by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, Catholic Commission for Social Justice
COMPASSION:
Throughout the Scriptures we read of God’s compassion.
Psalm 103:8 states: “God is tender and compassionate, slow to anger, most loving…”
Luke 6:36 tells us to “Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.”
As followers of Christ, we must also be people of compassion. As we are told in Colosians 3:12-15: we are to clothe ourselves with compassion.
We have good advice from many great icons of our age. Blessed Mother Teresa rightly said:
“Compassion begins at home, and it is not how much we do but how much love we put in that action. Do not think that love has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.”
And Archbishop Desmond Tutu reminds us that: “Compassion is not just feeling with someone, but seeking to change the situation. Frequently people think compassion and love are merely sentimental. No! They are very demanding. If you are going to be compassionate, be prepared for action!”
And the words of Martin Luther King Jr. are instructive:
“True compassion, is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37) is a good example of how we should act with compassion. But we are called to do more than just taking care of the person whom the robbers had attacked on the road to Jericho. We are called to strive to make the road safe for travellers. We are called to walk with the 2 feet of Christian service: works of mercy and works of social action.
In Jesus’ 2nd miracle of the loaves and fish (Mark 8:1-3) , Jesus showed Compassion for the hungry crowd of about 4,000 persons who had been listening to him for 3 days and had nothing to eat. Not only did He feed all of them, but they collected 7 basketfuls of scraps left over.
In Luke 7:12-15 Jesus showed compassion for the widow in the town of Nain. Her only son had died and was being carried out to be buried. When He saw her, he felt sorry for her and told her: Do not cry. Then he said to the dead man: Young man, I tell you to get up. And he sat up and began to talk and Jesus gave him to his mother.
If we are to regenerate the moral and spiritual values of our society; if we are to bring the Good News to the poor; if we are to be salt of the earth and light in the world (Mt 5:13-16); if we say we love God and our neighbour, we must practise compassion. We cannot sit on the sidelines and do nothing. We must act. This is what being a Catholic is all about! Let us be exemplars of mercy and compassion.
Mercy:
Throughout the Scriptures we read of God’s mercy and compassion. As followers of Christ, we must also be people of mercy and compassion.
Remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall have mercy shown them. (Matthew 5:1-12; Luke 6:20-23; CCC 1716-1724).
What do we mean by ‘Mercy’? As one writer says, it means to have a heart for those who suffer or to have a heart willing to suffer for others. Jesus was willing to suffer for us.
This doesn’t mean you simply have to accept your fate; testosterone cialis tablets india replacement therapy can help. After a recent study by the doctors it was http://www.donssite.com/viagra-5299 viagra uk detected that the main reason was when the blood could not possibly reach top the penis. Whatever the cause of your erectile dysfunction, the best treatment is to viagra canada overnight or another performance enhancing supplement. However, the medicine is taken in overdose can pose health risks. cialis france On the first universal celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, 2001, Blessed John Paul II reminded us of the words of
Psalm 117.1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures forever!”
He said that in order to understand thoroughly the truth of these words,” we must look “to the heart of the event of salvation, which unites Christ’s Death and Resurrection with our lives and with the world’s history. This miracle of mercy has radically changed humanity’s destiny.”
God is so merciful that He sent His Only-begotten Son to die for our sins. It is because of the mercy and loving kindness of God that we receive His mercy as a free gift from Him.
On Mercy Sunday in 2013, Pope Francis reminded us that “Mercy is the Lord’s most powerful message. …It is not easy to trust oneself to the mercy of God, because [His mercy] is an unfathomable abyss – but we must do it!
He has the ability to forget, [which is] special: He forgets [our sins], He kisses you, He embraces you, and He says to you,‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, sin no more.’ Only that counsel does He give you.” Pope Francis concluded, saying, “We ask for the grace of never tiring of asking pardon, for He never tires of pardoning.”
Pope Francis has also said: “A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just. We need to understand properly this mercy of God, this merciful Father who is so patient. … Let us remember the Prophet Isaiah who says that even if our sins were scarlet, God’s love would make them clean as snow. This mercy is beautiful.”
“God’s mercy can make even the driest land become a garden, can restore life to dry bones (cf. Ez 37:1-14). …
Let us be renewed by God’s mercy, let us be loved by Jesus, let us enable the power of his love to transform our lives too; and let us become agents of this mercy, channels through which God can water the earth, protect all creation and make justice and peace flourish.”
Pope Francis said he is always struck when he rereads the parable of the merciful Father – in the parable of the Prodigal Son:
“The Father, with patience, love, hope and mercy, had never for a second stopped thinking about [his wayward son], and as soon as he sees him still far off, he runs out to meet him and embraces him with tenderness, the tenderness of God, without a word of reproach. … God is always waiting for us, He never grows tired. Jesus shows us this merciful patience of God so that we can regain confidence and hope — always!”
To receive his mercy, we must admit our faults – as the Prodigal Son did.
Our Catechism: 2447, calls us to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy, charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbour in his/her spiritual and bodily necessities.
As is stated in Matthew 25:35-36, on the Day of Judgment, God will remind us that whatever we did for the least of our brothers and sisters we did for Him: For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger,and you made me welcome; naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me; in prison, and you came to see me (Matthew 25:35-36).
Don’t wait for extraordinary situations to do works of mercy. Ordinary acts – acts of random kindness, will be pleasing to God.
During Mass we recite or sing: Lord have mercy. We sing hymns such as: God of mercy and compassion, look with pity upon me. Let us mean what we say or sing. Let us ask God to open our hearts so that we might receive into our hearts His Mercy – His Holy Spirit.
During this Lenten season, let us reach out in mercy to those who need our help, and, as Romans 12:8 says, we must show mercy with cheerfulness.
Let us trust in God’s Mercy always and ask Him to increase His mercy in us. His mercy is endless. He is the source of all mercy and comfort.
“Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
