Thursday, October 18, 2007 was the yearly Pastoral Care Banquet. Due to health reasons I was resigning as a volunteer after 10 years. The chaplains honored me with a few complimentary words and a dozen red roses. I was asked just why I volunteered with Pastoral Care. My thought was God was so good to me, I wanted to share that grace with someone else. Then again, I have been in the hospital so many times as a patient that I have real empathy, compassion for those in the hospital.
The dictionary defines compassion as "the deep feeling of sharing the suffering of another in the inclination to give aid or support or to show mercy." More than that, compassion is a vital virtue. No teacher has ever uttered words of such eternal value as Jesus, the prince of teachers, concerning compassion. No word of Christ reveals His heart's concern for human need so much as the word compassion. Whether it was his friend, Lazarus, or an alien Samaritan, a little child, or an aged cripple-he cared.
The dictionary defines compassion as "the deep feeling of sharing the suffering of another in the inclination to give aid or support or to show mercy." More than that, compassion is a vital virtue. No teacher has ever uttered words of such eternal value as Jesus, the prince of teachers, concerning compassion. No word of Christ reveals His heart's concern for human need so much as the word compassion. Whether it was his friend, Lazarus, or an alien Samaritan, a little child, or an aged cripple-he cared.
Compassion and helpfulness are kindred souls. It has been said that there is no exercise better for strengthening the heart then reaching down and lifting someone up. We must dedicate more time for Christ and keep our eyes open so He can show his thoughtfulness through us.
Many years ago Pope Leo XIII said: "No one is so poor as not to be useful in some way to his fellowman and the disposition to ask assistance from others with confidence and to grant it with kindness is part of our nature."
A wise man once said: "God is the best helper, but He loves to be helped."
Be earnest in prayer, but do not neglect human means, Spirit-led lives are ours when we ask.
COMPASSION
We are prone to take the blessings
We receive from day to day,
Without a word of 'thank you'
Till they pass away.
Let us express appreciation
For our blessings, come what may,
And try to be more worthy
Each and everyday.........for
Love is concern compassion
Shown for others less fortunate than you
The dirty, the ragged, the lost ones,
Red, yellow faces, yes, black ones, too.
To gain life is to lose it.
Another's burden you must share.
Love is gratitude in action,
To show that you really care.
If indeed you are grateful
For the blessings you enjoy,
You will show it in the things you do,
And how you are employed.
The more you have, the more you give,
This feeling you cannot supress.
You have to do something for someone.
To express your thankfulness.
by Wilhelmine E. Mitchell
1 comment:
My mom has always shown compassion, and often seen by none but her LORD. Thanks mom for the example you've been.
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