The Seven Corporal Works of Mercy

All of the corporal works of mercy are ordered toward relieving corporal suffering.

The first six corporal works of mercy come from the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 25.34-36:

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 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.’

The last one comes from the Old Testament book Tobit 1.17:

If I saw one of my people who had died and been thrown behind the wall of Nineveh, I used to bury him.

1) To feed the hungry

2) To give drink to the thirsty

3) To clothe the naked

4) To shelter the homeless

5) To visit the sick

6) To visit the imprisoned

7) To bury the dead

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