Living out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in Motherhood

First in a Series of 15 Posts: Introduction

Do you ever feel like Motherhood, especially in the early years, is what you are doing until you can do “more”? Do you ever listen to the Gospels and Jesus’s admonitions to care for the needy and think, “One day I will have time to do that”?

The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy are a beautiful tenet of our faith based on the words of Christ found in Matthew 25:35-36: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

In this series of posts, we are going to talk about the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy as they pertain to, and are lived out in, the vocation of motherhood.

However, prior to understanding mercy as it is lived out in our lives, we must first understand the great love and mercy Christ has poured out for us. It is in gratitude for that mercy that we are able to pour ourselves out for our children. It is in gratitude for that mercy and love that we are able to embrace the call without resentment. In our weariness or discouragement, the Lord is always with us. We must first understand that ALL he asks of us, he asks in love and mercy. He is forming us and molding us into his image through this vocation because of his mercy. Sometimes it really hurts!

Being a mother is a sacred calling. We are not just women who have children; we are women called to give ourselves in mercy and love to our families. This will take shape in unique ways for each of us. Some of us will be the primary caregiver, some of us will work full time, some of us part time, but all of us have the unique role of “mom,” and in that role we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ to our families, and by extension, to the world.

Over the next several weeks we will consider how we are constantly living out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy in our everyday lives.

Until next week, begin to ask the Lord to help you see your daily routine as your opportunity to see Christ in your children and recognize that it is HIM that you feed and clothe and shelter. For just as you care for the least of these, you care for your beautiful Savior.