Category Archives: Staff Experiments

20 Ways to Practice the Works of Mercy

20 Ways to Practice the Works of Mercy during Quarantine

Matthew-25

  1. Practice social distancing.
  2. Donate blood at your local blood bank.
  3. Make face masks for people in your community.
  4. Call people in your parish and community who live alone.
  5. Write letters of encouragement to friends, family, and neighbors, especially those who may be feeling lonely and isolated.
  6. Help older people in your neighborhood by offering to deliver their groceries, cut their grass, etc.
  7. Organize game nights on Zoom or FaceTime.
  8. Sidewalk chalk your neighborhood with encouraging messages of hope.
  9. Support small businesses.
  10. Make meals for doctors, nurses, and staff at your local hospital.
  11. If you have younger neighbors leave them notes or drawings in the windows so they can get excited every morning.
  12. Organize Zoom birthday parties for your friends.
  13. Help organize food drives for St Vincent de Paul or Catholic Charities.
  14. Pray the rosary with your family/friends for those who are sick with Covid-19.
  15. Help tutor online either your siblings or classmates that are struggling with a subject at school.
  16. Offer tutoring to grandparents on how to use Zoom or FaceTime.
  17. Offer your everyday sacrifices for those who are suffering from during this time and for quick cure of this illness.
  18. Send hopeful messages on social media, especially to support those who might be struggling with depression or anxiety.
  19. Take 20 minutes a day to fast from news and technology; instead, take a walk, talk to a family member or friend, or read a book.
  20. Do a daily Examination of Conscience.

 

Behind closed doors

Here is the opening of Pope Francis’ homily on Divine Mercy Sunday. The gospel is the well-known account of the Sunday evening of the Resurrection: “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews…” It is the story we mostly remember as the story about “doubting Thomas.” But all the disciples were there. People who had heard the women’s account of having encountered the Risen Jesus. Perhaps the travelers to Emmaus had already returned. What they found was fear and locked doors. Continue reading Behind closed doors