{{Short description|Meritorious works or acts in morals}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} [[File:Pieter_Bruegel_the_Elder_-_Caritas_(Charity)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|{{lang|la|Caritas}}, The Seven Acts of Mercy, pen and ink drawing by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1559.{{efn|Anticlockwise from lower right: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, ransom the captive, bury the dead, shelter the stranger, comfort the sick, and clothe the naked.}}]] '''Works of mercy''' (sometimes called acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics.
The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist Church teaches that the works of mercy are a means of grace that evidence holiness of heart (entire sanctification).<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowden |first=John Stephen |title=Encyclopedia of Christianity |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780195223934 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGAUAQAAIAAJ&q=works+of+mercy+methodism |quote=Works of mercy are, therefore, not merely good deeds but also channels through which Christians receive God's grace. |access-date=5 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Manskar |first=Steve |title=Holiness of Heart and Life: Part 3 of 6 |url=https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/blog/holiness-of-heart-and-life-part-3-of-6 |publisher=United Methodist Church |date=22 December 2014 |access-date=22 May 2024}}</ref>
The works of mercy have traditionally been divided into two categories, each with seven elements:<ref>{{cite book |last=Mauriello |first=Matthew |title=Mercies Remembered |publisher=Xulon Press |year=2011 |pages=149–160 |isbn=9781612150055}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Aquinas |first=Thomas |title=Summa Theologica |chapter=Of Almsdeeds (II-II, Q.32) |date=1256–1272}}</ref> # "Corporal works of mercy" which concern the material and physical needs of others. # "Spiritual works of mercy" which concern the spiritual needs of others.
Pope John Paul II issued a papal encyclical, known as {{lang|la|Dives in misericordia}}, on 30 November 1980, declaring that "Jesus Christ taught that man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but that he is also called upon 'to practice mercy' towards others."<ref name=Misericordia >[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_30111980_dives-in-misericordia_en.html Pope John Paul II, ''Dives in misericordia'', §14], Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 30 November 1980.</ref> Another notable devotion associated with the works of mercy is the Divine Mercy, which derives from apparitions of Jesus Christ to Saint Faustina Kowalska.
== In the Catholic Church == {{Catholic philosophy}} Based on Jesus' parable of The Sheep and the Goats and other accounts in the New Testament, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy are a means of grace as good deeds; they are also a work of justice pleasing to God,<ref name="ccc2447">{{Cite CCC|2.1|2447|quote=The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead.}}</ref> and a sign of the authenticity of a believer's worship of God.<ref>Pope Leo XIV, [https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html Dilexi te], paragraph 27, published on 4 October 2025, accessed on 27 October 2025</ref>
The precept is an affirmative obligation—that is, it is always binding, though not always operative due to lack of opportunity, matter, or suitable circumstances. In practice, its actual force in a given case depends largely on a person's capacity.
