Rules of mercy: To the poor also extend your hand, that your blessing may be complete. Ben Sira 7:32

Wisdom teacher Ben Sira teaches us some rules of mercy to keep in mind with our brothers. Mercy (compassion, kindness, gentleness, benevolence) is a spiritual gift of the utmost importance, because it is the gift that defines us as "social beings". The quality of life in a society is defined by the gift of mercy, the goal of justice is friendship, but the goal of mercy (ethical friendship) is the common good and the concord: "The manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good", 1 Corinthians 12:7.
The opposite of mercy is hostility, when a person is hostile, the person develops concealment strategies, everything is done in secret, and he withdraws his hand to his neighbor. "You need something? come back tomorrow", is the typical answer. Impiety takes hold of men and sins of selfishness, which are tolerable, give rise to something worst, the most destructive sins, the sins of gratuitous hatred. When in a society, mercy is absent, behavioral disorders wreak havoc on the mental health of the population, and prisons overflow due to homicides. The most helpless are the first to feel the blow. Do we want this for the society in which we live? Our little acts of mercy make a difference, the kingdom of heaven is progressive, and gradual. God helps those who help their neighbor.
Master Ben Sira proposes us an ideal, to promote change through selfless friendship with our neighbor, with some simple rules that he exposes:
"To the poor also extend your hand,
that your blessing may be complete.
Give your gift to all the living,
and do not withhold your kindness from the dead.
Do not avoid those who weep,
but mourn with those who mourn.
Do not hesitate to visit the sick,
because for such things you will be loved.
In whatever you do, remember your last days,
and you will never sin" Ben Sira 7:32-36.

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