According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities" (#2447). According to Jesus, "Blessed are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7). Mercy is the desire to lessen the suffering of others. It has its ultimate expression in the passion and death of Jesus on the cross. His saving act of mercy for all people of all time who suffer the effects of separation from God through sin. When we sin, we suffer; and the only relief from that suffering is the mercy of God. When others suffer, bodily and/or spiritually, we can imitate God's own mercy through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. If we pray the Our Father, we know that to receive the mercy of God, we must extend that mercy to all.