compassion(1/2)
From solitude through surrender to compassion
The Desert Fathers and Mothers of the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. exited common Roman society to live in the Egyptian desert. According to Henri Nouwen, đź’¬ They escaped from the sinking ship [of Roman society] and swam for their lives. And the place of salvation is called desert, the place of solitude. Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, pg. 7 Nouwen’s premise is that, without transformation, Christians are conformed to the mores of their society like passengers sailing ignorantly aboard a sinking ship (metaphor from Merton).…
Solitude bears compassion
Compassion is the fruit of solitude and the basis for all ministry. The purification and transformation that take place in solitude manifest themselves in compassion… In solitude we realize that nothing human is alien to us, that the roots of all conflict, war, injustice, cruelty, hatred, jealousy, and envy are deeply anchored in our own heart.
Confrontation with suffering does not lead to compassion
Confrontation with human suffering does not lead to compassion. It leads to anger, numbness, irritation, and rejection, because we don’t know how to deal with it all. It is too much. It is a heavy burden–more than we can carry… A burden becomes a heavy burden when it doesn’t feel connected to anything else. It is a burden that we have to carry by ourselves and is not shared. It is not part of anything larger.…