Pope Francis on the Works of Mercy

Pope Francis visits the imprisoned in Philadelphia. (David Maialetti/The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pool)

The emphasis Pope Francis has recently placed on the works of mercy is striking, and it is worth really taking in his words one month in to this Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. First, from the papal bull officially declaring the Jubilee Year of Mercy:

In this Holy Year, we look forward to the experience of opening our hearts to those living on the outermost fringes of society: fringes which modern society itself creates. How many uncertain and painful situations there are in the world today! How many are the wounds borne by the flesh of those who have no voice because their cry is muffled and drowned out by the indifference of the rich! During this Jubilee, the Church will be called even more to heal these wounds, to assuage them with the oil of consolation, to bind them with mercy and cure them with solidarity and vigilant care. Let us not fall into humiliating indifference or a monotonous routine that prevents us from discovering what is new! Let us ward off destructive cynicism! Let us open our eyes and see the misery of the world, the wounds of our brothers and sisters who are denied their dignity, and let us recognize that we are compelled to heed their cry for help! May we reach out to them and support them so they can feel the warmth of our presence, our friendship, and our fraternity! May their cry become our own, and together may we break down the barriers of indifference that too often reign supreme and mask our hypocrisy and egoism! 

Visiting the sick. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

It is my burning desire that, during this Jubilee, the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty. And let us enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy. Jesus introduces us to these works of mercy in his preaching so that we can know whether or not we are living as his disciples. Let us rediscover these corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. And let us not forget the spiritual works of mercy: to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead.

We cannot escape the Lord’s words to us, and they will serve as the criteria upon which we will be judged: whether we have fed the hungry and given drink to the thirsty, welcomed the stranger and clothed the naked, or spent time with the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-45). Moreover, we will be asked if we have helped others to escape the doubt that causes them to fall into despair and which is often a source of loneliness; if we have helped to overcome the ignorance in which millions of people live, especially children deprived of the necessary means to free them from the bonds of poverty; if we have been close to the lonely and afflicted; if we have forgiven those who have offended us and have rejected all forms of anger and hate that lead to violence; if we have had the kind of patience God shows, who is so patient with us; and if we have commended our brothers and sisters to the Lord in prayer. In each of these “little ones,” Christ himself is present. His flesh becomes visible in the flesh of the tortured, the crushed, the scourged, the malnourished, and the exiled… to be acknowledged, touched, and cared for by us. Let us not forget the words of Saint John of the Cross: “as we prepare to leave this life, we will be judged on the basis of love”.

In his newly released book, The Name of God is Mercy, discussing whether the traditional works of mercy remain relevant today, he says:

They are still valid, still current. Perhaps some aspects could be better “translated,” but they remain the basis for self-examination. They help us open up to the mercy of God, to ask for the grace to understand that without mercy a person cannot do a thing, that you cannot do a single thing, that “the world would not exist,” in the words of the elderly lady I met in 1992.

Let us examine the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, dress the naked, house the pilgrims, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead. I do not think there is much to explain. And if we look at our situation, our society, it seems to me that there is no lack of circumstances or opportunities all around us. What should we do for the homeless man camped in front of our home, for the poor man who has nothing to eat, for the neighboring family who cannot make it to the end of the month due to the recession, because the husband lost his job? How should we behave with the immigrants who have survived the crossing and who land on our shores? What should we do for the elderly who are alone, abandoned, and who have no one?

Visiting drug addicts in Buenos Aires in 2008. (CNS)

We have received freely, we give freely. We are called to serve Christ the Crucified through every marginalized person. We touch the flesh of Christ in he who is outcast, hungry, thirsty, naked, imprisoned, ill, unemployed, persecuted, in search of refuge. That is where we find our God, that is where we touch the Lord. Jesus himself told us, explaining the protocol for which we will all be judged: “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did it for me” (Matthew 25:40)...

Recollections of a Madison Catholic Worker who knew Dorothy Day

[Editor's note: Several of us celebrated Dorothy Day's birthday this past Sunday by watching and discussing a documentary on her life. Barbara Reed was not able to join us, but she agreed to write up something about her experiences that we could share after the movie--particularly the story of her first visit to a CW farm, which happened to be exactly 41 years ago (on Dorothy's 77th birthday).]

In the early 1970s I was living in upstate New York with my 4 children and had been visiting and becoming connected with Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker houses in New York City some 200 miles away.  

