Week of Sabbath I, Day Two, Evening

Prayer for hope and healing:

Blessed Lord,
Even in times of drought, I am not always delighted to see rain. It is difficult sometimes to see the good in things like “bad” weather. Help me to remember to get outside of myself, to be grateful for that which helps others, even when it has no direct benefit to me.
Amen

Reading: Thich Nhat Hahn: “Meditation on Compassion”

Love is a mind that brings peace, joy and happiness to another person. Compassion is a mind that removes the suffering that is present in the other. We all have the seeds of love and compassion in our minds, and we can develop these fine and wonderful sources of energy. We can nurture the unconditional love that does not expect anything in return and therefore does not lead to anxiety and sorrow.

The essence of love and compassion is understanding, the ability to recognize the physical, material, and psychological suffering of others, to put ourselves “inside the skin” of the other. We “go inside” their body, feelings, and mental formations, and witness for ourselves their suffering. Shallow observation as an outsider is not enough to see their suffering. We must become one with the object of our observation. When we are in contact with another’s suffering, a feeling of compassion is born in us. Compassion means, literally, “to suffer with.”

Meditation:

There is never much to add to a Thich Nhat Hahn meditation. The Zen-master speaks as eloquently as anyone in our own traditions, often reminding me of a rabbi, and quite often reminding me of my favorite rabbi, Jesus.

I like this meditation because it offers the helpful reminder that compassion is a process. Becoming a compassionate person requires developing the “seeds of love and compassion” we have inside of us. We must “nurture the unconditional love” that each of us is able to show the world. And it won't happen in a day. But we can get a little better at every day.

--Did you make a step toward being a compassionate person today? What ways might you do so tomorrow?

Prayer of joy:

God of all love and compassion,
Thank you for showing us the way of unconditional love. You always love us, even when we might not deserve it. You are always ready to show us mercy. I give you thanks for the ways you have built and nurtured compassion in me, and I look to your guidance in becoming an even greater follower of your way of love and mercy.
Amen