To Visit the Sick and Ransom the Captive

Saint Michael the Archangel Parish Family

Social Justice Ministry

During this Year of Mercy, we are focusing on practicing the Corporal Works of Mercy.  For APRIL OF 2016, we reflect on

To Visit the Sick and Ransom the Captive

 Matthew 25: 36 “I was sick and you visited me.”

Luke 4:18        “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He

                        has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to

                        proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set

                        at liberty those who are oppressed.”

To Visit the Sick…There is no substitute for human interaction.  You can send a gift, make a phone call, write a letter, even say a prayer, but nothing compares to a smile and a hug.  Nothing says “you matter,”  “you have dignity,” “you are loved” quite like a personal encounter.

To Ransom the Captive…Would you want to be defined by the worst thing you have ever done?  God doesn’t want that for you either.  The only sin that can’t be forgiven is the one you never ask forgiveness for.  Redemption is for everyone!

What we have done at St. Michael’s to respond to these works of mercy…we have a team of parishioners who bring the Eucharistic to 40+ homebound members of the parish, we provide spiritual care to Rensselaer County Manor (including Mass every week) and The Springs Nursing Facility, we deliver flowers to all our homebound and nursing home parishioners for Christmas and Easter, we have a parish nurse who calls five hospitals Monday through Thursday to see if any of our parishioners have been admitted and then relays that information to Sister Kate and Deacon Bob for a visit, our parish nurses offer to provide follow up visits to parishioners coming home after a hospital stay, our bereavement ministers have visited people in their homes to help them plan their funeral, we provide support to Roarke Center which has a program for women leaving Rensselaer County Jail

What can YOU do to extend this work of mercy…offer to become a Eucharistic Minister and volunteer with Deacon Bob to bring the Eucharist to the homebound and pay them a visit, call Rensselaer County Jail and see what personal items they may be able to use for the inmates, pray for those who are imprisoned in their homes and in jails, make it a point to visit a neighbor or relative that is lonely, educate yourself on the plight of the Syrian refugees, contact your congressperson about the death penalty…

In the Corporal Works of Mercy, Jesus calls us to DO something-not simply to talk about it, not to study it, not to establish a committee to develop a plan for it, but to DO it…to really and truly DO SOMETHING!!!  A prison is an ideal place to respond to Pope Francis’ call to visit prisoners.  Yet today there are many other “captives” to whom the prophet Isaiah promises liberty (Is. 61: 1) How many are held back by sectarian movements?  How many are held back by unhealthy family relationships?  How many are caught in the hell of addiction to drugs, pornography, gambling and alcohol?  How many are shut away within themselves, unable to gain access to their own inner freedom?  From Beautiful Mercy