Monday, Second Week of Lent
MONDAY, SECOND WEEK OF LENT
The Honesty
of Compassion
Do not
judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be
condemned. Luke 6:37
Compassion
means to become close to the one who suffers. But we can come close to another
only when we are willing to become vulnerable ourselves. A compassionate person
says: “I am your brother; I am your sister; I am human, fragile, and mortal,
just like you. I am not scandalized by your tears, nor afraid of your pain. I
too have wept. I too have felt pain.” We can be with the other only when the
other ceases to be “other” and becomes like us. This, perhaps, is the main
reason that we sometimes find it easier to show pity than compassion. The
suffering person calls us to become aware of our own suffering. How can I
respond to someone’s loneliness unless I am in touch with my own experience of
loneliness? How can I be close to handicapped people when I refuse to
acknowledge my own handicaps? How can I be with poor when I am unwilling to
confess my own poverty?
I must do
some things to fulfill my duties. But isn’t it time I examined my routines and
cut out the things I do just to stay busy? Lord, help me this Lent to begin to
focus my attention of the important things.
Henri J. M. Nouwen
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