A young woman who had been living in a battered old car not far from our house had come to my attention and I had invited her to come and live with my children and me.  I will call this woman "Betty."  She was 20 years old and had dropped out of school due to inability to keep up academically.  She was unable to work at a job without one on one assistance.  Betty was from a farm family.  When I spoke to her parents to make sure they would approve of her staying with us, I was told that she was "of age and on her own."  They said that they could not "handle her behavior" and were not willing to participate any longer in her care.

Betty was not feeling well, and I arranged an appointment with a reliable local doctor.  The doctor found her to be several months pregnant (I insisted that Betty and I talk on the phone with her parents about this.  The parents were even more adamant that they wanted no more contact with her or with a baby.)

Betty was slow in comprehending things, but she adapted easily to our family and we to her.  In fact, we were sitting around our Formica kitchen table at supper one night when my 7 year old son announced, "God really listens!  I prayed for another sister and now I have two new sisters!"  (A 19 year old girl who had been evicted from her apartment was also living with us. 

As Betty's pregnancy advanced, she constantly said that she did not want to keep the baby. I was familiar with the complex nature of the local adoption procedures and reached out to my friends at the NYC Catholic Worker seeking advice as to the best solution.

That is how I was put in touch with an extremely competent and caring young woman who was helping as a sort of "house parent" at the Catholic Workers' Peter Maurin Farm on the Hudson River. (The Farm was designed to employ volunteers willing to live as "Catholic Workers" to plant and harvest organic fruit and vegetables to be shared among those at the farm and with those at the two CW houses in NY City.)

I was immediately invited to bring Betty there for the remainder of her pregnancy with the assurance that their contacts through the social service organizations and Catholic Charities they would readily locate her an adopting family.  There were "no strings attached" but of course I was eager to spend as many weekends as possible helping at the farm.

That is how I happened to make the first of many visits to Peter Maurin Farm and to drive there on November 8, 1974 with Betty, taking our other guest, Nancy along to keep Betty company.  The rest of this article is copied from a letter I wrote in 1974 describing that visit.  The most pertinent remarks I can think of to follow the showing of the film relate to:  "what was life like in a Catholic Worker house during Dorothy's life time?"

Welcoming the Stranger

We arrived at 6:30 PM.  It was clear but very dark.  On the way from Tivoli where we had stopped to ask directions I asked Betty and Nancy: "Have you ever been to a place before where you didn't have to worry about being evicted because nobody has to pay rent?" 

Betty replied, "Just at your house!" 

As we drove up we saw a rambling old house of several stories with lighted windows welcoming us.  Two young men stood in the driveway talking.  We introduced ourselves.  One of them immediately asked if I was a nun to which I replied,  "Oh, no, I'm just Barbara." They welcomed us and showed us into the house.

Inside, some men were sitting in the dining room talking and drinking coffee. We were told that dinner was just over, so I asked where the kitchen was so that we could help with the dishes. 

Once in the kitchen, we found that dishes and clean up were already finished.  Linda, with whom I had spoken on the phone came into the dining room to meet us along with a woman named Joan. (Joan became a close friend over the years. She is very quiet but does so much in caring for the sick and elderly.  She lives in a little cabin on the grounds where she always invites others to visit and have a conversation.)

Joan and Linda really made us each feel so welcome, as did everyone we met.  We all sat down together to have coffee.  At that moment George rang the bell for Vespers. 

Dorothy Day with Deane Mower (right) at the Farm

Linda led Betty, Nancy and me to the chapel where a few others joined us.  One other person was seated in the corner of the chapel, an elderly woman sitting alone.  I guessed correctly that she was Deane Mower who by then had almost totally lost her eyesight.  We were introduced after Vespers and I made an appointment for a walk with her the next morning. 

I was so happy to be there but so tired!  Returning to Joan in the dining room we found our coffee waiting as well as three women in their twenties who had been outdoors all day building a barn!  They had a connection with the Benedictines from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Emerging from the kitchen was a man named Chuck who was visiting from a cooperative farm where he and two of the barn building women had been living recently.  Chuck was a most interesting speaker and I enjoyed hearing details about the farm and his life. 

Chuck had destroyed his draft card and had simultaneously given up institutional religion in the 1960's.  He then set out to build on the positive, simple, yet powerful, values that he articulated to us.  I gave him my opinion that he is a holy person.

We agreed that he was an inspiration to all of us.  He showed endless patience in joining in picking hundreds of pounds of apples that weekend, in stringing apples for drying, and in the tenderness shown toward the large numbers of energetic and sometimes boisterous children living on the farm. 

