Revealing the Compassion of God

In today's Gospel, Luke 7: 1-10, we are given the story of the Roman centurion whose slave is seriously ill. He sends elders to ask Jesus to heal him, reminding Jesus that this dying man is deserving of divine intervention. He also tells Jesus that he is "not worthy that Jesus enter under his roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed." The centurion shares his own experience with Jesus as a man with authority: I say "Come," "Do this," "Go," and my servants listen. In effect, he is saying: Jesus, you have authority. Whatever you say will be done. As Master of the Universe, You do not need to be physically present to heal my servant. "Only say the word..."

What faith! And the centurion is not even a Jew! Jesus is amazed and he tells the crowd: "...not even in Israel have I found such faith!"

Who am I in this story: the slave who is seriously ill, the centurion asking for Jesus' intervention, the elders who bring the centurion's message to Jesus, those in whom Jesus finds no faith or a dwindling, smoldering, flickering faith with little or no life left in it?

Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate

Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” we read in today’s Gospel, Mt. 5: 43-48.  We see God’s perfection at work in His forgiveness of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.   That forgiveness included the acknowledgement and condemnation of Ahab and Jezebel’s sin, not Ahab and Jezebel themselves who contrived Naboth’s murder and then took possession of his vineyard.

“Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” means forgiving those who harm us, treat us unfairly, put our dreams to death and usurp that which we treasure.   To forgive, one needs to recognize and acknowledge that wrong has occurred. It also means letting go of the human tendency to strike back, inflict pain on the “enemy” in whatever way possible, hold on to grudges, and/or carry resentments around as excuses to continue acting angrily throughout our lifetimes.  Examples of the kind of generosity God shows the sinner abound in both the Old and New Testaments, all the way to Jesus forgiving the woman caught in adultery, the persons ready to stone her, Peter in his threefold denial and the good thief on the cross and you and I in all of our sinful behaviors and attitudes.  You and I are called to the same heroic deeds done in Jesus’ name and through the graces of redemption

Mother Frances Streitel: her compassionate nature developed in childhood

Amalia Frances Rose Streitel aka Mother Frances Streitel, Foundress of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother—I would like to reflect a little more on Amalia’s childhood, as I believe that her spiritual formation is rooted there.  Watch children. They are totally open to the now experience, are always exploring, are, not yet, prejudiced against anyone or anything.  An open mind. An open heart.  We learn from her biographers that Amalia’s mother was “kind and energetic” (Walk in Love,  p. 5). That is a very important part of Amalia’s strength of character. We can come to that conclusion when we look at the impact of growing up with parents who are unkind and severely depressed.  Amalia assumed her mother’s compassionate nature already as a child. What of your mother’s characteristics have you inherited and given “flesh” to? Amalia’s preference of playmates were the poor children of her neighborhood (Amalia, remember, comes from a very wealthy family).  What are your attractions?  

Being compassionate as Mary was

Feast of the Sorrowful Mother:  In prayer this morning, I was reminded that people are nailed to the cross every moment, in agony, by the acts and words,  the deafness and blindness,  of others. The questions I was confronted with were: Can you be there when my Son asks that of you? When your God calls you to show compassion and support , can you do that without striking out at the source of that person’s suffering whether of his/her own doing or coming from others, without condemning that person or those causing the suffering?  Can I stand in the midst of “violence” without resorting to “violence” in words or deeds, without condemning anyone, neither the “crucified” or the “crucifiers”? I was reminded that neither Mary nor Jesus lashed out at those who were crucifying Him. Jesus said: “Father, forgive them. They know not what they are doing.”  Do I realize that those who do or say things that hurt another human being usually do not realize what they are doing? Who would intentionally kill the spirit of another human being, seriously cripple anyone’s self-esteem, self-confidence, initiative and creativity? Probably no one, really.  Like Mary, can I stand with, show compassion and give support to “the wounded” without causing further damage by lashing out, ranting and raving, doing violence myself?

God's compassion and blessing

September 7—Today’s responsorial psalm reminded us that God is compassionate toward all of His works. That means that God is compassionate toward you and me. God understands the challenges we face as human beings to live as Jesus lived: being nonjudgmental; caring toward the oppressed, those who are crippled emotionally and/or physically, the hearing impaired, the mentally challenged, the needy, ourselves, children and adolescents when they test our patience.  Jesus says to us in today’s Gospel: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” We might translate that into “Blessed are you when you know how dependent you are on me.” To be compassionate as Jesus was we need His intervention; we need grace.  Neither do we develop a sense of compassion without being in relationship with others. Therefore, to put on Christ, we need one another as much as we need God. We do not grow spiritually in a vacuum or by isolating from others and from the challenges of life.  Being poor in spirit and therefore blessed means that we depend upon the Lord and one another, that we believe in the goodness of God, in our own goodness and the goodness of others.  For me, this brings me to the foot of the cross, begging for God’s mercy and His help and thanking Him for the grace of redemption .