{"id":8940,"date":"2014-02-23T17:32:40","date_gmt":"2014-02-23T22:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=8940"},"modified":"2014-02-23T23:16:02","modified_gmt":"2014-02-24T04:16:02","slug":"mercy-is-not-intransitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html","title":{"rendered":"Mercy is Not Intransitive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The release of Kerry Weber\u2019s Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job<\/a><\/em> is well timed for Lent. \u00a0If you\u2019re of a mind to, you could finish this slim spiritual memoir before Ash Wednesday and let it inform your choices of sacrifices.<\/p>\n

Weber, a Mercy Associate and managing editor at\u00a0America<\/em> magazine, decides that for Lent, she\u2019ll try to practice the seven Corporal Works of Mercy<\/a>:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. To feed the hungry.<\/li>\n
  2. To give drink to the thirsty.<\/li>\n
  3. To clothe the naked.<\/li>\n
  4. To harbour the harbourless.<\/li>\n
  5. To visit the sick.<\/li>\n
  6. To visit the imprisoned<\/li>\n
  7. To bury the dead.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    In her cheery account, she visits a prison, staffs a breadline, and helps distribute water at a road race, all while meeting with the friend she is sponsoring through RCIA, who will come into full communion with the Church at the end of the 40 days of Lent.<\/p>\n

    Reading this book, I was struck by communal nature of Weber\u2019s Lenten discipline. \u00a0When people ask, \u201cWhat are you giving up for Lent?\u201d \u00a0the very formulation of the question suggest that we\u2019re looking for some way to withdraw from the world. \u00a0That\u2019s not wrong\u2013we do want to pull back from worldliness\u2013but we should be moving\u00a0toward<\/em> God, not just retreating from the world.<\/p>\n

    For this reason, many people recommend picking something to\u00a0do<\/em> as well as something to give up. \u00a0I haven\u2019t worked out my Lent plans yet (aside from giving up Threes<\/a> in self-defense) but I was considering picking up Pope Benedict\u2019s Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection<\/a>, which has the virtue of being seasonally appropriate and would mean I was reading the two living popes in tandem<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    That project might better prepare me for the\u00a0spiritual\u00a0<\/a><\/em>works of mercy<\/a>\u00a0but wouldn\u2019t do much to help me throw myself in the path of others, as Weber does. \u00a0I did, one Lent, decide to try not eating alone, but either scheduling lunches with friends or introducing myself to others.<\/p>\n

    I don\u2019t think I managed to make the switch more than three times. \u00a0I\u2019m possessive of my meal times as reading time, short-tempered about small talk, and felt awkward about shanghaiing people into my personal spiritual growth. \u00a0Weber\u2019s book helped me look at a gap in my spiritual life, but I\u2019m still at a loss on how to fill it.<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Are any commenters planning to take on outward-focused disciplines for Lent, related or not to the corporal works of mercy?<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Update:<\/strong> It has come to my attention that patronuses are <\/em>corporeal and works of mercy are <\/em>corporal. \u00a0Error corrected.<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/p>\n

    I\u00a0received\u00a0a review copy of this book through the Patheos book club, where you can read other reviews<\/a>, along with a Q&A with the author<\/a>. \u00a0If you\u2019d like a big list of ideas for Lent, try Catholic All Year\u2019s compendium<\/a> (h\/t Simcha<\/a>). \u00a0If you\u2019d like to read more about the works of mercy, you may also like Mark Shea\u2019s<\/em> The Work of Mercy: Being the Hands and Heart of Christ<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The release of Kerry Weber\u2019s Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well timed for Lent. \u00a0If you\u2019re of a mind to, you could finish this slim spiritual memoir before Ash Wednesday and let it inform your choices of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":8941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviewsrecommendations","category-spiritual-practice"],"yoast_head":"\nMercy is Not Intransitive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The release of Kerry Weber's Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mercy is Not Intransitive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The release of Kerry Weber's Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Unequally Yoked\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-23T22:32:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-02-24T04:16:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/02\/MercyintheCity-copy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1393\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leah Libresco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leah Libresco\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html\",\"name\":\"Mercy is Not Intransitive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-23T22:32:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-24T04:16:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464\"},\"description\":\"The release of Kerry Weber's Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Mercy is Not Intransitive\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/\",\"name\":\"Unequally Yoked\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464\",\"name\":\"Leah Libresco\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Leah Libresco\"},\"description\":\"Leah is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. Her further writing can be found at leahlibresco.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/author\/leahlibresco\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mercy is Not Intransitive","description":"The release of Kerry Weber's Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mercy is Not Intransitive","og_description":"The release of Kerry Weber's Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html","og_site_name":"Unequally Yoked","article_published_time":"2014-02-23T22:32:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-02-24T04:16:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"900","height":"1393","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/84\/2014\/02\/MercyintheCity-copy.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Leah Libresco","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leah Libresco","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html","name":"Mercy is Not Intransitive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-02-23T22:32:40+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-24T04:16:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464"},"description":"The release of Kerry Weber's Mercy in the City: How to Feed the Hungry, Give Drink to the Thirsty, Visit the Imprisoned, and Keep Your Day Job is well","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2014\/02\/mercy-is-not-intransitive.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mercy is Not Intransitive"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/","name":"Unequally Yoked","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464","name":"Leah Libresco","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Leah Libresco"},"description":"Leah is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. Her further writing can be found at leahlibresco.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/author\/leahlibresco"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8940"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8940\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}