ABSTRACT
Active life, active virtues Traditional Catholic thought sanctioned two primary modes of existence in the world: the life ofvirtuous actions, and the life devoted to contemplation of the divine. Matthew 25:3536 listed six acts required ofChristians: care of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the prisoner. Theologians later made the list conform to sacred numerology by adding a seventh act, burial of the dead. These Seven Works of Mercy occupied an important place in art.
