St. Gregory was right. One can notice the peace of Christ where He does in fact dwell.
We wouldn't do such nice things for people from the heart, if we didn't love them. Love has to come first.
The Spiritual and Corporal works of Mercy are acts of Love. So let's combine the two ideas here, and see how we might live this quote out. But let's first take a look at the Works, and the Prayer of Saint Francis:
The Corporal Works of Mercy:
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.
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.
Prayer of Saint Francis:
Lord make me
an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.
O Divine Master grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,
As to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it is in dying that we are
Born to eternal life. Amen
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The prayer of St. Francis is one of my favorites, and one prayer of my soul on a daily basis. Imagine who we could become if we truly lived by that prayer!
Anyhow, the Works and this prayer go hand-in-hand. It's a message of self-sacrificing, and love.
So, how can we incorporate better these things into daily living at home with a bunch of kids---I might add---that is our "little church" of the future?
Well. . . prayer, first. Let's start with the simple one here. St. Francis knew it. He lived it. Just simply TRYING is a grace that God has given us. So, the prayer shows the counter of all despairs is love in some way, shape, or form, that can also cover the Corporal Works of Mercy.
With kids, though, we an try to accomplish this in some of these ways. Older siblings love acting like mommas and poppas, and that means they like serving little brothers and sisters for fun. This begins to permeate their natures with Christ-like love. Most of the Corporal Works have the same idea: caring for one another. So simply it can be. If a sibling falls down, we can teach the older kids to run to their aid, and help them with a Band-Aid, or some ice, you get the idea. Clothing the naked: Helping with baths, getting towels, washing laundry; simple chores of service for others it becomes! And they can learn to love it through the knowing of good and peace and joy it creates in a situation. When my kids are sick, they help one another with drinks, medicine, comfort items; when it's mom, they like to help keep the little ones quiet, or preoccupied, (even though it might be tv, but, hey). Burying the dead came after my precious dad passed away. They learned to respect the life of their grandpa, and they pray for him (as we Catholics like to do), and this helps them see that His life is still living on even though through Heaven's realms. You can be creative with teaching these works through your own experiences. Peace and joy will abound in your little church with the knowledge of the little ones doing good for the family. The Spiritual Works seem to be simple, although teaching them may be more difficult. They may be more challenging because they require actions from the heart, and take the practice of the cardinal virtues. I know its that way here. Constant practice.
* Instruct the ignorant: We need to teach the kids to correct each other with fortitude. It's ok to correct someone who may be wrong in their knowledge of the faith. It's so important that members of the Church are properly instructed. Remind them that God needs them to help spread His Truth. Sometimes, you may end up with a future evangelist who has their own talk-show on apologetics, haha!
* Counsel the Doubtful/Admonish the Sinner: We must know the Promises and Truths of Christ and what the Church teaches on our redemption and salvation to properly counsel. It also takes fortitude. Teach them things like, "When the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into all Truth."~ John 16:13. This is encouraging for someone who should counsel, and important for a child to know they are called by God to live out His mission for them. It is also a promise that will help the discerner to discern. Here's another good one, "Should anyone ask you the reason for this hope of yours, be ever ready to reply." ~ Peter 3:15. It's important to be able to defend the Truth. God has chosen them to do it! This goes for admonishing the sinner too. We must gently caution our brothers and sisters and be a constant witness to Christ, even when we have people we love going the opposite direction. We must be able to do the admonishing with fortitude as well, because it is important for those who offend God to know what they are doing wrong. This is as simple as having a child recite the reason to another sibling why a certain action is wrong, and to remind their sibling why they should be doing the opposite when they've made a mistake. Apologetics is a big topic, and to include so much would have to be reserved for another post, sometime down the road. :) Little kids love being in a position to help "correct" a sibling. They inadvertently begin to notice wrongs, and become aware of their own wrongs.
* Bearing wrongs patiently/forgive offenses willingly: This directly follows the above. Once a child learns his wrongs, he must know how to bear it without losing hope or feeling like a super-unable-to-be-forgiven-child. Some kids can be so hard on themselves, it is true. But we can teach them to be patient with themselves, by us being patient with them at the same time. Think about that the next time you get upset at your child, and I will too, believe me. (Because we all need reminding!!) This patience will help them to learn that their mistakes aren't the end of the world- or theirs- and that they can rest peacefully in Christ's forgiving mercy. I have to believe this encourages them to actually try harder, as opposed to give up the next time. BOY! Doesn't this look like these Works were meant for mommies AND kids? They go hand-in-hand!
* Comforting the afflicted: This must take the virtue of justice, in a sense, because it requires us to respect the rights of others, and be honest. to be able to comfort the afflicted, we have to first recognize that the afflicted is loved by God, which means that we have to see them as God sees them. To give the compassion necessary, we must be moved to realize the same. This can be hard for those of us who are self-centered, and selfish, and coward or intimidated by outward or inward troubles. How to teach our kids? Teach compassion in such a deep way, that there is no division between the person and his image of God he is created in. That's a hard one. I know a lot of adults, and myself even, still working on that. We grow up in a culture that is the exact opposite of what this Work teaches. Most people would probably agree that in a time of need, they need sympathy and compassion before any temporal assistance. This Work I believe is one that must grow in depth with the age of the child, year by year. It never expires, for sure.
35h For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40i And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ ~ Mat. 25:35-40
It's sure a full post, I know. I would LOVE-LOVE -LOVE your feedback on this one. We all need help in certain departments, and it takes a mosh-posh of ideas sometimes to find what works for certain people. Please leave your thoughts, and ideas below. We all look forward to them. May God bless you tonight, and your little church, and may you grow to LOVE the ones of the world around you, especially your little family--or your big family!
J.M.J
