Christ the Cornerstone

Saint’s example reminds us true charity is love in action

The publication date for this column is Friday, Sept. 27, the memorial of St. Vincent de Paul. Here in central and southern Indiana, the name St. Vincent de Paul is very familiar. We have parishes, schools and a hospital named for this great saint. And many of our parishes have chapters of the society named for St. Vincent de Paul and dedicated to the service of the poor.

This is a great legacy for a humble man born in France in 1581 who dedicated his entire life to caring for the spiritual and material needs of others. St. Vincent was a pastor, an educator and a tireless advocate for the poor and vulnerable. His name is universally associated with the term “charity,” which our Christian tradition understands as “love in action.”

Providing food, clothing and shelter for those who have none—because of lost jobs, immigrant or refugee status or simply the inability to provide life’s most basic necessities—carries on the work of Jesus Christ, who also was homeless.

We call these corporal works of mercy because they concern humanity’s most basic needs: to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked and shelter the homeless, to visit the sick and imprisoned, and to bury the dead. We call them works of mercy because they reveal God’s love and compassion for all his children, especially those who are most in need of his assistance.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2446-2447) defines works of mercy as charitable actions that have their roots in God’s justice. Quoting St. Gregory the Great, the catechism tells us: “When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice” (#2246).

How can this be? How can clothing the naked and sheltering the homeless be acts of justice rather than works of mercy? Do we really owe poor people a “debt of justice”? Whose responsibility is it to provide shelter and clothing to people in need? Is this society’s obligation? Is it the Church’s responsibility? By what religious or moral standard are we required to support those who don’t enjoy the basic necessities of life?

Scripture tells us: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none; and he who has food must do likewise” (Lk 3:11). “If a sister or brother is poorly clothed and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit” (Jas 2:15-16)?

With God, mercy and justice are never separated. This is one more example of the both/and principle of Catholic teaching. When we perform corporal works of mercy in Jesus’ name, we are performing acts of charity. But we are also paying a debt of justice and sharing with the poor their proper inheritance as members of God’s family.

According to the catechism, “When her mother reproached her for caring for the poor and the sick at home, St. Rose of Lima said to her: ‘When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus.’ We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus” (#2449). As St. Teresa of Calcutta taught, when we help others (especially the poorest of the poor), we do it to Jesus, with Jesus and for Jesus. This is love in action—charitable work done out of an abundance of self-sacrificing love.

Catholic Charities provides help and creates hope for people in need throughout central and southern Indiana regardless of their religious background or social/economic circumstances. Very much in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities advocates for justice in social structures and calls all people of good will to do the same. Agencies located in various regions of our archdiocese work with individuals, families and communities to help them meet their needs, overcome obstacles, eliminate oppression and build a just and compassionate society.

When we pray for the poor, we invoke God’s mercy on our brothers and sisters in Christ. When we donate clothing to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and when we contribute to our local Catholic Charities agencies or to the U.S. bishops’ international Catholic Relief Services, we perform these most basic corporal works of mercy—to cloth the naked and shelter the homeless.

Let’s remember St. Vincent de Paul by providing clothing and shelter to those who need our help. The gifts we have to share with them are not ours. They belong to the just and merciful God, who has entrusted them to our care. †