Matthew 25: 31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne,
32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
These works come directly from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and are provided to us as being directly tied to our salvation. Simply put, if you do not do these works, you should not expect to be granted salvation on the last day. Christ's exhortation is for us to: Feed the hungry, Give drink to the thirsty, Welcome the stranger, Clothe the naked, Care for the sick, and Visit the imprisoned.
In the course of history and upon review of Sacred Scripture the Church has broken the corporal works of mercy into these seven categories. Each category represents a bodily, or corporal, need that the faithful should provide to the needy, both within our community and without.