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Corporal Works of Mercy
Corporal works of mercy are those that tend to the bodily needs of others. They are given by Jesus himself in the Gospel of Matthew, in the famous sermon on the Last Judgment. They are also mentioned in the Book of Isaiah. The seventh work of mercy comes from the Book of Tobit and from the mitzvah of burial, although it was not formally added to the list until the Middle Ages.
The works include:
- To feed the hungry.
- To give water to the thirsty.
- To clothe the naked.
- To shelter the homeless.
- To care for the sick.
- To visit the imprisoned, and ransom the captive.
- To bury the dead.
"A certain student of the law stood up and tested Him, saying, “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”
And the lawyer answered Him saying, “‘Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’”
And Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you shall live.”
But the lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
And Jesus answered him saying, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his belongings, assaulted him and departed, leaving him half dead..."
Luke 10:25-30
"This is how we know who are the children of God and who are the children of the Satan: anyone who does not do what is good is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their neighbor."
1 John 3:10
"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
James 2:26
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing."
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
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