The Law of Love

To love God, our neighbor and ourselves we must keep the Commandments of God, and perform both corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The former include: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick, visiting the imprisoned, and burying the dead. The latter include: admonishing the sinner, instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, forgiving offenses willingly, and praying for both the living and the dead.

At first glance these sound extraordinary, but you already do works of mercy.  One example is how we gathered as a Church Family and brought food donations to our Children's Autumn Divine Liturgy just a few short weeks ago.

Now, think and talk about the other times you selflessly do for others - cook a meal for someone who just had a baby, go to a funeral of or have a Mass offered for a friend, talk to someone who is struggling with a problem, nurse a family member back to health... There are many ways that you are already living Jesus.  The point is to "not weary of doing good" (2 Thessalonians 3:13) and to encourage in your child this way of being in the ordinary flow of life.

Following are a couple of activities that you might consider doing at home:

Make a poster of the Corporal Acts of Mercy and hang it up for all to see.  Encourage your children by catching them "doing good".  For example:  "Thanks for bringing me coffee; do you know that you just performed the Corporal Acts of Mercy by giving drink to the thirsty?"

Keep a "good deed" jar in your kitchen.  As you notice your child doing small things for others, drop a bead in the jar.  Watching the jar fill becomes a visible sign of the growth in virtue for your family.

As serving others becomes more a part of your family life, celebrate the fact that you are modeling the Law of Love and living a life that is pleasing to God!