offences willingly; To comfort the afflicted; To pray for the living and the dead. I was also impressed with the spiritual works.   These are all good things to do. None of the works of mercy have any particularly Catholic or even religious content.  If you just substitute wrongdoer for sinner in No. 3 and overlook No 7 of the seven spiritual works, even atheistic, secular humanists can perform all 14 works without any compromise of principle.  Even No. 7 can be secularized to read without too much of a stretch, "to show concern for the living and the dead," for isn't that what prayer is?  To me, they seem to provide some pretty solid guidelines for how to be a decent human being.   Anyway, let's get out there and start ransoming some captives.