Tuesday 14th week in ordinary time
"Mt 9:32-38"
As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the prince of demons.”<br><br>And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Jesus' compassionate Heart, full of love for His people - for each one of them - made Him go around teaching, preaching and healing "every disease and every infirmity." One of the things that makes Him so compellingly attractive is His compassion for people and their problems, His willingness to be at their side and feel what they are feeling, to reach out to them, to do something for them or say something they need to hear... to die for them.
We learn how to be compassionate from Our Lord Himself. And with our acts of compassion we bring souls to Him; souls who become compassionate themselves and bring other souls to Him. How many lives have been transformed by an act of compassion! Bishop Myriel is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 'Les Misérables': "There are men who toil at extracting gold", writes Hugo; "he toiled at the extraction of pity. Universal misery was his mine. The sadness which reigned everywhere was but an excuse for unfailing kindness. Love each other; he declared this to be complete, desired nothing further, and that was the whole of his doctrine." One night Jean Valjean, a convict, shows up at his door asking for a place to stay the night. The bishop graciously accepts him, feeds him, and gives him a bed. Valjean takes most of Myriel's silver and runs off into the night but the police capture him. When the gendarmes inform the bishop, he tells them that he had 'given' it to Valjean as a gift. After the police leave, Myriel tells Valjean, "[with that silver] is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God." From that moment Valjean becomes an honest man.
Mary, Mother of Mercy, help me to grow in compassion for those whom I can serve in any way.
