Above: The Polish Madonna.
For all the Mothers today, here is an article about your vocation. Unfortunately, this essay seems to have disappeared from the web. The complete article appears below the jump. Enjoy!
The Corporal Works of Mommy
Don’t have time for the Corporal Works of Mercy? Try these!
By Lisa Popcak
10/1/2003
Do you wish you had more time to perform the corporal works of mercy — feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, etc.? Well, how about doing the corporal works of mommy instead? You may be surprised to see how many opportunities for service God puts in your life as a mommy (and a daddy).
1. Feed the hungry.
You feed your family at least three times a day, every day — many times at great personal sacrifice, especially when those feedings take the form of all-night nursing sessions with the newest member of the family. These moments can be particularly holy because a nursing mother not only gets to serve Christ, by giving food to the hungry, but she gets to imitate Him, as she feeds her child with her body just as He does for us everyday in the Eucharist.
Even as we tackle the preparation of yet another dinner, we can change the drudgery into a spiritual exercise. My simple way of doing this is to say: “Blessed Mother, I know I’m not a great cook. But I know the Good Lord gave His Son a mom who was a wonderful cook. Help me now as I prepare this meal for my family, so that it might show them how much I love them and how much God loves them.” My kids are so aware of this prayer that if I burn a batch of cookies they’ll say, “Mom, you forgot to ask Mommy Mary to help you again didn’t you?” And they’re always right.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
Any parent who has answered a child’s call for a drink of water at midnight can attest to this work of mercy. But when we answer this call in a gentle, loving and patient manner we are purified in Christ, as well as mirror His love to our little ones. St. Francis De Sales tells us in his “Introduction to the Devout Life”: “Little trials when accepted and embraced with love are highly pleasing to God’s mercy. For a single cup of water God has promised to His faithful servant a sea of perfect bliss. Since such opportunities present themselves from moment to moment it will be a great means of storing up vast spiritual riches if only you use them well.”
3. Clothe the naked.
Whether it is negotiating clothing options with a self-expressive teen, or trying to stay calm and composed while trying to get the whole family pressed and dressed for Sunday Mass, this work of mercy calls us to dig deeper and grow in more virtues, such as patience, gentleness and love, than we do even when we donate our old clothes to the poor.
4. Visit the imprisoned.
This one’s difficult to perform as a mom or dad of young kids, right? Wrong. We get to do this every time we go to a child who’s been sent to a “time-out.” We get to look into their eyes, give them a hug and bring them forgiveness in their repentance.
5. Shelter the homeless.
This one is self-explanatory. If we did not provide a home for our children, I shudder to think where they would go. However, when we live out our role as keepers of the home with an eye toward holiness, we are able to see the opportunities God has give us to serve our family by creating an environment that facilitates peace, nurturance and respite from the stresses of the world.
6. Visit the sick.
Not only do we get to grow in gentleness and patience as we tend to our little victims of chicken pox, colds and the flu, but all too often we get to grow in perseverance as we press through our own sufferings of the same maladies as we serve our family.
7. Bury the dead.
I personally have been called to perform this service many times in the last year for innumerable fish, and twice on the same pet rabbit after a neighborhood dog tried to dig up the body. Does that sound silly? Well it’s not, if you see theses times as an opportunity to connect with your grieving child and demonstrate the dignity of all life, even the little-finned type.
God graces us with so many opportunities to find Him in our household affairs, and in the faces of our loved ones. As Christ told us himself, “Whatever you do to the least of my people, you do unto me” (Mt 25:40).
Lisa Popcak (cparent@osv.com) is co-host with her husband, Greg, of the radio show “Heart, Mind and Strength,” which can be heard daily on Catholic radio stations nationwide.
