“Mercy, also, is a good thing, for it makes us perfect, in that it imitates the perfect Father.

Nothing graces the Christian soul so much as mercy; mercy as shown chiefly towards the poor, that you may treat them as sharers in common with you in the produce of nature, which brings forth the fruits of the earth for use to all.

Thus you may freely give to a poor man what you have, and in this way help him who is your brother and companion.

Thou bestowest silver; he receives life.
You give money; he considers it his fortune.
Your coin makes up all his property.”

 Saint Ambrose: ‘On the Duties of the Clergy.’ Chapter 11 v.38 (c. 391)

 The illustration above is of Saint Ambrose and is from the ceiling of the church of ‘Santa Maria sopra Minerva’ in Rome.

The artists responsible for the frescos in this church were Bernardino Riccardi, Pietro Gagliardi, Tommaso Greggia, and Raffaele Casnédi.