Jesus tells us, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25: 40). The Catholic Church draws from this chapter in Matthew’s Gospel the corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, burying the dead, and giving alms to the poor. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, these “works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.” (CCC 2447). The works of mercy are acts of stewardship.
One work of mercy that our family practices is visiting the sick, speci cally visiting the residents of our local nursing home. The churches in our town take turns leading the Sunday afternoon nursing home service, which consists of hymns, scripture, and prayer. We take part in this service when it is our church’s turn to lead. We also try to visit the nursing home about once a month, just to visit with residents. They love having visitors and especially enjoy seeing our two young children. Our visits are simple and fairly short; we walk through the hall and the commons area, greeting those who are spending time outside their rooms. We speci cally visit a couple of members of our parish.
At your local nursing home, you may be able to volunteer to help with an activity, such as Bingo or a craft. If you have a musical talent, you could entertain the residents. You could simply spend time talking with residents, especially those who have few visitors. We have discovered that what we talk about is less important than simply being there. Seeing us, especially our children, instantly puts a smile on the residents’ faces. Some of them won’t remember what we talked about or even that we were there. But for that moment when we were, they felt loved and cared for. If we love Christ, let us extend that love to the least of His brothers and sisters in our nursing homes.
By Rita Pehl, Diocesan Stewardship Council Member – Sacred Heart, Terry
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