Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
TUESDAY, March 22nd Mt. 18: 21-35 “Peter approached Jesus and asked him, ‘Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.’”
“Seventy-seven times” means always! Lent is a time set aside to recall all Jesus suffered for our salvation and to prepare our souls to receive the Risen Lord Jesus more worthily! Let us examine our conscience on our practice of the Spiritual Works of Mercy, including forgiveness, on which we will be judged, in addition to the Corporal Works of Mercy!
SEVEN WAYS TO PRACTICE THE SPIRITUAL WORKS OF MERCY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
We are all encouraged by the Lord, especially by reading and meditating on Mt. 25: 31-46, to practice the Corporal Works of Mercy—to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to welcome the foreigner, and to visit both the sick and the imprisoned.
In sum, our Final Judgment will be based largely on our love of God but manifested in our love of neighbor. Indeed, using the words of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “We must find Jesus present in the distressing disguise of the poor.” Saint Vincent de Paul, known for his great love for the poor, actually called the poor “his masters”.
Corporal Works of Mercy carried out with noble intentions please the Heart of Jesus immensely. However, it is of equal important to practice the Spiritual Works of Mercy. Jesus said point blank: “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul in the process. What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mt. 16:26) Pope Francis lamented that one of the most common and grave neglects is the failure to preach the Word of God to the poor. First, fill their hungry stomachs. But then fill their souls with the Bread of the Word of God and the Bread of Life, which is Holy Communion.
In this short essay we would like to go through the Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy and give some ways we can implement these all important spiritual injunctions!
First of all, the Spiritual Works of Mercy are the following:
1) Admonish the sinner;
2) Instruct the ignorant;
3) Counsel the doubtful;
4) Comfort the sorrowful;
5) Bear wrongs patiently;
6) Forgive all injuries;
7) Pray for the living and the dead.
There we have the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy. Let us take them one at a time!
1. ADMONISH THE SINNER
Easier said than done! Doing this can be extremely difficult but it is exceedingly necessary, now more than ever! Why is it so difficult? For the simple reason that we are born proud and do not desire to give up old and ingrained habits. If they are bad habits, they are called “vices”. We often cling to the evil, the ugly, the impure, the unhealthy, the sinful.
A common example merits our attention. Those who co-habit are living in sin and somebody should tell them, giving clear reasons why this is wrong. What might be the reasons to explain why it is wrong? Here are some. Premarital sex or fornication is a mortal sin. You deprive yourself of the Sacraments, both of Confession and the Holy Eucharist. You erode your conscience. You are giving public scandal, no matter how many others might be doing it. Might, meaning majority, does not make right in the eyes of God.
God so highly prizes admonishing the sinner and bringing him back on the right path that He promises salvation and the expiation of many of our personal sins by simply bringing back one straying sinner. Read the words of the Apostle Saint James (Jas. 5:19-20):
“My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his ways will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
2. INSTRUCT THE IGNORANT
We all have heard the proverb: “Charity begins at home.” This is true, especially in the formation of children and adolescents. By choosing the married state, a husband and wife profess to be open to life through procreation. That is the very first step!
Next, it is incumbent upon parents to teach their children all that refers to God—the Ten Commandments, the Sacraments, prayer, Marian devotion, and much more! The primary responsibility of parents bringing children into the world is to get the children to heaven.
The school is not the first teacher, nor the catechism teacher, nor even the Pastor or priest. No! The first teachers are Mom and Dad. This necessarily implies the process of ongoing or permanent formation on the part of the parents! Another proverb is worthy of injecting here: “You can’t give what you don’t have.”
A field that the parents must master in the realm of education, for themselves as well as their children, is that of sexual morality. Parents must strive to know the Biblical and the Church’s teaching on purity, live it out in their own lives, and then teach it with the utmost clarity to their children!
3. COUNSEL THE DOUBTFUL
Much can be said on the Spiritual Works of Mercy. One is the importance of solid spiritual direction. Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Faustina Kowalska, as well as Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque were all strongly dependent on spiritual direction to discern God’s will in their lives. They all are canonized saints and one reason is that they humbly admitted they were ignorant in many ways, had many doubts, and submitted their judgments, inspirations and thoughts to a higher authority—their Confessor and Spiritual Director.
Even though there is a shortage of priests, as well as spiritual directors, still it is incumbent upon us to find a way to have periodic spiritual direction so as to expel the many doubts that can easily cloud our mind, blur our judgment, and corrupt our actions. Saint John of the Cross put it wryly: “He who has himself as a spiritual director, has an idiot as his directee!” In other words, we all have blind spots that can only be enlightened by proper spiritual direction.