There are clear limitations on how the precept applies to the performance of the corporal works of mercy. Similarly, the law governing the spiritual works of mercy is subject to important qualifications in individual cases. Some acts may require particular tact, prudence, or knowledge. For example, instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, and consoling the sorrowful are not within everyone's ability. By contrast, other duties (such as bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offenses willingly, and praying for the living and the dead) do not demand any special talents or gifts for their proper observance.<ref name=Cathencycle>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10198d.htm Delany, Joseph. "Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy"] The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 11 July 2019{{PD-notice}}</ref>
In his message for the 2016 World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis suggested "care for creation" as a new work of mercy, describing it as a "complement" to the existing works.<ref>Pope Francis, [https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/cura-creato/documents/papa-francesco_20160901_messaggio-giornata-cura-creato.html Show Mercy to our Common Home: Message of his Holiness Pope Francis for the Celebration of the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, 1 September 2016], accessed on 16 August 2024</ref> Francis characterized this new work as having both corporal and spiritual components. Corporally, it involves "daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness". Spiritually, it involves contemplating each part of creation to find what God is teaching mankind through them.<ref name="Francis 2016">[http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-message-on-world-day-of-prayer-for-cr Pope Francis: Message on 2016 World Day of Prayer for Creation] As a spiritual work of mercy, care for our common home calls for a "grateful contemplation of God’s world" (Laudato si', 214) which "allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us" (ibid., 85). As a corporal work of mercy, care for our common home requires "simple daily gestures which break with the logic of violence, exploitation and selfishness" and "makes itself felt in every action that seeks to build a better world"</ref><ref name="Dewane Cantu 2017">{{cite web |last1=Dewane |first1=Frank J. |last2=Cantú |first2=Oscar |author-link2=Oscar Cantú |date=31 August 2017 |title=Statement on Upcoming World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation |website=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops |url=http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/environment/statement-on-world-day-of-prayer-for-care-of-creation.cfm |access-date=18 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Harris 2016">{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Elise |date=1 September 2016 |title=Pope Francis declares care for creation a new work of mercy |work=Catholic News Agency |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/34484/pope-francis-declares-care-for-creation-a-new-work-of-mercy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McKenna |first=Josephine |title=Pope Francis says destroying the environment is a sin |work=the Guardian |date=1 August 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/01/pope-francis-calls-on-christians-to-embrace-green-agenda |access-date=18 June 2018}}</ref><ref name="Winfield 2016">{{cite magazine |last=Winfield |first=Nicole |date=1 September 2016 |title=Pope Francis calls for a new work of mercy: care for the environment |website=America Magazine |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/pope-calls-new-work-mercy-care-environment |access-date=18 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rowlands |first1=Anna F. | author1link=Anna Rowlands |last2=Czerny |first2=Robert E. |date=19 February 2018 |title=The eight works of mercy |website=Thinking Faith: The online journal of the Jesuits in Britain |url=https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/eight-works-mercy |access-date=18 June 2018}} This appears to be a translation and substantial revision of {{cite magazine |last1=Rowlands |first1=Anna F. | author1link=Anna Rowlands |last2=Czerny |first2=Robert E. |date=February 2018|title=La cura della casa comune: una nuova opera di misericordia | website=Aggiornamenti Sociali | url=http://www.aggiornamentisociali.it/articoli/la-cura-della-casa-comune-una-nuova-opera-di-misericordia/ | language=it | access-date=18 June 2018}}</ref> This pronouncement extensively quoted the encyclical {{lang|la|Laudato si'}}, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, who helped write the encyclical, clarified that the addition of this work of mercy was part of Francis' intention for {{lang|la|Laudato si'}}.{{r|Harris 2016}}{{r|Winfield 2016}}
===Corporal works of mercy=== [[File:Barmherzigkeitsfenster, Freiburger Münster.jpg|thumb|The six Corporal Works of Mercy, Freiburg Minster, {{c.|1230}}]] [[File:Pierre Montallier 001.jpg|thumb|''Works of Mercy'' by Pierre Montallier, 1680]]
