Which of the corporal works of mercy most attracts you?
Jul 05, 2025
Early in The Bicycle Messenger, Mary Ellen and Charles Hawley learn of the existence of a young relative in need of a home. Seven-year-old Steven has just lost his father to cancer; and according to the silk-stocking attorney who serves as Steven’s guardian ad litem, his birth mother is in no fit state to assume custody.
“This puts you under no obligation, of course,” Mr. Simeon went on. “You are perfectly free to release him to the state’s care.”
“And what would happen to him then?” Mary Ellen asked.
“We would of course exhaust every effort to locate other relatives,” Mr. Simeon replied. “But I can tell you, I think it’s extremely unlikely that we will be successful. If we are not, he would remain in the foster care system until he could be placed for adoption, or until he reaches the age of eighteen.”
Imagine yourself sitting across a polished desk from this man whose cufflinks alone are worth more than your car. What would you do?
I have often been called to welcome the stranger in my life; sometimes I’ve stepped up, and sometimes I’ve hung back. Talk to a new mom on the playground? Definitely a yes. Invite a neighbor who is struggling to find permanent housing to stay in my extra bedroom for a few weeks? Can’t say I ever followed through on that idea. In large ways and small, we all have to discern how to best serve the people closest to us.
According to the USCCB, the corporal works of mercy are feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and imprisoned, bury the dead, and give alms to the poor. While the directive to welcome the stranger is not listed among them, it can be found in the parable of the sheep and the goats: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me” (Mt 25:35). Thus, it is associated with the last judgment and our ultimate place in the kingdom of God. And in practical terms, it maps pretty closely onto the corporal works of mercy listed above.
We all have different charisms that particularly attract us to one or more of these works. Those with the gift of hospitality might excel at lovingly serving the hungry and thirsty, while others who have the gift of consolation might be particularly suited to attend the sick and the dying. In my own writing, I come back again and again to stories of strangers and exiles among us—maybe from guilt, or maybe because of my particular life experiences. Often, it is the missed opportunities or failures that teach us the most.
In The Bicycle Messenger, Mary Ellen and Charles Hawley are called to welcome the stranger into the most intimate relationship of their lives: the family. It wouldn’t be much of a novel if they said no. But as you can probably imagine, Steven’s arrival will change everything.
Which of the works of mercy most particularly speaks to you?
Lately, “Recent Reads” has featured personal essays, but I’m still writing book reviews. You can read my latest, a review of Spare Us Yet by Lucas Smith, in Catholic World Report.
Joan Elizabeth Bauer 