Click here for today's readings.
One Sunday, every time I got in or out of my car, I heard the same warm and engaging voice calling out to me from my satellite radio. Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest and author of Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion had definitely caught my attention. When I returned home, I found the interview online. Lately I have found the level of intolerance for anyone seen as “other” both alarming and disturbing. Boyle’s message of the transformative power of God’s unconditional love – apparently for gang members and suburban moms alike – was one that had clearly struck a chord. I bought his book that day.
In today’s Gospel, we hear: “At the sight of the crowds, [Jesus’s] heart was moved with pity for them . . . troubled and abandoned like sheep without a shepherd.” Can’t you just imagine it? Jesus sees His people and before He even reaches them, He feels them and is moved by them. In Tattoos on the Heart, Boyle speaks of Jesus’s compassion being visceral, coming from the very depths of His being. That’s the way I have been feeling lately listening to the news, relating to the pain of the college kid brought to the depths of despair by the cruelty of a roommate or of faithful Muslim Americans being scorned and reviled because of ignorance and bigotry. That’s really the only way to feel compassion, though, isn’t it – from your heart, in your gut?
What to do about these feelings? Jesus has the answer: “Go out to the lost sheep . . . proclaim[ing]: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Jesus commands me to proclaim that His kingdom is indeed coming. Knowing that He loves me unconditionally – whether I succeed or fail – frees me to work to bring about His kingdom here on earth. That’s The Power of Boundless Compasssion, though, isn’t it – from your heart, in your gut?
What to do about these feelings? Jesus has the answer: “Go out to the lost sheep . . . proclaim[ing]: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Jesus commands me to proclaim that His kingdom is indeed coming. Knowing that He loves me unconditionally – whether I succeed or fail – frees me to work to bring about His kingdom here on earth. That’s The Power of Boundless Compasssion.
- Erin Dolan is chairwoman of the Center for FaithJustice’s Board of Trustees
We've Moved!
