25 ways to do works of mercy in Arkansas

Updated Feb. 7, 2024

Lent is a season to reorder our priorities and penance helps us remember that created things are subordinate to God. Penance doesn't feel like a sacrifice when directed to the benefit of others. The following offers 25 ways to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy in Arkansas. To learn more, see why works of mercy are important. Contact the sponsoring organization directly for more information.

1. Apologize for hurting another or forgive those who have hurt you and participate in the sacrament of penance.

2. Be the hands, feet and voice of Christ to those who need support through a difficult time.

3. Comfort those who mourn by sending a card, attending the funeral or offering up prayers and Masses for the deceased.

4. Donate a car to Catholic Charities of Arkansas to support its many ministries.

5. Donate to help low-income immigrants apply for citizenship or victims of human trafficking and domestic violence.

6. Do not judge, but help others find their way with compassion and understanding.

7. Grab a CRS Rice Bowl at your parish and help people in developing countries and at home.

8. Give to the special collections in Lent including those for Catholic Relief Services, our seminarians and Christians in the Holy Land.

9. Help a couple adopt a baby by making a donation or welcome a child in the foster care system into your home.

10. Help pay the tuition for a seminarian in the Diocese of Little Rock.

11. Join your parish or a Catholic organization to donate your time and talents to those in need.

12. Mail cards, rosaries, Bibles or cookies to inmates in jail or a nearby prison.

13. Pay the tuition for a student who can't afford to go to a Catholic school.

14. Pray for those discerning a vocation to priesthood or religious life.

15. Serve as a sponsor to someone going through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

16. Share the prayer intentions on this website with others to remember in prayer.

17. Support CASA to help serve the pastoral, educational and social needs of our diocese.

18. Support the diocesan Disaster Relief Fund to help victims of natural disasters.

19. Take Communion to patients at your local hospital or visit those who have no visitors.

20. Teach a parish religious education class in your parish.

21. Visit the elderly at a retirement center or check in on parishioners who live alone.

22. Volunteer your time and talent at your parish or local school.

23. Serve meals to the homeless or volunteer at a social service agency or your parish thrift shop.

24. Volunteer to assist patients at the Catholic Charities Medical Clinic.

25. Welcome a new parishioner or neighbor by visiting and making them feel at home.