WORKS OF MERCY - NOURISH
When is the last time you were hungry? Like, really hungry? Chances are it was hard to focus on anything else while you were experiencing that hunger.
Food is a basic human need. And the Church has long been the champion of the poor and hungry through her charities and missions. Her concern for the hungry can be traced back to God’s care for the hungry, too. Remember the manna and quail He gave to the Israelites during their wandering in the desert (Exodus 16), or the multiple times He fed the prophet Elijah (1 Kings). Jesus made feeding the hungry a part of His ministry, too! Think of the miracle of two loaves and five fish in Matthew 14, where He stopped teaching and told the apostles to feed the 5000 people gathered instead of sending them away to find their own dinner. And Luke chapter 8, when Jesus raised the official’s daughter from the dead and immediately ordered that she be given something to eat. Or in John 21, after the Resurrection, when the apostles were fishing all night and caught nothing to eat. Then they saw Jesus in the early morning on the shore and He led them to put down their nets one more time. They brought in a great number of fish and were likely very excited to see Jesus and brimming with a million questions, but then they saw Jesus cooking over a fire on the beach. And His words to them were simply: “Come, eat breakfast!” He knew that they were tired and starving after fishing all night. Scripture tells us that He didn’t talk to them about spiritual mysteries until after He had made sure that they had eaten.
God cares about our physical needs. And He calls us to care about each other’s physical needs through the corporal works of mercy. Often by meeting the basic, physical needs of our neighbor, we are teaching others about God’s nature before we even teach them about God’s Name. We are showing them in a tangible way how God loves. Also, by removing the physical pain of someone’s stomach, we are making room for them to shift their focus to spiritual things. It’s hard to focus in your catechism class or at Mass if your stomach is empty or you’re worrying about how to feed your family. This is why Feeding the Hungry is such an important work of mercy for us to start with.
What are some ways that we can practice this corporal work of mercy?
Support your local food pantry or parish food drive. You can even make it a normal part of your weekly grocery trip to pick out a few extra cans of food that can be dropped off to one of these charities.
Drop off a meal or gift card to a family with a new baby or to someone going through a loss or illness.
Invite someone to dinner or host a regular meal at your home. Ask God to show you who not only needs the food, but also the company.
Serve your own family without grumbling. Offer the process of cooking, serving, and cleaning as a prayer. Then be fully present to those around your table.
Avoid food waste. Be conscious about what you use and how you can use or share your excess.