THE CORPORAL WORKS OF MERCY
Feeding the Hungry, Clothing the Naked, and Sheltering the Homeless
DEAL thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harborless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and He shall say: Here I am. If thou wilt take away the chain out of the midst of thee, and cease to stretch out the finger, and to speak that which profiteth not. When thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday. And the Lord will give thee rest continually, and will fill thy soul with brightness, and deliver thy bones, and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a fountain of water whose waters shall not fail. (Isa. lviii. 7-11.)
Let the charity of the brotherhood abide in you. And hospitality do not forget; for by this some, being not aware of it, have entertained angels. (Heb. xiii. 1, 2.)
But before all things have a constant mutual charity among yourselves: for charity covereth a multitude of sins. Using hospitality one toward another, without murmuring, as every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another: as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. (1 Peter iv. 8-10.)
And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. (Matt. x. 42)
Redeeming the Captives
Recover thy neighbor according to thy power. (Ecclus. xxix. 26.)
