We are pleased to share an article by author Claudia Cangilla McAdam on her new book, Mother Cabrini: A Heart for the World by Sophia Institute Press.
Watching the movie Cabrini and researching the saint’s life for my new picture book, Mother Cabrini: A Heart for the World (Sophia Institute Press), I was inspired by the ways St. Frances Cabrini undertook all of the Corporal Works of Mercy. Not only that, but her example encouraged children to follow her lead.
We, too, can help our children grow in holiness by incorporating these works in their lives. A quick review of these works combined with an understanding of a child’s interests and abilities can yield many opportunities to join together as a family to follow the instructions Jesus lays out for us in the Gospel of Matthew.
What are the Corporal Works of Mercy?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church instructs that these works “are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor.” (CCC 2447) The key is to see all persons as if they were Christ in disguise. Gather your children together and read Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25:31-46, which provides a model for how we should treat others.
With a little forethought and imagination, it’s easy to engage the whole family, including kids, in these activities:
Feeding the Hungry and Giving Drink to the Thirsty
- Kids enjoy shopping at the grocery store, and they can be encouraged to pick out their favorite nutritious foods to be purchased and then taken to a food bank for other children to enjoy.
- Little cooks love to assist in the kitchen. Can they help you put together a casserole for a family who is welcoming a new baby or who might be struggling following a parent’s job loss?
- Research groups that serve the hungry. Kids can donate their allowances or do an extra chore in order to make a contribution to such an organization.
- Do you have a soup kitchen in your town? Older children could help serve food or clean tables. There might even be opportunities at local churches to make sandwiches that are bagged up and distributed by charities to the homeless.
- Perhaps your child’s sports team or classroom could collect bottled water that could be given to a shelter that houses families.
- Access to clean water is a given in most of America, but far from the norm in many underdeveloped countries. Read about this need with your child. They may find it interesting to learn that in some areas of the world, each person has the equivalent of a toilet bowl’s worth of water per day for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. Each flush in your home can be a reminder of what others lack and how we are called to conserve water. In the same way that families can pool money as a donation to feed people, funds could be raised to help build water wells for communities in need. (Personally digging wells for water was one of Mother Cabrini’s many hands-on works of mercy.)
Clothing the Naked and Sheltering the Homeless
- “Wait a minute,” a child might say, “I never see someone walking around naked.” True, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t kids just like them who have very limited clothing. A Saturday spent helping kids clear out their closets and donating the giveaways to thrift stores yields a two-fold benefit.
- Kids might think that “sheltering the homeless” means you need to bring strangers into your home. But there are many other ways to accomplish this. Remind children that Mary and Joseph were without a home when Jesus was born. Blankets, sleeping bags, warm socks—these are a few of the items, new or used, that can be donated to organizations aiding those living on the street.
- Do you have young knitters in your household? What a welcome challenge it might be for them to knit even simple things such as scarves and caps for the homeless.
- Even though children are too young to work with Habitat for Humanity home builders, perhaps a drop-off of refreshments for the volunteer workers could be undertaken by your family.
Visiting Prisoners
- While engaging in a prison ministry is not an option for kids, there are appropriate opportunities for the younger set. Does your parish or a local charity give Christmas presents to children whose parents are incarcerated? Kids delight in shopping for other kids, and directing them to choose, wrap, and deliver these gifts to the groups organizing such drives is one way to undertake this Corporal Work of Mercy.
- Some people are isolated in places other than correctional institutions. Can you visit a shut-in? How about someone in a nursing home who never receives visitors? Kids can shovel snow or pull weeds at the home of a neighbor unable to tend to these tasks.
Visiting the Sick
- This work is self-explanatory, but with a little prompting, children can get creative. They can design cards to mail to an ill friend or relative. Did one of their classmates miss school because of illness? Your child can call to check on their friend or pass along homework information.
- Children sharing their talents via singing, playing musical instruments, reciting poetry, etc., lifts spirits for those in nursing homes or rehab centers.
- Sign up for a meal train for someone recovering from surgery and have the kids help put together a dinner and deliver it.
- Encourage children to add the sick people they know to their intentions at Mass or in their nightly prayers.
Burying the Dead
- This Corporal Work of Mercy doesn’t mean actually doing the grave-digging. Encourage children to show support for those who are grieving by attending a funeral (where appropriate), sending a card to someone who has lost a loved one, or praying for the deceased at home and in church.
- As a family, visit the resting place of a deceased family member. Young gardeners can grow and cut flowers to place on the grave. In cemeteries that aren’t professionally tended, kids can pull weeds or clip overgrown grass from around the headstone.
“The impressions of childhood are never obliterated,” said Mother Cabrini.
That’s a powerful motivation for introducing children at a young age to the Corporal Works of Mercy, setting them on a lifetime path of giving of themselves. When they present their works to Christ the King, He offers them the greatest of all gifts, saying, “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).
Members of the media may send an email to Sophia Communications’ Director, Sarah Lemieux at slemieux@SophiaInstitute.com to receive a copy of Mother Cabrini: A Heart for the World, and/or to schedule an interview.
Author Bio: Claudia Cangilla McAdam
Like Francesca Cabrini, author Claudia Cangilla McAdam is a five-foot-tall Italian-American Catholic woman. Her award-winning books for children and teens invite them to explore the virtues, build character, and deepen faith. Her most recent work is Mother Cabrini: A Heart for the World (Sophia Institute Press), commissioned by Angel Studios to accompany their major motion picture, Cabrini. She lives in Colorado, not far from the mountain where Mother Cabrini established a summer camp for girls in the early 1900s. Cabrini’s compassion, commitment, and creativity inspire Claudia to strive to become a saint, too. Visit her and request a free Discussion and Activities Guide for this book at www.ClaudiaMcAdam.com.
