GESTATING COMPASSION

GESTATING COMPASSION

What is sad, among many other things, in all of this is that almost all of us, on all sides of virtually every issue, are using truth and the gospel to make hard, non-compassionate judgements. In both civic and church circles there is little to be seen in the way of gentleness, softness, and forgiveness. The zeal for orthodoxy and the passion for justice, especially among the more enlightened and supposedly sensitive, are producing a lot more anger than compassion.

This is a cruel thing to say, but all this angry zeal and passion, no matter how high the cause which fuels it, is not a sign that truth and the gospel are breaking through. When truth and the gospel break through, the first mark is compassion, not anger.

The word of God first meets the world in compassion, not judgement. Irrespective of whether we attempt to speak our truth and prophecy from a liberal or a conservative pulpit, we want to remember that. We mediate the word of God correctly, speak for truth and justice, when, and only when, we are recognized for our gentleness, compassion, and forgiveness - towards everyone, and not just towards those in the same ideological camp as ourselves.

(Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI)