A Summer of Mercy: Young Adults Invited to Help Be the Hands + Feet of Jesus
Everyone can agree that the world could use a little more mercy. It could be said that young adults are especially sensitive to this need and to news about the world they are inheriting. How can their compassion be directed to help make a difference?
This summer, Tecum Ministries aims to walk with young adults through this question by introducing the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. These works are outlined by the Catholic Church as fourteen beautiful and concrete ways that God invites us to share His mercy with the world. The corporal works involve ministering to others’ physical suffering, while the spiritual works are directed at ministering to others’ souls. Because man is both body and soul, both types are important for Catholics to learn and practice.
Tecum Ministries is a Catholic organization especially dedicated to accompanying young adults (ages 18-40) and the parishes that serve them. The word “Tecum” comes from Latin, meaning “with you,” and helps summarize the ministry’s mission: “With you, to Jesus, through the heart of the Church.” This mission is accomplished through various forms of outreach and formation, including an annual young adult retreat hosted at Ascension parish, which has regularly attracted hundreds of young adults from around the state.
Tecum’s Summer Series: Works of Mercy will run Mondays at 7:00 PM from June 8th-August 3rd in the Buescher Center. Each week will include dinner and a coupling of one corporal and one spiritual work of mercy for its theme. The goal is to help young adults discover how God has written charity into our very nature and learn practical ways to put this charity into action. Several local Melbourne charities will also be highlighted to help young adults take their first steps in practicing mercy.
Along the way, many young adults are expected to discover that they themselves are also on the receiving end of the works of mercy. Young adulthood can be a season of great loneliness and struggle in faith. Tecum Ministries helps young adult hearts find authentic community and support through a home in the Church, which meets the definition of several of the works of mercy.
Which are the fourteen works of mercy exactly?
The corporal works include those actions mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46, when He described the Judgment of the Nations. God says to those admitted to eternal life: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for Me” (Matt 25:40). The Corporal Works of Mercy are:
Give food to the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Shelter the homeless
Clothe the naked
Visit the sick
Visit the imprisoned
Bury the dead
The spiritual works may be lesser known but are equally important. These are:
Counsel the doubtful
Instruct the ignorant
Admonish the sinner
Comfort the sorrowful
Forgive injuries
Bear wrongs patiently
Pray for the living and the dead
It would benefit our entire Ascension parish family to rediscover the meaning of these works of mercy, and to take the time to ask God how we can better put them into practice. If you are a young adult who wants help knowing what to do with the ache in your heart, please join Tecum this summer for our mercy series! And if you know a young adult who will be near Melbourne this summer, please share this invitation with them. Your invitation can be an act of mercy toward that young adult looking for “something more;” and that young adult can in turn become a gift to the world by learning how their specific time and talents can become the hands and feet of Jesus.
Please pray for Tecum Ministries this summer. To learn more about Tecum's mission visit www.tecumministries.com. For questions about the Works of Mercy Summer Series, please contact Apolonia Davalos at 646-339-3431.