Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) presentation on "Works of Mercy," presented by David Jensen at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 26 Jan 2010.

1. Works of
Mercy

2. Opening Prayer
Dear Lord, help me to remove from my
mind every thought or opinion which You
would not sanction, every feeling from my
heart which You would not approve.
Grant that I may spend the hours of the
day gladly working with You according
to Your will.

3. Opening Prayer
Help me just for today and be with me in it.
In the long hours of work, that I may not
grow weary or slack in serving You. In
conversation that they may not be to me
occasions of un-charitableness. In the
day's worries and disappointments, that I
may be patient with myself and with
those around me. In moments of fatigue
and illness, that I may be mindful of
others rather than of myself.

4. Opening Prayer
In temptations, that I may be generous and
loyal, so that when the day is over I may
lay it at Your feet, with its successes
which are all Yours, and its failures which
are all my own, and feel that life is real
and peaceful, and blessed when spent
with You as the Guest of my soul.
Amen.

5. Overview
• False Opinions • Catholic Doctrine
about Charity on Works
• Love for the Poor • Faith Perfected by
• Spiritual Works of Works
Mercy • What is Merit?
• Corporal Works of • Obedience of
Mercy Faith
• Works of Mercy
• Good Works Done
Well

6. False Opinions about Charity
• Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned
Parenthood: ―The Cruelty of Charity….
Fostering the good-for-nothing at the
expense of the good is an extreme cruelty. It
is a deliberate storing up of miseries for
future generations. There is no greater
curse to posterity than that of bequeathing
them an increasing population of imbeciles‖1
"[They are] an unceasingly spawning class
of human beings who never should have been
born at all.‖2

7. False Opinions about Charity
• Margaret Sanger, continued…
―…apply a stern and rigid policy of
sterilization and segregation to that grade
of population whose progeny is tainted, or
whose inheritance is such that
objectionable traits may be transmitted to
offspring…give certain dysgenic [i.e. unfit]
groups in our population their choice of
segregation [i.e., concentration camps] or
sterilization….‖ 3

8. False Opinions about Charity
• Margaret Sanger, continued…
―… take an inventory of…illiterates,
paupers, unemployables…classify them
in special departments…segregate
them…as long as necessary…. Having
corralled this enormous part of our
population…the future citizen [will be]
safeguarded from hereditary taints.‖4

9. Love for the Poor
• ―Love for the poor is inspired by the
Gospel of the Beatitudes and by the
example of Jesus in his constant
concern for the poor.‖5
• Matthew 25:40
―Whatever you have done to the least
of my brethren, you have done to me‖

10. Love for the Poor
• ―Love for the poor shows itself through the
struggle against material poverty and also
against the many forms of cultural, moral, and
religious poverty. The spiritual and corporal
works of mercy and the many charitable
institutions formed throughout the centuries
are a concrete witness to the preferential
love for the poor which characterizes the
disciples of Jesus.‖5

11. Spiritual Works of Mercy6
1. Counsel the doubtful
2. Instruct the ignorant
3. Admonish sinners
4. Comfort the afflicted
5. Forgive offenses
6. Bear wrongs patiently
7. Pray for the living and the dead

12. Corporal Works of Mercy6
1. Feed the hungry.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
3. Clothe the naked.
4. Shelter the homeless.
5. Visit the sick.
6. Visit the imprisoned.
7. Bury the dead.

13. Works of Mercy
• Coincide with various forms of
almsgiving —―alms‖ derives from the
Greek word for ―mercy‖
• Acts 26:20
―…repent and turn to God and perform
deeds worthy (Gk axios ergon) of
repentance.‖
• Read Matt 25:31-46

14. Good Works Done Well
• "It is not enough to do good works; they
need to be done well. For our works to
be good and perfect, they must be done
for the sole purpose of pleasing God‖7
-- St. Alphonsus Maria De Liguori

15. Pope Quiz
• True or False? The Popes have
taught the following doctrine:
– ―[We are] justified gratuitously,
because none of those things that
precede justification, whether faith or
works, merit the grace of justification.‖
• True. Pope Paul III, Council of Trent,
13 Jan 1547, Decree on Justification

16. Discussion question
• Martin Luther taught:
– ―[Catholics] say that we must believe in Christ
and that faith is the foundation of salvation, but
they say that this faith does not justify unless it
is ―formed by love.‖ This is not the truth of the
Gospel; it is a falsehood and pretense …we
refuse to concede…that faith formed by love
justifies.‖ (Luther’s Works 26, 88-90)
• Question: Is there a supernatural reward for
works of mercy (love) performed by those in
Christ (the faithful)? If so, in what is the
reward?

17. Catholic Doctrine on Works
• Catholic doctrine teaches we are justified by
faith, hope, and charity
– Faith = gift from God
– Works = fruit of justification
• Justification is not a ―one time‖ event
– Rev 22:11 ―he that is just, let him be justified
still‖
• In Catholic teaching, justifying faith is faith
which is ―formed by‖ love (―love believes all
things,‖ ―faith that worketh through love‖)

18. Faith Perfected by Works
• James 2:17-24 ―faith by itself, if it has no
works, is dead…Even the demons believe--
and shudder…. Abraham our father [was]
justified by works, when he offered his son
Isaac upon the altar…you see that faith
was active along with his works, and faith
was completed (i.e. perfected) by
works…man is justified by works and not
by faith alone…. faith apart from works is
dead. ‖

19. What is Merit?
• Merit (noun) derives from Latin
meritum, ―reward due;‖ akin to Greek
meiresthai , ―to receive as one's
portion,‖ meros , ―part‖
• Merit (verb) can also mean ―to be
worthy of‖
• Merit has also come to be associated
with the ―work‖ itself, insofar as it
receives a reward, good or bad

20. What is Merit?
• There are two kinds of merit (reward)
which depend upon whether the merit is
due according to justice or merely
bestowed out of graciousness
• Condign Merit – reward due from
justice; equality between service and
return
– Example: just payment for work
performed

21. What is Merit?
• Congruous Merit – reward bestowed
out of graciousness
– Examples: gratuities (i.e. giving a tip to
a waitress) and military decorations.
These are not deserved due to justice,
strictly speaking, but are bestowed
gratuitously based upon deeds
accomplished. This kind of reward
always depends upon the kindness of
the giver

22. What is Merit?
• The opposite of ―believe‖ (Gk pisteuo) is
―disobey‖
– Jn 3:36 ―He who believes in the Son has
eternal life; he who does not obey the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God rests upon him.‖
• The ―obedience of faith‖ (Rom 1:5; 16:26)
or good works of the just make a man better,
and, provided they are done freely, they truly
merit an increase in grace and glory

23. What is Merit?
• Being made the ―friends of God‖ (Jn
15:15), we can advance from virtue to virtue
• We are ―renewed from day to day‖ (2 Cor
4:16) by putting away evil desires (Col 3:5),
presenting ourselves as ―instruments of
justice‖ (Rom 6:13, 19)
• By grace through ―faith cooperating with
good works‖ (Jam 2:22) our justice is
increased and the just are ―justified still‖
(Rev 22:11)

24. What is Merit?
• This increase the Church prays for: ―Give
unto us, O Lord, an increase of faith, hope
and charity‖
• Merit (reward) of ―good works‖ is the fruit of
justification
• 1 Cor 15:58 ―abound in every good work
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the
Lord‖
• Read Col 3:24-26

25. Obedience of Faith
• Sermon8 by Protestant (Calvinist) pastor,
C.H. Spurgeon …
– "Have I that faith which leads me to obey my
God?—for obedience, if it be of the kind we are
speaking of, is faith in action—faith walking with
God―
– ―The religion of mere brain and jaw does not
amount to much. We want the religion of hands
and feet‖

26. Obedience of Faith
• C.H. Spurgeon, continued…
– ―Those who practice the obedience of faith look
for the reward hereafter,... They know the
words, "No cross, no crown;" and they recognise
the truth that, if there is no obedience here,
there will be no reward hereafter.... The
obedience which faith produces must be
continuous....‖

27. Obedience of Faith
• C.H. Spurgeon, continued…
– ―... this is a kind of life which will bring communion
with God.... a holy walk—the walk described...as
faith working obedience—is heaven beneath the
stars. God comes down to walk with men who
obey. If they walk with him, he walks with them.
The Lord can only have fellowship with his
servants as they obey. Obedience is heaven in
us, and it is the preface of our being in heaven.
Obedient faith is the way to eternal life—nay, it
is eternal life revealing itself.‖

28. Questions?

29. References
1. Sanger, Margaret, The Pivot of Civilization, NY: Brentanos,
1922, p. 105
2. Ibid. , p. 187
3. Sanger, Margaret, A Plan for Peace, published in Birth Control
Review, April 1932, pp. 107-108
4. Ibid.
5. Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
(CCCC), no. 520
6. Ibid., appendix
7. Saint Alphonsus Maria De Liguori, Pratica di amar Gesù Cristo,
VI, cited by John Paul II in Veritatis Spendor
8. [8] Spurgeon, C. H., A Sermon (No. 2195), delivered 21 Aug
1890 at the Matropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, Web,
accessed 26 Jan 2010, URL:
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/2195.htm