Compassion in the Time of COVID-19
While we look for options and new ways to strengthen our faith through remote connections with our Church,
let us not forget that our faith can be practiced every day in how we communicate
through our social media options, how we keep in touch with our family and loved ones, and how we answer the many appeals that come through the mail and over the Internet to help the most unfortunate among us.
In the early 1990s I was on the Confirmation team at our parish and had the segment on social justice. Working with 13-year-olds on this subject was difficult, and I left them each year with just one take-away: Social-justice teachings of the Church really come down to the examples that Jesus gave us about being compassionate.
If you learn to be a compassionate person, you will have the secret to a successful life.
As our commerce and churches begin to open up, we are called to be people of compassion more than ever—to remember what so many have endured during this pandemic and be understanding and generous of heart.
Years later, at a local grocery store, I bumped into one of the students in my Confirmation class who had just completed college. He wanted to let me know that he never forgot the lesson on compassion and how much it influenced his choices. Wow, that made all of the time commitment and preparation for those Confirmation classes really worth it!
From Kathy Anderson, President and Executive Director