Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
“Just as the Father is compassionate toward you in a threefold way, so ought you to show compassion towards others in three ways. The Father’s compassion is gracious, spacious, and precious. The Father’s compassion is gracious, that is, grace-filled because it purifies the soul of vice… The Father’s compassion is spacious because with the passage of time it extends itself to good works… The Father’s compassion is precious in the joys of eternal life.”
Anthony of Padua in Sermones as recounted by Rosemary Ellen Guiley in The Quotable Saint (New York: Visionary Living, 2002) 35.
Let us begin 2020 with thankfulness that we serve a God who is the Father of compassion and comfort. As Anthony declared, this compassion is gracious, spacious, and precious.
It comes to each of us as unmerited favor. It does not diminish but grows and blesses all it touches. It brings healing to the deepest pain. It gives people not what they deserve but what they need.
Compassion relates to our generosity because the Father generously extends compassion and comfort to us so that we can share it with others. How will you generously show compassion in 2020?
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