“The Works of the Heart” – The Seventh Corporal Work of Mercy

A short meditation by Msgr. Paolo Giulietti, Archbishop of Lucca, on the seventh corporal work of mercy, to live it concretely in everyday life.

«The Works of the Heart» is a booklet written by Msgr. Paolo Giulietti on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy convoked in 2015, when he was still auxiliary bishop of Perugia and Città della Pieve.

Ten years have passed, but the reflections of the current Archbishop of Lucca regarding the works of mercy remain timely.

The aim is to reread these brief meditations on the fourteen works and then make them relevant to everyday life: what spazio + spadoni calls «ReEvolution of the works of mercy».

Burying the dead

Fortunately, the dead are no longer left unburied.

Instead, what happens is that the dying are left alone and devoid of reasons for hope, that family members find themselves lost and disoriented, and that financial interests intrude forcefully even into days of sorrow.

With traditional rituals of accompanying the dying and processing grief lost or forgotten, the burial of loved ones is delegated to the «specialists» of funeral homes, and the reality of death is increasingly expelled from homes, children’s experiences, and adult conversations. Today, burying the dead is not so easy!

The exercise of this Opera therefore lies in building a relationship with the dying person and their family aimed at supporting, encouraging, and opening up to the Christian hope of eternal life and the resurrection of the body, turning mourning into an opportunity to strengthen bonds and rediscover solidarity.

Death cannot indeed be exorcised: it is either resolved by finding trustworthy reasons to continue living, or «unburied dead» are destined to fill the journey of those who survive them with fears, anxiety, or perhaps feelings of guilt.

Image created digitally by spazio + spadoni

Source: Giulietti, P., The Works of the Heart