4. COMFORT THE SORROWFUL
This is extremely important! Saint Ignatius of Loyola in his Rules for Discernment of Spirits outlines a strategy on how to act when we are in a state of desolation. In desolation we may feel sad, worn down, exhausted and alone, as if nobody cares about us, to the point that life seems useless and without meaning. We all go through this state at times; it is part of being human. When you are in a state of desolation, open up to your Spiritual Director. If you don’t have one, to a Confessor familiar with the Spiritual Exercises. This is essential!
Next, when you are aware of someone going through this state of desolation, it is incumbent upon you to do all that you can to be a source of encouragement for them. How???
First and foremost, pray for that person. Second, a warm smile can go a long way! Third, say a word or two of encouragement. Fourth, offer a compliment on some good quality the person has. Fifth, be willing to listen to them; sometimes, just being able to speak their fears and doubts out loud dissipates them. This is all very pleasing to God. We become like Simon of Cyrene who helped Jesus carry His cross.
5. BEAR WRONGS PATIENTLY
Once again, easier said than done. In this we need grace and a lot of grace! Maybe at work we have been wronged by a boss or co-worker. Both the boss and co-worker are not going anywhere. Changing jobs is unthinkable due to the economic situation. The most pleasing attitude in the eyes of God is simply to return to work with great humility and trust in Divine Providence.
Trust in God! He will be there to help you patiently carry the cross. Of immense help would be to meditate upon Jesus carrying His cross heading towards His crucifixion. Even though Jesus fell three times, each time He got up again with the weight of all the sins of the world on His weary, beaten and bloody shoulders.
We should always have Jesus before our eyes as our model and example. Indeed, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life! Ask Jesus to help you; He will be your Simon of Cyrene!
6. FORGIVE ALL INJURIES
May God help us! We have arrived at the Heart of Mercy in our dealings with others. Mercy is a two-way street! If we want to receive mercy from God, then we must be merciful and forgive those who have wronged us. Biblical verses on this topic are very many!
1) “Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful.” (Lk. 6:36)
2) “Do not take revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.’” (Rom. 12:19)
3) “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” (Eph. 4:26)
4) “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Mt. 6:12 Our Father)
5) “Lord, how many times shall I forgive? Up to seven times?”…”I tell you not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (…which means always) (Mt. 18:21-22)
6) “Leave your gift at the altar and first go and be reconciled with your brother, then come and offer your gift.” (Mt. 5:24)
7) Jesus from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:34)
8) Jesus to the repentant thief on the cross. “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk. 23:43)
One hint in the area of forgiveness. Accept the fact that all of your life people will hurt you. The most common place where we are wounded is in the context of our family, with family members. The key is this: forgive immediately! As soon as anybody hurts or wounds you, pray for that person and forgive them immediately. And as often as the hurt returns, pray for them and forgive them again! If done, you will have won a major victory over self, and shown God how much you love Him by practicing mercy!
7. PRAY FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Jesus told Saint Faustina that He desires that we practice at least one Act of Mercy every day. He specified that mercy can be carried out in one of three manners:
1) By kind words,
2) By kind deeds,
3) By prayer.
That said, one of the greatest acts of charity that we can do in our lives is to simply pray for others, both the living and the dead.
With respect to praying for the living, there should be a hierarchy of importance. If married and with a family, this should be the order: first spouse, then children, parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, co-workers and associates, and we should also pray for those we do not like, and even for our enemies!!!
Then, with respect to the dead, we should pray constantly for the dead. Saint Francis de Sales emphasizes the fact that this is one of the greatest acts of charity that we can do. Why? For this simple reason: they are totally dependent on the mercy of God and on our prayers, almsgiving or charity, as well as our sacrifices, in order to be released from Purgatory!
The “Gregorian Mass” consisting of Masses offered for 30 consecutive days for the deceased came about because Saint Pope Gregory the Great had to pray thirty consecutive Masses in order to free his deceased friend from the fires of Purgatory.
A common error today is in funeral Masses where the deceased person, despite their many moral failures, is being unofficially canonized in the funeral homily and/or in the eulogy. True, we should be compassionate towards those who have lost their loved ones. Still, we should not canonize the deceased by assuming they went straight to heaven. Only the Pope has the right to canonize someone. The Bible teaches clearly and unequivocally that only souls pure and without blemish can enter the Kingdom of God. Let us not leave our deceased loved ones and friends in the fires of Purgatory through our failure to pray for them! By God’s grace, we can make reparation for their sins with our prayers and sacrifices, thereby shortening their time in Purgatory, and speeding their entrance into heaven!
FINAL REFLECTION:
Now ask yourself, in humble prayer, which of these Spiritual Works of Mercy do you believe the Holy Spirit is inspiring you to undertake right now? Look at your concrete living conditions and ask the Holy Spirit to pinpoint persons and areas where you are called to implement with great generosity one or more of these Spiritual Works of Mercy.
Not forgetting the challenging words of Jesus in today’s Gospel:
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Meaning always!)
Finally: “Whatsoever you do the least of my brothers that you do unto me.” (Mt. 25: 31-46)
