Works of Mercy

“We do charitable work so that we may learn to fulfill the task of becoming ourselves. But it is Christ who has enabled us to understand the ultimate reason for this, revealing the ultimate law of being and of life: charity” - Msgr. Liugi Giussani, founder of Communion and Liberation

At St. Pius X, we desire to form our students fully, for them to become completely themselves. This is why we do charitable work. Charity is God’s love for us and we are able to participate in this love through serving others as a gift of self. We see our belovedness and come to know our identity from the fact that the King of the Universe came down to serve us and know us. When we go out into the world and participate in God’s love through serving others, we come to know the goodness found in each human just as Jesus showed us. This reveals the purpose of our lives and to the lives of the people we serve. 

Charity is ingrained in our hearts and comes before our natural likes, dislikes and feelings. We are able to understand the word “charity” when we remember that the Son of God did not send us His riches (which He easily could have done) to change our situation, but instead He became poor like us: He shared our humanity with us. As a community, the only attitude we need is attention to those we serve, to share humanity with them, and to love them regardless of how we feel.

                Did you know the Church invites us to do one Corporal Work of Mercy a month? For this reason, we have a set number of hours for each student to complete that lines up with one hour a month, starting from June and ending right after March. It should be noted that the number of hours and the quantity of time that one dedicates to serving others is not important, but it is important that the principle of serving others is affirmed in some capacity, such as a concrete set of time to do service each season of life.  This can help us develop a consistent rhythm of charitable works in our lives. 

                   Works of Mercy will be counted by hours instead of number of events.  For example, a one (1) hour event will be worth one (1) hour and a two (2) hour event will be worth two (2) hours. Each student must complete a total of ten (10) hours for the school year with five (5) hours needing to be completed halfway between the start and end date. You can complete your hours whenever. For example, if a student participated in a mission trip where he did 10 hours of service before the halfway point, then he would complete his service requirements for the whole year!

At St. Pius, we support ALL charity done for our family, friends, community, strangers, etc. However, with the Works of Mercy program we are looking to serve those outside of our own Pius community. This is to push ourselves out of our comfort zone to love the community around us just as the Lord calls us to love everyone in Luke 6. 

• Occasions of service are projects which fall under Works of Mercy (see table on next page) and must be at least 30 minutes long to qualify. For example, attending an SPX Mission Trip would satisfy several “occasions of service” as hours as it is multiple days of service.
• Students must serve the communities beyond their homes and St. Pius X.
  • ELIGIBLE OPPORTUNITIES: A Work of Mercy is performed for those in our world who are most vulnerable and in great need, outside of our own Pius Community.  To be considered eligible hours of service, the project should fall in one of the categories listed in the Works of Mercy table below. The following table lists possible Works of Mercy but is not a comprehensive list. Any questions about the eligibility of a project should be directed to Campus Ministry.
  • INELIGIBLE OPPORTUNITIES: Any activity that would be expected of you or seen as a responsibility of yours by being a member of a family or a part of the SPX community and its organizations (e.g. babysitting, cutting the grass, washing a car, or doing other household chores)

Students are to complete ten (10) total hours for the whole year: 

• At the fall checkpoint students must have completed at least five (5) of their hours for the year. 

• At the final verification they must have completed at minimum the additional five (5) hours required for a total of all ten (10) hours completed.

Fall Checkpoint

Due Date: Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

Minimum Total Hours Logged in x2Vol System: 5 hours

Final Verification

Senior Due Date: Friday, April 11th, 2024

Underclassman Due Date: Wednesday, April 16th, 2024

Minimum Total Hours Logged in x2Vol System: 10 hours

• X2 VOL Website
• X2 VOL App (iPhone users; Android users)

Students will receive further information about the app in their Theology classes during the first weeks of school.

X2 VOL Instructions:

• Log-in to x2VOL following the instructions sent to your SPX student account.
• Add a Works of Mercy Project through the Dashboard page by clicking the green Add Hours button underneath common tasks OR you can access this same page by clicking Projects & Opportunities drop down tab and select My Activity Log.
• Next to Personal Projects, click the +Create New to add your own service project. Fill in the project information and make sure to click Apply Hours to Goal to add this project to one of your goals (ex: Works of Mercy Hours 2024-2025)
• Enter in contact information for the supervisor of the WOM Service Project. This must be someone who works for the organization or the person who organized the service project.
• When you submit your project, the supervisor will be sent an email/text and will verify that you completed the project.
• Once your project has been verified you will receive an email. Only verified projects will be accepted towards completion of the Works of Mercy requirement. If you have any questions regarding this you can contact campusministry@spxstudent.org

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Service Award
Annually, Campus Ministry awards one student from each grade the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Service Award. This award is given to the student in each grade that models the virtues of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta by demonstrating an ongoing commitment to service and performing Works of Mercy that far exceed the minimum requirements of the Works of Mercy Service Program.