Most Christians want to live an active faith yet feel perplexed about how to do so. The seven interconnected "spiritual works of mercy" come to our aid: counseling the doubtful; comforting the ignorant; admonishing sinners; comforting the afflicted; forgiving offenses; bearing wrongs patiently; and praying for the living and the dead. Through such acts of mercy we can respond fully to God's goodness towards us, involving conversion of our interior life: such acts are truly God's acts of mercy; we become mere human agents for God to alleviate people's unhappiness.