Corporal works of mercy are those that tend to the bodily needs of other creatures. The standard list is given by Jesus in Chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, in the famous sermon on the Last Judgment.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|25:31–46}}</ref> They are also mentioned in the Book of Isaiah.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|58}}</ref> The seventh work of mercy comes from the Book of Tobit<ref>{{bibleverse|Tobit|1:16–22}}: In the days of Shalmaneser I had performed many charitable deeds for my kindred, members of my people. I would give my bread to the hungry and clothing to the naked. If I saw one of my people who had died and been thrown behind the wall of Nineveh, I used to bury him.</ref> and from the ''mitzvah'' of burial,<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/282548/jewish/The-Basics.htm Chabad: The taharah, funeral and burial] Jewish law is unequivocal in its insistence that the body, in its entirety, be returned to the earth, in a way that allows for the natural process of its decomposition and re-integration with its primordial source— the soil of which it was formed. It also insists that in the interim between death and internment, the integrity and dignity of the body be respected and preserved.</ref> although it was not added to the list until the Middle Ages.<ref>[http://www.news.va/en/news/new-work-of-mercy-enshrined-in-first-papal-message News.Va: New work of mercy] Since biblical times, Christians have been called to carry out 6 acts of mercy, listed in St Matthew's Gospel – giving food and drink to the hungry and thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and the prisoners – with a 7th one, burying the dead, added in medieval times.</ref>
The works include: # To feed the hungry<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|15:11}}: "For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.{{'"}}</ref> # To give water to the thirsty # To clothe the naked # To shelter the homeless # To visit the sick # To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the captive<ref name=Cathencycle/> # To bury the dead<ref name="ccc2447" />
=== Spiritual works of mercy === Just as the corporal works of mercy are directed towards relieving corporeal suffering, the aim of the spiritual works of mercy is to relieve spiritual suffering. They were codified in or before the Catechism of the Council of Trent of 1566.<ref name="ccc2447" />
The works include: #To instruct the ignorant #To counsel the doubtful #To admonish the sinners #To bear patiently those who wrong oneself #To forgive offenses #To comfort the afflicted #To pray for the living and the dead<ref name="ccc2447"/>
[[File:Werken van Barmhartigheid, Meester van Alkmaar (1504).jpg|thumb|center|upright=1.5|Master of Alkmaar, ''The Seven Works of Mercy'', {{c.|1504}}, polyptych (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum)]]
=== Representation in art === The corporal works of mercy are an important subject of Christian iconography. In some representations of the Middle Ages, the seven works were allegorically juxtaposed with the seven deadly sins (avarice, anger, envy, laziness, unchastity, intemperance, pride). The pictorial representation of the works of mercy began in the 12th century. [[File:Caravaggio - Sette opere di Misericordia.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|The Seven Works of Mercy by Caravaggio, 1606/07 (Naples)]] The Master of Alkmaar painted the polyptych of the ''Seven works of mercy'' ({{c.|1504}}) for the Church of Saint Lawrence in Alkmaar, Netherlands. His series of wooden panel paintings show the works of mercy, with Jesus in the background viewing each, in this order: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, bury the dead, shelter the traveler, comfort the sick, and ransom the captive.
The painting of the ''Seven Works of Mercy'' by Frans II Francken (1605) represents the acts not as a picture cycle, but in one single composition.
A major work of the iconography of mercy is the altarpiece of Caravaggio (1606/07) in Naples, which was commissioned by the Confraternità del Pio Monte della Misericordia for their church. This charity brotherhood was founded in 1601 in Naples. The artist painted the ''Seven Works of Mercy'' in one single composition. Regarding the sharp contrasts of the painting's chiaroscuro, the art historian Ralf van Bühren explains the bright light as a metaphor for mercy, which "helps the audience to explore mercy in their own lives".<ref>Ralf van Bühren, ''[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23753234.2017.1287283 Caravaggio's 'Seven Works of Mercy' in Naples. The relevance of art history to cultural journalism]'', in ''Church, Communication and Culture'' 2 (2017), pp. 63–87, quotation from pp. 79–80.</ref>
