The Works of Mercy

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The most horrific phrase spoken by Our Lord is, "Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which was prepared for the Devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). How miserable it must be for the damned soul to hear that as his final word from God — a God whom he was created to love and desire with his whole being.

In the same chapter of Matthew's gospel, Our Lord describes the final judgment at the end of the world. He establishes that eternal life and eternal death are decided by how people treat the least among people, called the corporal works of mercy. They are to:

• Feed the hungry
• Give drink to the thirsty
• Clothe the naked
• Shelter the homeless
• Visit the sick
• Visit those in prison
• Bury the dead

To those who follow God's commandments, Our Lord declares "Come, you blessed of my Father. Possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

And then there are the spiritual works of mercy:

• Converting the sinner
• Instructing the ignorant
• Counseling the doubtful
• Comforting the sorrowful
• Bearing wrongs patiently
• Forgiving injuries
• Praying for the living and the dead

Because human beings are a unity of body and soul, they have one foot in physical reality and the other in spiritual reality. Both corporal and spiritual works of mercy are necessary. But it seems that many priests and bishops have been raising the corporal works above the spiritual.

What's happening today, however, is that people are paying government entities to do the charitable works for them. Notice, "pay your taxes" is nowhere in the works of mercy. Democrats claim taxes must be raised so that those who have can pay for the have-nots.

But it isn't charity if it's mandated by the government, meaning that paying taxes is not an act of charity. That's just one aspect of the Marxist takeover of Western civilization.

Learn more by watching The Download—The Works of Mercy.

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