Linda showed us to our beds in the women's dorm.  It is a lovely, warm room that has windows along two sides that give a nighttime view of the heavens and a daytime panorama of the Hudson River. Betty and Nancy joined other women in the room and went to sleep.  I went back downstairs to talk with the others for a couple hours. 

I don't remember ever having spent a more comfortable night than in that lively, peaceful place.  A true blessing for all of us...

Note:  Betty thrived at the farm.  She was surrounded by the gifts of healthful activity, acceptance of her as a person, prayer, and hope.  During her labor she complained bitterly and loudly about the pain and the inconvenience, but her healthy little girl arrived and was adopted by an ecstatic local family.  Betty stayed on at the farm, content to work at simple routine chores.  She relinquished parental rights and declined any invitation to have contact with the child. 



Dorothy Day at the Farm ca. 1970.

Post script:
It was some weeks after that visit before I was at the farm at the same time as Dorothy Day.  With Dorothy present, the routine of things ran pretty much as they did in her absence.  One might find her praying the Office in the chapel, writing articles for the Catholic Worker newspaper in her study or peeling potatoes in the dining room among a group of volunteers.  She was part of the rhythm of the functioning of the place but was in no way a "person in charge."  Dorothy's demeanor was calm, but no nonsense, and purposeful.  Many sought her out to discuss their personal concerns.  She listened attentively and encouraged them as they figured out possible and practical solutions.  She was extremely efficient and insightful but never seemed to be in a hurry.  Dorothy lived her life day by day as a prayer of contemplation, caring, and action to bring into our world God's kingdom on earth, a kingdom of peace with justice. 

Happy 2015!  As it turned out, we all took a bit of a break to enjoy the holidays.  Here's hoping that yours were spent in warm company.

Thanks to Tim, we are on schedule to spend next Sunday, Jan 18 with the Catholic Workers and guests at Hope House in Dubuque IA.  Since our last meeting in the fall, we have connected to a few new folks who will be joining us for the trip on Sunday.  

One new member is Kathy Laubmeier of St. Maria Goretti Parish.  Kathy has graciously offered her 7 passenger van for the trip.  As Tim has indicated, we will plan to meet Kathy at Blessed Sacrament Church parking lot on Sunday.  We plan to depart promptly at 1:30, so please come a bit early. Remember too that we may get to help with the serving of the weekly meal, so dress accordingly.

We will need to know for sure if you plan to attend the outing so we can arrange transportation.  Here is the current sign-up list:

Kathy  (with Van)

Tim

Marilyn

Jon

So please consider joining us for this exciting first trip to another Catholic Worker house.  We will be returning to Madison by 9:30 pm, in time to get ready for Monday's work obligations.

If you have any questions, or suggestions,  please let us know.

Dennis

[Ed. note: Dennis has been down with the flu this week and it now looks like he won't be able to make it. - Tim]

Update from Dennis

Hi All,

Volunteer Reminder

Tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 11 is our volunteer night at The River Food Pantry, located just a few blocks from Dane County Regional Airport. You can get details and directions at: www.riverfoodpantry.org

Here is Jenny's email to me:

" Please have volunteers arrive by 5 for a brief training and job assignments. Several jobs, including serving in the kitchen, require closed toe shoes. We are usually finished by 8pm, sometimes as early as 7:30pm. Just depends on how busy we are. Everyone is welcome to join us for dinner. There is always plenty for everyone.

Blessings,

Jenny "

I plan to arrive around 4:30, but will not be able to stay long. I'm going to the Dane County Jail to help out with our Catholic Ministry there. I do hope you can make it tomorrow. The last time we served at The River was very fast paced and enjoyable. After a couple of hours of hard work we were treated to a delicious meal.

Other News

Tim and I made a visit to the release area of the Dane County Jail (Public Safety Building on Doty St.) and were able to meet a few of the regular visitors to this early morning reception area and de facto warming shelter for those who come from the streets or the Porchlight shelter at Grace Church. We had planned on meeting our first Jail Transportation client there and driving him back to his home in Avoca, WI. However, after his release, he was contacted by his brother who offered to come and pick him up. I was glad that he had family who was caring for him, but a bit disappointed that Tim and I did not have the chance to offer more assistance. In the end, we were able to supply “Bill” with a warm, lightly used winter coat , a few dollars and the peace of mind that a couple of people were waiting for him when he was released from jail. I came away realizing just how quickly plans change for those who depend on others for support. Although “Bill” desperately wanted to have the assurance that someone would be there for him when he was released from jail, he was not able to predict in advance what his family would do. We may want to rethink our offering of help and concentrate on more immediate needs. Making future plans and having control over them may just be more than what our clients are able to do.

