Works of Mercy

Sunday, February 18, 2024 12:00 pm EST

Kathryn Stalter, a second-year Master of Divinity Student at the University of Notre Dame, studies theology and ministry, learning how to be present to and focused on the people of God in the parishes, schools, and service organizations she may someday work in.

We can learn a lot about ministry from today’s painting of Saint Carlo Borromeo and the Plague Stricken by Giacinto Brandi.

As Bishop of Milan in the 1500s and a pillar of the Church of his time, St. Carlo, or as we have come to know him, Charles, was a pastor whose love for his flock fueled his untiring efforts to care for them. In 1576, there was a great famine in Milan followed by a terrible outbreak of plague. Many political leaders and noble families fled, but St. Carlo remained, organized the care of the plague victims, and ministered to the dying. He used up his own inheritance and salary to provide food for the hungry. It is estimated that Borromeo tried to feed between 60,000 to 70,000 people daily.

In today’s gospel, we read about Jesus being driven into the desert for forty days being tempted by the devil. Jesus did not waver but stood firm despite his physical vulnerability from fasting. We are told that angels ministered to him at the end of those forty days.

In Lent, we are asked to fast, pray, and give alms intentionally. Alms can be money, but it can also be sharing our time and service. But how do we decide which needs to minister to first when our family, friends, parish community, and civic communities are all in need? Prayer and prudent reflection. Spending time in prayer and listening to the gentle whispers of the heart will allow the Holy Spirit to guide each of us as we seek, like St. Carlo, to understand our ministry this Lent.

This Lent, ThinkND invites you to join FaithND and the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art for a journey of Lenten discovery through some of the most significant liturgical paintings in the Raclin Murphy collection, challenging you to contemplate prayer, fasting, sinfulness, mercy, grace, and God’s infinite love from the perspectives of the artist’s gaze. To subscribe to the FaithND Daily Gospel Reflection visit faith.nd.edu/signup.