The Art of Compassion

I believe compassion is beyond its meaning.

NURSE BY HEART

During one of my duty in Padilla before the end of my college life, an old lady approached my groupmate while we were having an early dinner in a store just right in front of the hospital.

She looked at me and said, “Hindi namin siya maintindihan. Ikaw nga kumausap.” (We can’t understand what she is saying. Go and talk to her.)

So I asked her, “Ma’am ano po yun?” (Ma’am what can we do for you?)

Old Lady: (I was not able to hear what she said.)

ME: Ano po yun? Sorry po di kita marinig. (Pardon? Sorry, I cant hear you.)

Old lady: (teary eyed) Pwede bang makitext? Nasa emergency room kasi yung anak ko. Wala kaming pera panguwi. Wala din akong load. (My child is in the emergency room right now. We don’t have any money in order for us to come home and I don’t have credits to message my relatives about it.)

ME: Ay ganun po ba. Wait lang po ah. (Really, wait)

(I turned to my groupmates and told them about her problem.)

They said that I should tell her that we don’t have enough money to help her because they think she’s faking it to take advantage of us. So I told the old lady…

ME: Ma’am, wala po kasi kaming load. Wala din po kaming pera. (Ma’am we don’t have cellphone credits and we don’t have enough money to lend you. We're sorry.)

The old lady looked really sad as she walked away from us.

So I called her again and gave her my last money and left 8 pesos for my ride home. She almost hugged me. This time I could see the tears streaming from her eyes as she asked, “Pano ikaw? Baka wala ka nang pera?” (How about you? Do you still have enough money for yourself?). And I told her, “Okay lang po yun. Meron pa naman po ako natira.” (It’s okay. I left enough money for myself). She thanked me and it felt really good!

After that incident, I heard negative comments about me and the old lady. I pretended that I do not hear anything and just smiled.

As we walk pass the emergency room, we saw the old lady again and I told my groupmates that maybe she wouldn’t be there if their judgments were true.

In today’s Gospel, John 9:1-41 the Pharisees were blinded by their own set of rules that they fail to see who Jesus is.

My groupmates are like those Pharisees.

COMPASSION IN ACTION

Compassion puts God’s heart in exchange of ours, letting go of our attitudes, selfishness, forgetting about ourselves and focus on “Loving our neighbor as ourselves. Mark 12:31”

Being compassionate is not easy as a human. We have to take our eyes out of the blinding spots of this world. Throwing away the “what ifs”. And this requires consistency to achieve its fullest capacity. What actions?

It is to live our lives in God, for God, through God and with God. Loving Him with all our heart, with all our being, with all our strength, and with all our mind. Luke 10:27

It is truly through Him that we would succeed.

Brothers and sisters,

God looks through the heart. He judges differently. He calls us to do the same for Him as His children. Let our faith be bigger than our fears. Let us always practice compassion and find ways to touch hearts through the Love that God gave us. And let our hearts rejoice to an awesome journey of  compassion in action.

God bless!