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St. ann, nashville students practice corporal works of mercy

Story and photos by LIZ QUIRIN
Messenger editor

When seventh- and eighth-grade students at St. Ann Catholic School in Nashville pulled up at the nursing home on the grounds of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Marion, they were not quite sure what they would do.

This was the day they practiced one of the corporal works of mercy religion teacher, Sharon Kubiak, had been discussing with them. Going to the VA nursing home would put their “works” into practice.

They had collected hats, gloves, personal hygiene products, a few games and some electronics for the men at the nursing home, and this was the day — Jan. 30 — when they would meet the residents.

When she teaches the corporal works of mercy, Ms. Kubiak said she wants students to do more than memorize them. She wants them to act on them.

So far, students have made baby quilts for the Pregnancy Care Center (clothe the naked), will work with the Knights of Columbus during Lent at their fish fry events (feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty), are visiting the nursing home residents in Marion (visiting the sick). She is still working out what she will do with students for visiting the imprisoned, sheltering the homeless and burying the dead.

For their part, students responded to the residents, spending time talking with them.
“I really liked the visit today, and so did my friends,” eighth-grader Gloria Bathon said. “It was kind of sad to see some of them, and to know that they had to face some hard times in the military. But besides it being a little sad, it was also really interesting. Some of them shared stories with us, and we did back. It was cool to see how life was back then compared to now.”

Seventh-grader, Hannah Seeger, saw the value in acting on the school lesson.
“It’s a good experience for kids to work on the corporal works of mercy because they don’t realize how much more is out there in the world,” Hannah said. “It’s easy to just learn them in a book but it’s a much more broad experience actually performing them.”

Students mingled with the veterans, and they learned a bit about the wars in which the men fought. One veteran talked of being on the island of Iwo Jima for the battle and later in Nagasaki after the atomic bomb was dropped.
“Those people suffered a lot,” the veteran said as the young people listened.
Gloria summed up the experience for students, saying: “They were so happy to see us and talk with us. Overall, it was really cool to be there with them.”