One of the things St. Elizabeth is most famous for is her practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. How many paintings, statues and other art works show her feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty and visiting the sick! The testimonies in her canonization process bear abundant witness to her practice of this important aspect of the Christian life. When she was professed as a Franciscan penitent in Marburg in 1229, she was able to give herself up completely to a life of compassionate and merciful service to others.

All Christians must make room in their lives for this kind of service, and we who are Secular Franciscans must practice it in the spirit of St. Francis, who asked his friars to "rejoice when they go among those who are lowly and despised, among the weak and the sick and the lepers and those who beg along the roadside," and to consider themselves one with them (RegNBull chap. IX). Our SFO Rule asks us to detach our hearts from temporal goods so that we may always be stewards of the good we have received "for the benefit of God’s children," and so that we may always have "the spirit of the Beatitudes." (II, 11). Among these is "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy" (Mt 5:7).

For centuries, the Church has taught us about the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. They are an obligation binding on the faithful in the laws of the Church. They are acts of compassion based on the virtue of charity, but also of justice, because they are what we owe to others out of our common humanity. We also have the positive command of Jesus to serve Him through our brothers and sisters, and his assurance that our salvation depends on them (Mt. 25:40). Above all, we know that the ultimate basis for all love is love of God: "We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him" (1 John 4,16). Our SFO Rule tells us to build up a "more fraternal and evangelical world." That is, we regard others as our brothers and sisters not just on the mere human level, but with and in the spirit of Christ.

The corporal works of mercy are:

1) To feed the hungry. 2) To give drink to the thirsty. 3) to clothe the naked. 4) To shelter the homeless. 5) To visit the sick. 6) To visit the imprisoned 7) To bury the dead.

And the spiritual works of mercy are:

1) To instruct the ignorant 2) To warn the sinner. 3) To counsel the doubtful. 4) to comfort the sorrowful. 5) to bear wrongs patiently. 6) To forgive all injuries. 7) To pray for the living and the dead.

These two lists are an indication that effective love must serve the whole person. When Elizabeth gave alms to the poor who were gathered together in the hospital courtyard, she not only gave them bread and cared for their bodily dignity by oiling and washing their feet, she also had a bonfire lit for them to lift their spirits. The poor people, restored spiritually and physically, began to sing. Elizabeth said to her companions "You see, I told you we must make people happy." She had a profound understanding of the dual aspects of the works of mercy.

The inner spirit in which works of mercy are exercised is just as important as the external activity. Pope Benedict XVI tells us: "Saint Paul, in his hymn to charity (cf. 1 Cor 13), teaches us that it is always more than activity alone: "If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing" (v. 3). This hymn must be the Magna Carta of all ecclesial service. . . Practical activity will always be insufficient, unless it visibly expresses a love for man, a love nourished by an encounter with Christ. My deep personal sharing in the needs and sufferings of others becomes a sharing of my very self with them: if my gift is not to prove a source of humiliation, I must give to others not only something that is my own, but my very self; I must be personally present in my gift" (Deus Caritas Est, no. 34).

When we perform works of mercy, as Secular Franciscans we should do so fraternally, by "placing ourselves on an equal basis with all people, especially the lowly" (Rule n. 13). We also need to exercise them "competently," that is, by making the best use of our own talents in whatever aspect of service to others we are called to.

What does the "spirit of Christian service" required by our Rule consist of? Is the inner spirit of charity always present in my outward service? Have I always practiced both the physical and spiritual aspect of the works of mercy? Which people in our parish community and our town or city need my particular talents? How can I best reach out to them and serve them?

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me. 'Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" (Mt. 25:35-36, 40)

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Mt 5:7).

"A sense of community will make them joyful and ready to place themselves on an equal basis with all people, especially with the lowly for whom they shall strive to create conditions of life worthy of people redeemed by Christ" (SFO Rule II, 13).

"Secular Franciscans, together with all people of good will, are called to build a more fraternal and evangelical world so that the kingdom of God may be brought about more effectively. Mindful that anyone who follows Christ, the perfect man, becomes more of a man himself, let them exercise their responsibilities competently in Christian spirit of service" (SFO Rule, II, 14).