Reflection
We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the center of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.
The Charter for Compassion
Prayer
Help us to try to see the world through Your eyes,
the eyes of One who is loving, compassionate, and caring
Action
Expand the circle of your compassion to include other creatures, nature, and the inanimate world.
Suggested Reading
Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all God’s demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.
Rom 12:1-2
Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.
Thomas Merton
Compassion and tolerance are not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.
Dalai Lama
In compassion, when we feel with the other, we dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and we put another person there.
Karen Armstrong
You may call God love, you may call God goodness. But the best name for God is compassion.
Meister Eckhart
Compassion literally means to feel with, to suffer with. Everyone is capable of compassion, and yet everyone tends to avoid it because it’s uncomfortable. And the avoidance produces psychic numbing — resistance to experiencing our pain for the world and other beings.
Joanna Macy
True compassion does not come from wanting to help those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.
Pema Chodron
A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.
Steve Maraboli
Let our hearts be stretched out in compassion toward others, for everyone is walking his or her own difficult path.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Compassion is the greatest form of love humans have to offer.
Rachael Joy Scott
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.
Franklin D. Roosevelt