== In Methodism == In Methodist teaching, doing merciful acts is a prudential means of grace.<ref name="Wesley2"> {{cite web|title=Mission: The Works of Mercy |url=http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/mission.stm |publisher=The United Methodist Church |quote=John Wesley believed that "means of grace," include both "works of piety" (instituted means of grace) and "works of mercy" (prudential means of grace). He preached that Christians must do both works of piety and works of mercy in order to move on toward Christian perfection. |access-date=5 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001209101500/http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/mission.stm |archive-date=9 December 2000 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Methodist Social Principles: An Overview |url=https://www.methodist.org.sg/methodist-message/methodist-social-principles-an-overview/ |publisher=Methodist Church in Singapore |access-date=4 April 2026 |date=4 April 2024}}</ref> Along with works of piety, works of mercy evidence growth in grace and are characteristic of those who have Christian perfection.<ref name="Wesley3">{{cite web|title=Mission: The Works of Mercy|url=http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/action.stm|publisher=The United Methodist Church|quote=Christian Perfection is "holiness of heart and life." It is "walking the talk." John Wesley expected Methodists to do not only "works of piety" but "works of mercy"—both of these fused together put a Christian on the path to perfection in love.|access-date=5 July 2011|archive-date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629141125/http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/action.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Sanctification">{{cite book|author=John Wesley|title=The Works of the Reverend John Wesley, A.M., Volume VI|page=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q4BPAAAAYAAJ&q=works+of+mercy+sanctification&pg=PA46|publisher=J. Emory & B. Waugh; J. Collord, New York|quote=Why, that both repentance, rightly understood, and the practice of all good works, – works of piety, as well as works of mercy, (now properly so called, since they spring from faith,) are, in some sense, necessary to sanctification.|access-date=5 July 2011|year=1840|author-link=John Wesley}}</ref> In this sense, the Methodist concern for people at the margins is closely related to its worship.<ref name="Relation">{{cite book|author=John Stephen Bowden|title=Encyclopedia of Christianity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGAUAQAAIAAJ&q=works+of+mercy+methodism|publisher=Oxford University Press|quote=In this sense, Methodist concern for people at the margins is closely related to its worship.|access-date=5 July 2011|isbn=9780195223934|year=2005}}</ref> As such, these beliefs have helped create the emphasis of the social gospel in the Methodist Church.<ref name="Social">{{cite book|author=Edward Craig|title=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Questions to sociobiology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NfRXYYhpLekC&q=methodism+sanctification+works+of+mercy&pg=PA457|publisher=Taylor & Francis|quote=He clearly thought that there is an experience of sanctification in which there is a total death to sin and a complete renewal of the image of God. His various qualifications concerning the nature of perfection did not, however, weaken the Methodist stress that one must press on towards perfection in this life. Much of the social activism of Methodism sprang from this stress.|access-date=5 July 2011|isbn=9780415187138|year=1998}}</ref>
The Methodist concept of works of mercy is drawn from the writings of John Wesley, who described them in multiple writings, among them a sermon addressing Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: <blockquote>And, First, with regard to works of mercy. "Take heed," saith he,"that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: Otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven." "That ye do not your alms:" -- Although this only is named, yet is every work of charity included, every thing which we give, or speak, or do, whereby our neighbour may be profited; whereby another man may receive any advantage, either in his body or soul. The feeding the hungry, the clothing the naked, the entertaining or assisting the stranger, the visiting those that are sick or in prison, the comforting the afflicted, the instructing the ignorant, the reproving the wicked, the exhorting and encouraging the well-doer; and if there be any other work of mercy, it is equally included in this direction.<ref name="Wesley2"/></blockquote>
== See also == {{Columns-list|colwidth=30em| * Divine Mercy novena * Holy House of Mercy * Mercy Corps * Our Lady of Mercy * Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit * Sisters of Mercy * Tree of virtues }}
== Further reading == *{{cite book|chapter=The Ninth Precept, or Almsdeeds.|title=The Art of Dying Well|year=1847|publisher=Richardson and Son|first=Robert|last=Bellarmine|author-link=Robert Bellarmine|translator=John Dalton}}
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist}} {{catholic|wstitle=Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy}}
== External links == {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070430190928/http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/serm-016.stm "The Means of Grace" by John Wesley] *[http://www.paintedchurch.org/7wksintr.htm Seven Corporal Works of Mercy] in English painted churches (online catalog of medieval depictions, Anne Marschall, The Open University)
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Category:Methodism Category:Christian ethics Category:Catholic theology and doctrine Category:Christian terminology