By Barb Arland-Fye
Editorial
Children holding yellow balloons or white balloons prayed for Pope Francis outside Gemelli hospital in Rome where the Holy Father is recovering from double pneumonia. Anastasia, one of the children from the Diocese of Aversa in southern Italy, read a letter written on behalf of all the children of the world. She says, “(We) want to tell you that we need you and that you must come home soon … We children are your army of peace and we want to keep walking with you” (ABS-CBN News on YouTube). The world’s children are setting an example of compassion for the world’s adults. We need to respond by committing to compassion in a world desperately in need of it.
In his Gospel reflection for March 17, Bishop Robert Barron said, “Jesus calls us to be ‘merciful, just as your Father is merciful.’ Mercy or tender compassion … is God’s most distinctive characteristic.” “Having” God, Bishop Barron says, “is tantamount to exercising compassion, being merciful ourselves.”
In a homily that he gave during Mass in the Casa Santa Marta in 2019, Pope Francis said “Compassion allows you to see reality; compassion is like the lens of the heart: it allows us to take in and understand the true dimensions. In the Gospels, Jesus is often moved by compassion. And compassion is also the language of God.”
When we listen to God’s word, we hear stories of compassion, the Holy Father said in that homily. We hear of Christ responding to the grieving widow of Nain who has just lost her son; Christ urging his disciples to give the hungry crowd food; the Good Samaritan, stopping by the side of the road to give aid to the victim of robbery.
Pope Francis said that we must ask ourselves, “How many times do we look away? …By doing so, we close the door to compassion.” He invited the people attending that Mass to ‘“make an examination of conscience’ and to ask themselves whether they let the Holy Spirit take them along the road to compassion” (Vatican News, 9-17-19).
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to guide us along the road to compassion, where we encounter or become aware of people in need of our compassion. Let our Lenten prayers and actions strengthen our resolve. Let us ask, “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, clothe us with compassion, kindness and humility.” Let us ask Jesus to, “Make us want to be patient with everyone. Teach us to be true neighbors to all in trouble and distress and so imitate you, the Good Samaritan” (The Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer, First Saturday of Lent).
Let us advocate for budget priorities at the state and federal level that ensure hungry people have enough to eat and families are able to access affordable housing, healthcare, childcare, clean water and a healthy environment. Let us make room for and advocate on behalf of immigrants fleeing poverty and persecution, people yearning to thrive as contributing members of society in their adopted homelands.
Let us acknowledge, “… hatred, indifference and selfishness can also reign in our hearts,” as Pope Francis said in his encyclical “Dilexit Nos.” “Yet we cannot attain our fulfillment as human beings unless we open our hearts to others; only through love can we become fully ourselves” (No. 59).
Among actions that we can take to open our hearts and to exercise compassion:
- Visit the Iowa Catholic Conference’s digital Action Center (votervoice.net/ICC/home) to request your state representatives to vote no on proposed legislation that could cause some vulnerable people to lose the health care assistance they currently receive.
In a second action alert, ask your legislator to support HF 905, which would allow persons with disabilities to earn and save more while keeping Medicaid benefits. As the ICC points out, “Meaningful employment helps open doors to social connection and economic advancement.”
In another action alert, request your state representative’s opposition to HF 572, which would create the state crime of “smuggling persons.” The ICC believes the bill is unnecessary because federal and state law already prohibit traffic in humans. Iowa’s bishops are concerned that the bill could be interpreted to criminalize providing basic charity to immigrants.
- Read in this week’s issue (Page 9) about the presentation Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas gave in Des Moines. He provides an excellent overview of immigration, and offers guidance.
- Support Catholic Relief Services (crs.org) through its Lenten Rice Bowl project and throughout the year. CRS equips people in impoverished countries around the world with tools, knowledge and sustenance to enable them to survive and strive.
- Make an examination of conscience regularly. Visit the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for guidelines (https://tinyurl.com/yftr4299).
The world’s children took the lead. Now the world’s adults should commit to compassion to create a better world.
Barb Arland-Fye, Editor
arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org