This morning I met with three very engaging young people who are active in a Catholic group associated with St. Paul's on the UW campus. They call themselves Evangelical Catholics and certainly full of Spirit-filled enthusiasm. They contacted us through our website and wanted to explore the availability of housing for their homeless friends they had made while working at the local shelters and soup kitchens. I've invited them to stay in touch with us as MCW grows and hope a few will join us for our next Round Table brunch. They all have an interest in community living.

Things are looking good for the upcoming trip to Dubuque on Sunday Jan. 18. Please consider joining us on our visit to the Catholic Worker there.

Finally, thanks for your input on the radio interview. Charlie Petro graciously accepted my request that he share his wisdom with the radio producer.  I really would have enjoyed the chance to explore this theme, but agreed with Tim  that Charlie is the one for this.    I've asked for a link to the interview once it has been edited.  The question he will be tackling is a provocative one “Was Jesus an anarchist?” Speak boldly brother Charlie!

There are other things to report, but I'll keep this note short in hopes that you will make it to the end.

May the Spirit and joy of Advent invade your hearts and homes this season. We wait because we must. And while we wait, let's continue to look for ways that we can work together to bring about the “Kindom of God”

Dennis

Visiting St. Martin House of Hospitality in the Mission, San Francisco

Hello to all,

Feelings of gratitude still linger from yesteday's incredibly enjoyable time with the family of our daughter's partner here in San Francisco where we are spending 5 days with our two children.  Both kids have found a way to live and work  in the Bay Area.  We are thrilled to have been again invited to spend Thanksgiving with them.

Yesterday,  before heading out to our daughter's big food fiesta, we walked over to the St. Martin DePorres House of Hospitality (www.martindeporres.org) to see what was happening.  From about a block away, I could see a pretty good sized crowd gathered on the sidewalk, next to an even larger clump of bicycles.  The facade of this city lot had rough sawn planking holding up the tattered cloth signs and banners, one of which had a quote by Dorothy Day.  I knew I had found the right spot!  While this multi-faceted ourtreach program  is perhaps not a pure Catholic Worker, the spirit of good works made the place vibrate in a way  that we would all recognize as close to our founders'  hearts.

Once my daughter, son and I made it through the large wooden door, we were greeted by a couple of women and a man who were handing out tickets for the Thanksgiving Day meal.  We explained that could not stay, but if we had, would have been number 229.  The place was abuzz with excitement and good will, no unlike what I have felt when volunteering at The River Food Pantry.     A 10 member jazz band was playing in one corner of the courtyard.  Our greeter, Abby,  explained that this band had the tradition of playing every year for this huge holiday celebration as they had done for the past 23 years.  Abby has been involved since 1978.


We kept our initial visit short.  Abby and the others were obviously mulit-tasking as they talked to us, directing guests and volunteers to the different stations set up.  They told us that they were managing over 100 volunteers!    We said our goodbyes, but not before being invited back as volunteers to help with meal prep and serving.    I plan to make my way back over to St Martin House sometime today or Sunday to spend a few hours with the other volunteers.  I will report back with more details at our next Round Table/Brunch, the date of which has not yet been set.

I want to express to each of you who have been a part of the conceiving and building of Madison Catholic Worker my sincere gratitude.  Our small community began this year, and although still quite young and fragile,  we are very much alive with hope.    Building a community founded on shared dreams has to be one of the most fulfilling activities that we as humans can undertake.  I can't imagine anything more worthwhile.  Thank you, thank you, each of you,  for the risks you have taken with MCW and for the generous time and spirit  you each have contributed to this undertaking.   My prayer is that as we look ahead to next year, we will continue to be nurtured by the zeal of Peter and Dorothy.

Wishing  you and yours a restful, joyful Thanksgiving!

Denis




St Martin House of Hospitality

Next Round Table and Brunch this Sunday, Nov. 16

Hi All,

This Sunday, November 16,  from 12:30-2:00 pm,  the Madison Catholic Workers will meet for our monthly Round Table  and Scrumptious Brunch. In addition to fine food and friendly fellowship,  we will  listen to updates on the  subgroup activities that have taken place since our last gathering. If you have not attended a brunch and would like to attend this Sunday, please contact us for more information.  You can reach us at Catholicworkerofmadison@gmail.com.   Please consider joining us.  We would love to meet you.

