May the Lord give you grace and peace to be compassionate in the Holy Spirit.
It is on 06th March 2023. We reflect on Daniel 9:4-10 and Luke 6:36-38.
What does rule our hearts: passion or compassion?
His Holiness Pope Francis teaches us, “Compassion is the language of God. God’s forgiveness is not a court sentence granting a pardon “for lack of evidence”. But it is like the lens of the heart: it makes us truly understand the magnitude”.
Compassion is one of the virtues and one of the attributes of God. God’s compassion is not pity. It is not just feeling sorry for a loss.
The prayer of Daniel presents that even though the way the people of Israel shame God through their selfishness and sinfulness, the mercy of God moulded them and made them closer back to God. However, painful moments leave marks as lessons to renew our human spirit even amid the battle with God.
The prayer of the Psalmist echoes so frequently during this Lent: “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.”
The last part of the Sermon on the Mount from the Lucan Gospel highlights the compassion of the Father. Jesus is the face of the compassion of the Father. It comes instead from the Father’s compassion for each person.
Compassion is the compass of Christian living and without which we cannot pardon, give, and forgive but we end up constantly complaining, condemning and judging. Compassion is the empathy of putting ourselves in the place of the one who suffers. Seeing the betrayal and brokenness of humanity God put Himself to save us through His Only Son.
If we cannot radiate the heart of the Father, we cannot claim ourselves as a believer in Christ. Serenity and peace of mind are given to us when acknowledgement of sins is accompanied by unadvertised compassion.
Compassion is the crown of perfection. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
In the absence of compassion, even our prayers are delayed and distant from God. May the Lord enlarge our hearts to be compassionate to all. God bless you.