Tag: Compassion

Praying with a Lenten Pastoral Letter

During the Masses of February 17th and 18th, I had the grace of reading the Pastoral Letter for Lent 2024 written by the Maltese Bishops, namely Msgr. Charles J. Scicluna, the Archbishop of Malta, Msgr. Anton Teuma, Bishop of Gozo as well as Msgr...

Jesus’ Compassion

Chances are that we, ordinary people, can still list our successes, because they are limited in number. But even in their limited number they can give us some reassurance that the future will be better. Actually, to be more precise: ordinary people...

Regarding Compassion and Generosity

Some years ago an elderly man collapsed on a busy street corner in downtown Brooklyn, and in the ambulance on the way to the hospital he kept calling out for his son.  A nurse at the hospital went through his wallet, looking for identification, and...

Touching the Face of God

About thirty years ago a U.S. Marine named Jim was given leave for ten days, and he was inspired to go to India in hopes of meeting and assisting Mother Teresa. When he arrived in Calcutta after a flight of almost 8000 miles, Jim was shocked and...

The Power of Small Deeds

St. Teresa of Calcutta reportedly said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” The thought is inspiring, but it raises two questions, “What kinds of ‘small things’ does it apply to?” and “How will those...

No Good Deed is Ever Wasted

Over 100 years ago the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote a much-loved story called Where Love Is, God Is . The hero of the story is an old cobbler, or shoemaker, who one night dreamt that Jesus told him, “Tomorrow I will visit you in your shop...

On Compassion

A hard-hearted banker had just turned down a young man seeking a loan, but then—in order to amuse himself—he said, “My boy, I’ll tell you what. I have one good eye and one glass eye. If you can tell me which is which, I’ll approve your loan.” The...

Compassion On a One-Way Street

When my mother was dying of cancer, one of my brothers and I decided to pay for twenty-four-hour nursing care in her home. What little insurance she had did not provide such coverage. We did not want her to die in a hospital, or, worse yet, in a...