We haven’t much time left in the Jubilee Year of Mercy. It began on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Dec. 8 of last year. And it will conclude in less than two months on Nov. 20, the Solemnity of Christ the King.

As the year draws to a close it’s important that we not let up in our efforts to seek and to give mercy throughout this sacred time declared by Pope Francis.

Before this Jubilee Year ends, how about one more pilgrimage to one of the Holy Doors in the Diocese of Rockford? They are found at the parishes of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Aurora, St. Mary in DeKalb, St. Thomas More in Elgin, St. Michael in Galena, St. John the Baptist in Johnsburg, St. Mary in Sterling and, of course, the Cathedral of St. Peter in Rockford. There is also a Holy Door at Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford.

Those doors are of special importance because during this Jubilee Year, a pilgrimage to them and passing under them, when rightly disposed and accompanied by confession and prayer, one can receive a plenary indulgence. That means, through the mercy of God mediated by the Church, all temporal punishment for sin in purgatory is remitted. How great is the mercy of God!

Above all, before this Jubilee Year ends, how about making yet again a good confession?

As we reminded ourselves time and again, the Year of Mercy was called to stir up in our hearts actions of mercy. In this column, after reviewing the spiritual works of mercy by which we strive to bring forgiveness and holiness to souls, we have begun to reflect upon the corporal or bodily works of mercy.

Corporal works of mercy are important because we live in the body and in this world. Mercy cannot be simply an idea, an abstract concept. Our faith in God’s mercy must lead us to action. That is why St. James wrote, “Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.” (Jas 2:18).

Having already reflected on the corporal work of mercy of feeding the hungry, we next turn to giving a drink to the thirsty. When we think of those who are thirsty, our minds are turned to Jesus Himself. One of His last seven words from the cross were, “I thirst.”

Having lost so much blood, having undergone so much exertion and having spent all that time outside, we can imagine the profound thirst Jesus felt. Even then He was mocked as onlookers ran to get a sponge soaked not in water but in vinegar to present to Christ. His corporal needs went unrelieved.

How important then are the words of the Son of Man at the Last Judgment to the righteous, “I was thirsty and you gave me drink.”

In our society, the lack of water is not the threat it was perhaps at the time of Jesus. From public drinking fountains to garden hoses, most people have means of countering thirst.

Still, the work of mercy of giving drink to the thirsty involves meeting a most basic need of those close to us.

It might mean offering a drink to a stranger on a hot day. It might be the nurse moistening the lips of one dying in hospice care. It might be the listening ear and the encouragement to right conduct given to one who is confused or downcast, thirsting to find their way in life.

In the end, the words of Jesus echo in our ears and our consciences, “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Mt. 25:40). That includes responding to Jesus’ thirst when we find it in our brothers and sisters.