Advent is a beautiful time in the Church, a time of prayer, fasting, reflection, hope and rituals all meant to remind us of God’s limitless love, born on Christmas day in a manger in Bethlehem.

Christians in countries all over the world celebrate Advent with a variety of customs and traditions: Advent wreaths and candles, Advent calendars, often stocked with chocolate treats, early morning daily Mass, special foods, cakes and cookies often placed around the Advent wreath, and preparations of all kinds to get ready for the birth of Christ.

In my home, at the beginning of Advent, I take out a tiny dollar store snow globe, complete with snowman inside, and place it next to an icon of Mary and small prayer candle. The ornament is meaningful to me because of the name printed on the front – Joan. It was meant as a gift to be added to my friend Joan’s Christmas tree, but she died before I could give it to her.

Now it serves as an opportunity to reflect daily on the joy of friendship and the power of love especially in the Works of Mercy, lessons that Joan continues to teach me through how she lived her life.

Joan was a woman whose simple and sincere devotion to family and friends was extraordinary. Generosity and compassion were her hallmarks, not just for her friends and family but anyone who she knew needed something. Even during her own difficult times, Joan would help fill Thanksgiving baskets for parish families in need, buy gifts for the Jesse Tree, or bring groceries and home cooked food to friends who were sick or in need.

Joan’s faith was faith in action, not meant to change to world, but to let those around her know they were valued.

Most recently I recalled Joan’s remarkable heart when I read a homily by Pope Francis about the meaning of the Works of Mercy as sharing the suffering of others.

The Holy Father stressed, “We do not do works of mercy to assuage our consciences, to make us feel better. Rather, the merciful person is the one who has pity on others and shares in their suffering. We must ask ourselves, am I generous? Do I know how to put myself in another person’s shoes? Do I suffer when I see another person in difficulty?”

With Advent being a time of reflection and introspection, these questions are important for students to consider, as well, to help them understand that their Catholic faith should be a part of all their decisions and behaviors, especially how they treat others.

How can we bring Works of Mercy into the Advent season in the classroom?

• Display the Works of Mercy on a piece of poster board, or on the chalk or white board throughout Advent. Use it to discuss the Church’s teaching on the Works of Mercy, which are described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as, “charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities.”
   
• Encourage students to share their thoughts about mercy and to give examples of when they have seen others do Works of Mercy, or when they have shown mercy. Young children may be able to put this in the context of being merciful to animals or younger siblings. Use some version of Pope Francis’ questions, depending on children’s ages, to start children thinking – Am I generous? Am I able to put myself in another person’s shoes? Do I suffer when I see another person in difficulty? For older children, you may want to include a question about times they failed to practice a Work of Mercy when they might have.
   
• Brainstorm with students for ways in which they may practice Works of Mercy as a class. You may offer a few suggestions to get them started – Make Christmas cards for children who are hospitalized or for homebound parishioners; have older students read Christmas stories to younger students; encourage students, with parents’ help, to bring in canned or dried food for a local/parish food bank, have children work in pairs, or teams, sorting the items and putting them in bags or boxes; encourage students to eat lunch with someone they don’t know well; have older students bring in news stories about a Work of Mercy being done in their communities.
   
• Pray every day with the students during Advent. Provide them with a simple prayer to say, perhaps after lighting an Advent candle: Dear God, may the Holy Spirit help me understand why we should practice the Works of Mercy and show me those times when someone needs me to show them mercy. Amen” Or, give students the opportunity to create their own prayer with words or pictures that may be hung up in the classroom. Written prayers may be prayed as a class so different prayers are said daily.
   
• For teachers and staff, Pope Francis’ words from a 2013 homily provide a meaningful reflection: “We must come out of ourselves, we must take human routes if we are to discover that Jesus’ wounds are still visible today on the bodies of all our brothers and sisters who are hungry, thirsty, naked, humiliated or slaves, in prisons and hospitals. By touching and caressing these wounds we can adore God alive in our midst.”

About the Author
Mary Clifford Morrell, mother of six and grandmother to ten, is a Catholic journalist, editor, and author who has served the Dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey; Burlington, Vermont, and RENEW International in the areas of religious education and communication.