In this month of November, Mari Carmen reminds us of the value that compassion has.
God drew up a roadmap for me at the beginning of this year: be compassionate with that same compassion that made Jesus a brother, a missionary and a neighbour. I had no idea that we were going to be in lockdown a month later. And l would never have imagined that COVID 19 would visit so many families in the area and people I know, bringing with it the death of friends and relatives and consequences which don’t disappear overnight. Now, as I look back over this year I can recognise this call to compassion echoed every week. Implicitly or explicitly there has always been someone who has pleaded with me: “Have compassion on me, help me so that I can believe that God is with us especially in this difficult period of life.”
How prophetic compassion is!
Not because you shout many hopeful words from the rooftops, rather because it is a matter of listening patiently to others and to God in order to build bridges between their pain and His tenderness.
Compassion is prophetic because it is a sign of God’s commitment to us. We can help others to intuit the pain of God when a person is hurting inside with only the eloquence of the gentle breeze of affection and respect. It offers relief, without a trumpet blast and it is supported by the Resurrection which everything He loves participates in.
Compassion leads you to perceive that life is an invaluable asset, when you feel that death is the sword of Damocles that threatens your dreams and your joys.
It inspires you to chat with God by half-opening your heart, you who hoped to overcome grief aseptically because you have convinced yourself that you have to be strong and cold in the face of life’s problems. It ignites the desire to fight, if resignation has left you without words.
It makes you believe that you can tell your story, even if grief makes you feel that a chapter of your life is closing that you would have continued writing and writing.
Compassion is prophecy because it is an expression of God´s joy and pride towards his son or daughter who has left this world after living a worthwhile life. It is also an expression of pride and tenderness towards those who remain with immense nostalgia but with a great vote of confidence in God and in life.
These days give us the opportunity to weigh up the legacy that our deceased have left us with: their wisdom and desire to live. We can feel privileged for having shared time with them, be it long or short and pay them a grateful tribute. Those who had the trust to allow me to accompany them in their pain this year have made me remember how important this is.
Maria Carmen Izquierdo.
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