Good works done to address the needs of the
body, as opposed to the
soul (compare
The Seven Spiritual Works of Mercy).
Or else.3
1 The early
Church had a great number of
fishermen, and was very concerned that
everyone had a
port in a
storm.
4
2 The Roman Catholic Church while it does have a history of paying off kidnappers, this was mainly part of the Crusades, when two religious orders (the Trinitarians and the Order of Our Lady of Ransom) were founded specifically for freeing Christians captured by the Infidels. If you look at Matthew 25: 40-46, a better translation might be to "Visit the imprisoned," which might explain why the Inquisition was so keen on locking people up.
3 "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," et cetera (Matthew 25:41).
Oh, and don't forget, these good works don't count if you do them solely for humanitarian reasons. They must spring from the Theological virtues to be eligible for eternal salvation.
4 Ah, what I meant to say was-- a better translation might be "Give shelter to strangers."