Maybe it's because I am about to turn 80. Maybe it's because I do Masses at a nursing home. Maybe it's because I have met many of the severely handicapped orphans down in the poor Caribbean country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Maybe it's because I am fascinated with Dr. Sandra Lee, the TV dermatologist, who helps so many people with terrible skin diseases and deformities. Maybe it's all that together, but I find myself almost overcome with compassion for people who have to go through life suffering all day every day without much hope of relief.
When I was young, I found such scenes disgusting to look at and stayed as far away from them, even photos of them, as possible. Now my heart almost bleeds with compassion and sympathy for them and their situations. I want to hug them, hold their hands and at least pat them on the shoulder and try to offer them some comforting words.
There are several Scripture passages where we are told that Jesus was "moved with compassion" for the suffering people he met along the way. Each story moves me as well.
In Matthew 20:32-34, Jesus asked two blind men, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” It's what it says next that moves me. “Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”
In Mark 1:40-42, we read about a man with leprosy who “came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed.” The man said, “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” It's what it says next that moves me. Again, Scripture reports, “Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed.”
There are other similar occurrences in Scripture. Each time Jesus feeds the multitudes, we are told, Jesus had compassion on them (Mark 6.34; Mark 8.2; Matthew 14.14). Often, when Jesus saw crowds of people who seemed lost, he was moved with compassion. Then there is Matthew 9:35-36. "Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
Pope Francis has spoken a few times about the “gift of tears” or the “grace of tears.” He uses these expressions when speaking about appreciating great blessings or understanding great tragedies.
If we think about when we experience tears, we see that they come at the two extremes of life: great joy and great sadness. If someone can say he has never had tears, that means he has experienced neither great joy nor great sadness. Such a person surely has lived a life devoid of personal connections and empathy.
It’s one thing to intellectually understand each person is a gift from God; it is quite another to appreciate that in our heart and soul. Tears are a sign that we have loved, been loved, appreciate the preciousness of life, and can empathize with another human person’s suffering.
Maybe this growing sense of compassion that I am feeling comes from a person who has seen a lot, heard a lot and felt a lot over his 54 years of ministry - enough to enable him to be "moved with compassion?" I hope so!
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