Works of Mercy

It was one of those days in late April in North Carolina where the cool breeze of the morning slowly gives way to a sunny, sweaty afternoon. Our little group of friends toted a blue cooler full of ice cold waters through the streets of downtown Durham. The 30 bottles ran out quickly, as we came across a couple families with young kids, a few older guys asking for change, some construction workers, and a handful of unsheltered folks whose encampment at a local park had just been turned upside down. The chilled water was a refreshment for everyone, and so was the small space for connection. We learned names and heard stories. We shared some of our own. It was strikingly simple and unglamorous. 

I am convinced that, through these simple, daily actions, we can achieve a true cultural revolution, like there was in the past. If every one of us, every day, does one of these, this will be a revolution in the world! Everyone, each and every one of us…it is not enough to experience God’s mercy in one’s life; whoever receives it must also become a sign and instrument for others. Mercy, therefore, is not only reserved for particular moments, but it embraces our entire daily existence. How can we, therefore, be witnesses of mercy? We do not think that it is done with great efforts or superhuman actions. No, it is not so. The Lord shows us a very simple path, made by small actions which, nonetheless, have great value in his eyes.

~ Pope Francis

So, how can we become witnesses of mercy? Our little community is trying in the most rudimentary way. Reality Ministries is a community in Durham, NC where people of all abilities share life together in all sorts of ways. As one expression of this shared life, everyone has the option to join seasonal interest groups. The variety of these groups stretches from yoga to bowling to cooking to reading the Chronicles of Narnia aloud. All of them are intended to make space for knowing and being known – for friendship to grow. This Spring we formed a Works of Mercy group. 

The invitation went like this: Our world needs mercy – we all do. Mercy starts with God. Come join us as we reflect on different ways to share God’s mercy with one another and put those ideas into practice. When we gather we might pray or write cards or visit someone in the hospital or read the Bible and talk together. We will open ourselves to meet Jesus and to share the love of God with others. About eight of us said yes. Some of us live with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. We are intergenerational and quite diverse in our own stories and experiences of the world…it is the draw to participate in the works of mercy that unites us. Deeper still, it is the mercy of God that unites us.

Earlier in that hot afternoon of handing out cold water, our group learned the story of Sister Julia Greeley, Denver’s ‘Angel of Charity.’ Born into slavery in Missouri in the mid-19th century, Julia made her way post-emancipation to Colorado and dedicated her life to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her life is a profound ‘witness of mercy,’ giving what she had to the poor families in her community and, when her own resources ran out, begging on behalf of others for food and clothing. “She would deliver food, fuel, clothing and other necessities by night in a little red wagon. With the Klan and other racists having a menacing presence in the Denver of that era, she was at risk as a small Black woman walking alone at night. Yet, she assumed the risk to spare needy white families the embarrassment of accepting charity from a Black woman.” She joined the Third Order of St. Francis in 1901 and is one of the ‘Saintly Six’ African American Catholics currently on the path to sainthood. Pray for us, Sister Julia.

And so, as our group rolled that blue cooler of water through downtown Durham we thought of Sister Julia and her red wagon. When our group started, we read Matthew 25 and Isaiah 58 together and reflected on the seven corporal works of mercy (see image). We then brainstormed ways we could jump in over the next several months. We visited a neighborhood food pantry and invited our wider community into a food drive. We visited folks in a rehabilitation center. We made cards for a friend who was sick. We hosted a local leader involved in supporting the journey home for folks coming out of incarceration. We joined a divinity school class to host a prayer gathering on the Iran War that explored the works of mercy vs. the works of war. All the while we integrated creative formation through songs, art, poetry, documentaries, and Scriptures that opened us to new ways of understanding and experiencing God’s mercy.

What would it look like for communities across our country to commit themselves to the simple path of daily works of mercy? What would it look like for you in your own neighborhood, your own parish, your own city?

By grace, we participate in Sister Julia’s lineage of living out Pope Francis’ exhortation – a true cultural revolution through this very simple path of daily actions. Our small works of mercy have not felt revolutionary, especially in the face of pervasive and complex structural injustice not just nationally and globally, but right here in our city. Though, perhaps in another sense, the seeds of revolution are being planted. We are being changed – each one of us in this group. I wonder if practicing the works of mercy helps position us to say ‘yes’ to Jesus’ transformation. And that certainly is the stuff of revolution – reshaping the world from the ground up. In the lineage of Dorothy Day we are recognizing that real reform of the social order starts with concrete, personal acts of love rather than impersonal and abstract policies or institutional assistance. These little acts are pathways of ongoing conversion of heart, protests against indifference, and announcements of the peaceable way of the kingdom.

These works of mercy are the features of the face of Jesus Christ, who takes care of his littlest brethren in order to bring the tenderness and closeness of God to each of them. May the Holy Spirit help us; may the Holy Spirit kindle within us the desire to live this way of life: at least once a day, at least! Let us again learn the corporal and spiritual works of mercy by heart, and ask the Lord to help us put them into practice every day, and in those moments where we see Jesus in a person who is in need.

~ Pope Francis

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Greg Little is a husband to Janice and father to JoyAna and Elias and Terese (Resa), and he has a home at Corner House in Durham, North Carolina. He has learned from various schools, including several Christian communities seeking justice and peace (a Catholic Worker home inspired by St. Francis, Durham’s Friendship House and Haiti’s Wings of Hope) and is committed to a life ordered by daily communal prayer and littleness. He works at Reality Ministries, a place proclaiming that we all belong to God in Jesus through fostering friendship among people with and without developmental disabilities. Greg and Sister Julia recently met in the wonder of interfaith dialogue about monasticism and the contemplative life at Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.