Peace,

Dennis

 Edit

On Leadership and Direction

Dear Workers,

 

I'm feeling that now is a propitious time to assert my leadership role in MCW by offering the group a re-articulation of my original vision for a Catholic Worker in Madison. Your many thoughtful emails and posts over the past few weeks have been encouraging and I'd like to enter this digital conversation more actively by stating clearly what I hold to be the goals of our group. I want to offer too a few of my strategies that I have attempted to implement as to how to achieve those goals. If you will permit, I'll write this initial installment and look for your responses.

First, I want to express my gratitude, enthusiasm and optimism for what we have built as a group to this date. What began as just an idea between Adam and me while sitting in the Dane County Jail chapel several months ago has now grown into what I consider a respectable and committed group. I was reminded of this when at our last brunch gathering I counted over 20 of us in attendance. I believe we are on to something and feel more committed than ever to accompany each of you in living out the unfolding story of Catholic Worker of Madison. I believe that Dorothy, Peter and the communion of saints are with us in spirit and guiding our first steps, however clumsy, to create a house.

 

I want to reassure you that I continue to hold the dream of one day nailing our MCW sign to the front of a building, rented or purchased, that we will call our home. I sense that this is a shared hope, one that each of us holds up in prayer and expectation. I see it as an essential part the glue that binds us together.

 

From the start, I felt that the establishment and running of a Catholic Worker House would require the love and patience of many skilled and brave Workers. We'll need savvy people with both the dream and moxy. While starting a CW House appears to be no more complicated than putting up a sign on a front porch, the successful management needed to insure a consistent presence will come only after the group learns to work in a community of trust. 

If we are intent about encountering Christ crucified in the economically disadvantaged brothers and sisters here in Madison, then we will need to take certain steps to prepare ourselves for this unique, sacred and oh so challenging work of mercy.

The first steps needed was to attract others of like mind and heart. By word of mouth and through the fine website that Adam assembled, we cast a wide net and to my delight, brought many of you to us. It took a few months for the size and shape of the group to stabilize, but now I am sensing that we have reached critical mass.  

Once the group coalesced, I had in mind that the next steps would be to begin to offer opportunities for each of us to “Come and See”. I wanted, and still want, us to meet the people of Madison, namely, those with whom we intend to work. And equally, I want a few of them to meet us. My question is simply this: Will we want to work with this culture? Will they accept our offer of companionship? Or simply, will we like each other enough to want to commit time, money and energy into creating a CW house of hospitality and prayer where we can come together to share our lives? It seems essential to me that before ever embarking on starting a house, that we have to know a bit about how each of us will act and react in this world we wish to enter. For when the chaotic demands of starting and running a worker house push each of us to our limits, I want to have at least a basic level of trust that we will stay the course. We need to be “field-tested” so to speak. I anticipate for myself and for all of us having to confront what I'll simply call culture shock. I'll say more later on this.

My invitations to spend an evening at a food pantry or a morning at at drop-in shelter are my attempts to take us to streets, to immerse ourselves, however briefly, in situations that will both inspire and at times may threaten us. What skills will we each need to acquire to stay the course? Will we as a group have the maturity and mettle to effectively and compassionately confront our fears, misconceptions and biases in order to carry out the works of mercy listed in our brochure and website? I want to explore this with you by offering my “come and see” invitations as a means to reaching our stated goal opening a CW house. We need training and immersion experiences as a group prior to launching our dream.

Finally, speaking of vision, I'd like to offer you a glimpse into what I hold to be sacred, my cosmovision if you will. Dorothy Day and her movement represents for me the closest expression of my own Catholic Christian understanding of how to live a meaningful and happy life. I am passionate about life, and have chosen to live out my remaining years of it in ways that honor and seek after a loving and intimate God who suffers with their people. I find my hope of personal and societal redemption in the Cross. 

OK, so where do we go from here? Not sure, but sensing the faith and energy of the group, I feel certain that together we will find our way. As you may have sensed, I am, like Moses, a reluctant and perhaps thick tongued leader. I do hope that we will continue to give each other the opportunity to try our out leadership skills, and be able to support and affirm each other in these sometimes awkward attempts. We may need to wander in the wilderness from time to time. Let's pray for patience toward one another. I am grateful for Maggie, Tim, and Adam who have contributed so much to bring MCW to where we are today, and look forward to supporting others who find the courage to lead as we journey forward.

 

In the Trust of Christ,

Dennis