Counseling the doubtful: the first Work of Mercy for caring for the soul

The Works of Mercy through the eyes of a biblicist

With the help of biblicist Carlo Miglietta, we prepare for the meeting days beginning on Monday, July 17, 2023. Tomorrow, the first friends from Africa will begin arriving, specifically from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Burkina Faso.

The first spiritual Work of Mercy is “counseling the doubtful”.

The biblicist points out that whoever performs this work is like:

• God: “I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; even at night my heart instructs me” (Ps 16:7); “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; with my eyes upon you, I will give you counsel” (Ps 32:8); “You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me into glory” (Ps 73:24); “Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine” (Prov 8:14); “Your word is truth” (Jn 17:17); “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich” (Rev 3:18).
• Jesus: “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength” (Is 11:2); “The crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God” (Lk 5:1); “Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (Jn 5:24; 8:51); “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you” (Jn 15:3).
• Job: “They listened to me expectantly, and kept silence for my counsel” (Job 29:21).

The biblicist also reminds us that whoever counsels the doubtful listens to the Word of God.

Below are some excerpts:

• “The righteous will be filled with the spirit of understanding; like rain, he will pour forth words of wisdom… He will direct his counsel and knowledge, meditating upon the mysteries of God. He will show forth the doctrine of his teaching… Many will praise his understanding… Nations will declare his wisdom” (Sir 39:6-10).
• “How fitting is wisdom for the aged, and discernment and counsel for honorable people!” (Sir 25:5).
• “The knowledge of a wise man grows like a flood; his counsel is like a spring of life” (Sir 21:13).
• “Seek counsel from every wise person, and do not despise any sound advice” (Tob 4:18).
• “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in the future” (Prov 19:20; 3:21).
• “The wise listen to advice” (Prov 12:15).
• “Wisdom belongs to those who take counsel” (Prov 13:10).
• “Frequently visit a devout man whom you know to be observant of the commandments, whose soul is like your soul; if you stumble, he will grieve with you” (Sir 37:12).

The biblicist concludes this work with a provocation, an inquiry: do we know how to be “fishers of men” (Mk 1:17), identifying those who counsel the doubtful and proclaiming to them the beatitude of Mercy: “Blessed are the merciful” (Mt 5:7)?

Attention to caring for the soul

The spiritual Works of Mercy have always been understood as a general guideline that every Christian should put into practice. If it is true that a human being consists of body and soul, the needs of the body also run parallel to those of the soul, and perhaps the latter require even greater care, as the soul is more important than the body.

Don Fabio Rosini, in his book “Only Love Creates”, explains this concept clearly: “What causes the greatest suffering is not the body, but the heart. It is not pain, but meaninglessness. It is not death, but loneliness. The spiritual Works of Mercy care for the heart, for meaninglessness, for loneliness.”

The assumption over the years that emergencies consist solely and exclusively in meeting material needs has generated entirely de-spiritualized societies.

Counsel, a gift of the Holy Spirit

Among the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is counsel itself, a gift every one of us needs throughout life. From an early age, a child constantly asks the familiar question, “why?”, and parents, holding a vital educational role, have the duty to respond.

Even as adults, we cannot always find answers on our own; we need guides.

Whoever prepares to give counsel should, above all, pray to speak the right words, at the right times, and in the right manner.

The gift of counsel requires another gift of the Holy Spirit beside it: prudence, so that the person facing doubt feels relieved rather than judged.

Guided by humility, patience, tenderness, and understanding, we must offer a non-judgmental welcome, an openness that allows the other person to invite us into their inner life, never forgetting that the Counselor par excellence is the Holy Spirit Himself.

Photo by Aliaksei Lepik su Unsplash

Source: Carlo Miglietta – The Works of Mercy