We are coming close to the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed for the Church by Pope Francis. Throughout this year we have been examining the works of mercy that obtain God’s mercy for ourselves and bring that mercy to others.

Lately we have been reviewing the corporal or bodily works of mercy. As we recall, the ones we have considered so far are: feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; clothing the naked; giving shelter to the homeless and visiting the sick.

The next Corporal work of mercy is to visit the imprisoned which really goes far beyond providing help for, visiting or praying for those in a cell block inside a prison building.

This particular work of mercy was once known as “to ransom the captive.” We might think that ransoming captives comes from another time in history and in fact, it does come from paying ransom for Christians in the Middle Ages and by Christians purchasing people to save them from the slave markets. Their acquired freedom would respect their human dignity and so truly show them mercy.

But in our day, in the context of the terrorism and kidnapping that is sponsored and organized, it is often argued that to negotiate and especially to pay for captives is to encourage more such captures and renditions. It would feed the coffers of the groups of evil and place others in danger of being the next victims. And besides, in our modern society, the slave market was abolished long ago. Or was it?

Throughout the world today there is a lucrative market in human trafficking. Enticements are made to the poor in countries without development or hope for the future. Jobs are promised. But when the hopeful respondents leave home and probably their country, the frightful reality becomes all too clear.

Often, in a strange country, their passports are confiscated and they are placed in situations of virtual slave labor. Because they are undocumented, they become vulnerable and unable to appeal to civil authorities. In our own country, the Catholic bishops estimate that annually about 17,000 of our brothers and sisters come across our own borders under these circumstances, in need of this work of mercy.

Worse, in some circumstances, such vulnerable individuals become subject to sexual slavery. Unaccompanied women and minors outside of their country, even in our own day, are quite truly captives in need of ransom.

We regularly see others in need of ransom from their captivity as well. Think of those who are held captive or imprisoned by alcohol or drugs. Unable to escape their addiction on their own, they often live lives of financial impoverishment and family breakdowns. Their physical and spiritual health frequently suffers as well. Such persons can range from those who live on the streets to our own family members or neighbors.

In such cases, the willingness to intervene, to urge the one with addiction to seek help, and perhaps in the right circumstances to contribute to their treatment is a very real fulfillment of this work of mercy.

Our society has others who are captive, however. There are forms of captivity that flow directly from sinfulness, but that have corporal manifestations. Consider, for example, those who have allowed themselves an undying anger toward someone or toward a situation. Consumed by such an obsession, the person becomes unhappy and often isolated. Social interaction and even employment can be hard to come by.

Others can be imprisoned by other forms of sinful captivity. When a good spiritual life is lost, it is possible to fill it with excessive attraction to material goods or bad relationships.

In this case, the ransom of those captives might take a very specific form. That is, praying for their release and conversion. We can offer acts of penance for the sins of others, asking that God free them from their chosen slavery.

In the end, such an approach to ransoming the captive is an act that deepens our own faith. It is to trust that prayer works. We trust that as Jesus said, “… whatever you ask in my name, I will do” (Jn. 14:13). To pray and to fast, then, for those imprisoned in their sin is to seek the freedom of captives.

One of the deceptions of modern society is that we have somehow progressed or evolved beyond some of the actions that have characterized human nature since the fall of Adam and Eve.

With eyes open, we can see that sinfulness and various forms of captivity have not been eradicated and many of our brothers and sisters are suffering, though not immediately in our view. So today, more than ever, we must still offer the assistance that ransoms them from whatever their personal prisons may be.