Throughout this Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis, we have been reflecting on the Works of Mercy. Those are the concrete means identified in our faith to put God’s mercy into practice and into our lives.

So far, we have considered the Spiritual Works of Mercy, those actions that are especially directed to the good of souls. As a reminder, those works are:

â–º To instruct the ignorant;

â–º To counsel the doubtful;

â–º To admonish sinners;

â–º To bear wrongs patiently;

â–º To forgive offenses willingly;

â–º To comfort the afflicted; and

â–º To pray for the living and the dead.

As we move to the final months of this Jubilee Year, we would do well to reflect also on the Corporal Works of Mercy. Those acts aid and strengthen through mercy the bodies of those in need. Those works begin with “Feed the hungry.”

Our Lord Himself has identified feeding the hungry as a condition of faith and even of our own salvation. At the last judgment, Christ tells us that the Son of Man, having divided His followers from evil doers will say to those destined for His Kingdom, “I was hungry and you gave me food.” (Mt. 25:35). In stark contrast, He says to those who have chosen hell, “I was hungry and you gave me no food.” (Mt. 25: 42).

The contrast between food and hunger is a central component of the bodily existence that we reflected upon last week. Each act of eating, of having food, is in essence an act of survival. It pushes death just that little bit farther away by replenishing energy and putting off starvation.

At the same time, given our social human nature, to eat is often to be joined with others, to break out of isolation, even exclusion.

Hunger, on the other hand, reminds the hungry person and us as well that we are fragile creatures who do not control every element of life or our environment. To go hungry is to face the pangs of starvation. Often, it also causes humiliation. The hungry person becomes directly dependent upon the goodness of others if he or she cannot earn their food as a part of the normal economy and human interaction.

The ultimate result is the loss of dignity that accompanies begging for food for oneself or one’s family.

Studies continually show that world-wide, enough food is produced to feed the global population. Time and again the world has been presented with dire predictions of mass starvation because the world cannot feed the number of people. Often such predictions are accompanied by calls for population controls, especially targeting the poor.

Yet, the generosity of God’s creation joined to human ingenuity and solidarity has disproved this theory that goes back at least as far as Thomas Malthus around 1800.

However, if there is overall enough food for the world, why is there very real hunger? Sometimes natural conditions such as droughts can limit food production. In many other cases, however, hunger is the result of our sinfulness.

Local or international economics can disrupt the supply of food in the quest for profit. Often unreported is how local conflicts often lead competing forces to use food as a weapon in the search for power.

And of course economic disparities can simply put the price of food beyond the reach of the poor.

How then can we fulfill this Corporal Work of Mercy? Our first reaction must not allow complexity to paralyze our response. Be sure to do something.

Locally, there are ways we can contribute our time and effort. Contact our Catholic Charities Office to ask where and how 815/399-4300.

Parish efforts to feed the hungry are always on-going. The particular beauty of helping locally is the opportunity to personally engage poverty and hunger. That makes the fulfillment of our Lord’s command less abstract, more directly part of our faith and our own lives.

On a global level, we can contribute to Catholic Relief Services. That organization of the Catholic bishops has long and successful experience of not only feeding the hungry but seeking to give people the tools to break dependence and achieve self-sufficiency.

In the end, feeding the hungry, in ways large or small, is possible for all of us. Even if we were to contribute something small to the effort because that is all we can do, we would be fulfilling the Lord’s command. That is an act of love for our brothers and sisters and for the Lord Himself.

Jesus Himself told us that the poor (and the hungry, therefore) will be with us always. That means that so will the opportunities to love and serve them.