“The works of the heart” – The sixth spiritual work of mercy

A short meditation by Msgr. Paolo Giulietti, Archbishop of Lucca, on the sixth spiritual 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 called 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 are still relevant today.

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

Patiently bearing bothersome people

Every person is potentially “bothersome”, because we all have limits and can sometimes be unlikable. When this attitude is associated with positions of power (office manager, professor, public official, parish priest), family roles (spouse, parents, in-laws, etc.), or daily social interactions (neighbors, colleagues…), the discomfort is not easily avoided and can become oppressive.

Beyond the commitment to make ourselves as little “bothersome” as possible, Christians are called to the virtue of patient endurance—that is, welcoming others despite their limits. Indeed, it is both possible and necessary to bear with one another, because we ourselves are welcomed by the mercy of God, who loved us first despite our sins.

Endurance, however, is not synonymous with resignation; rather, it expresses true love for the other: a realistic love that takes limits into account, but also a love full of hope, conscious that the experience of feeling welcomed is a powerful engine of change. Often people decide to improve themselves not because they are rebuked and punished, but because they wish to give back to those who accept them for who they are.

Image created digitally by spazio + spadoni

Source: Giulietti, P., The works of the heart