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    Pope Francis' Little Book of Compassion: The Essential Teachings
    Pope Francis' Little Book of Compassion: The Essential Teachings
    Pope Francis' Little Book of Compassion: The Essential Teachings
    Ebook288 pages1 hour

    Pope Francis' Little Book of Compassion: The Essential Teachings

    By Andrea Kirk Assaf

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    About this ebook

    Pope Francis is a pope of the people, and his teachings have been praised and shared by the faithful and nonreligious alike. Exploring themes universal to all people, Pope Francis’ Little Book of Compassion offers inspiration and hope from one of the world’s great spiritual leaders. In it, the Holy Father explores how living a life of compassion can be practiced in five areas of life: prayer, mercy, forgiveness, solidarity, and charity.

    Pope Francis appears to be changing the face of Roman Catholicism. He has infused the fusty institution with openness and optimism, faced off against established power interests within the Vatican, reformed the Church’s finances, and, most importantly, asked that Catholics approach one another and non-Catholics with candor, humility, and love. He has made the papacy and the Church relevant once again.

    Words from Pope Francis:
    “A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”
    “There is so much indifference in the face of suffering. May we overcome indifference with concrete acts of charity."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHampton Roads Publishing
    Release dateMar 1, 2017
    ISBN9781612833903
    Pope Francis' Little Book of Compassion: The Essential Teachings
    Author

    Andrea Kirk Assaf

    Andrea Kirk Assaf is a writer, homeschool teacher, pilgrim guide, and professor of the Art and Architecture of Rome in the Eternal City. She blogs daily at www.fourseasonschole.org. For HarperCollins she has compiled six books in the Little Book of Wisdom series (2008–present) and is the author of The Honey Book (2021).

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      Book preview

      Pope Francis' Little Book of Compassion - Andrea Kirk Assaf

      PART ONE

      Compassion through Mercy

      ‘He had compassion,’ that is, His heart, His emotions, were moved! ... ‘Compassion’ is an essential characteristic of God's mercy. God has compassion on us. What does this mean? He suffers with us, He feels our suffering. Compassion means ‘suffer with.’ The verb indicates that the physique is moved and trembles at the sight of the evil of man.

      Mercy does not just imply being a ‘good person’ nor is it mere sentimentality. It is the measure of our authenticity as disciples of Jesus, and of our credibility as Christians in today's world.

      We must ask the Lord to give us the grace to be merciful to those who do us wrong.

      Jesus on the cross prayed for those who had crucified Him: ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do’ (Lk 23:34). Mercy is the only way to overcome evil. Justice is necessary, very much so, but by itself it is not enough. Justice and mercy must go together. How I wish that we could join together in a chorus of prayer, from the depths of our hearts, to implore the Lord to have mercy on us and on the whole world!

      Whoever welcomes Jesus, learns to love as Jesus does. So He asks us if we want a full life: Do you want a complete life? Start by letting yourself be open and attentive! Because happiness is sown and blossoms in mercy. That is His answer, His offer, His challenge, His adventure: mercy.

      God's mercy transforms human hearts; it enables us, through the experience of a faithful love, to become merciful in turn. In an ever new miracle, divine mercy shines forth in our lives, inspiring each of us to love our neighbor and to devote ourselves to what the Church's tradition calls the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. These works remind us that faith finds expression in concrete everyday actions meant to help our neighbors in body and spirit: by feeding, visiting, comforting, and instructing them. On such things will we be judged. For this reason, I expressed my hope that the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy; this will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty, and to enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God's mercy.

      Let us all ask the Lord: Fac cor nostrum secundum cor tuum': Make our hearts like yours (Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus). In this way we will receive a heart which is firm and merciful, attentive and generous, a heart which is not closed, indifferent, or prey to the globalization of indifference.

      It might be said that the Gospel, the living book of God's mercy that must be continually read and reread, still has many blank pages left. It remains an open book that we are called to write in the same style, by the works of mercy we practice.

      Launch us on the adventure of mercy! Launch us on the adventure of building bridges and tearing down walls, barriers and barbed wire. Launch us on the adventure of helping the poor, those who feel lonely and abandoned, or no longer find meaning in their lives. Send us, like Mary of Bethany, to listen attentively to those we do not understand, those of other cultures and peoples, even those we are afraid of because we consider them a threat. Make us attentive to our elders, as Mary of Nazareth was to Elizabeth, in order to learn from their wisdom.

      People may laugh at you because you believe in the gentle and unassuming power of mercy. But do not be afraid. Think of the motto of these days: ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy’ (Mt 5:7).

      Knowing your enthusiasm for mission, I repeat: mercy always has a youthful face! Because a merciful heart is motivated to move beyond its comfort zone. A merciful heart can go out and meet others; it is ready to embrace everyone. A merciful heart is able to be a place of refuge for those who are without a home or have lost their home; it is able to build a home and a family for those forced to emigrate; it knows the meaning of tenderness and compassion. A merciful heart can share its bread with the hungry and welcome refugees and migrants. To say the word ‘mercy’ along with you is to speak of opportunity, future, commitment, trust, openness, hospitality, compassion, and dreams.

      Mercy, which always rejects wickedness, takes the human person in great earnest. Mercy always appeals to the goodness of each person, even though it be dormant and numbed. Far from bringing destruction, as we so often desire or want to bring about ourselves, mercy seeks to transform each situation from within. Herein lies the mystery of divine mercy. It seeks and invites us to conversion, it invites us to repentance; it invites us to see the damage being done at every level. Mercy always pierces evil in order to transform it. It is the mystery of God our Father: He sends His Son who pierced into what was evil, He took on sin in order to transform evil. This is His mercy.

      The mystery of divine mercy is revealed in the history of the covenant between God and His people Israel. God shows Himself ever rich in mercy, ever ready to treat His people with deep tenderness and compassion, especially at those tragic moments when infidelity ruptures the bond of the covenant, which then needs to be ratified more firmly in justice and truth. Here is a true love story, in which God plays the role of the betrayed father and husband, while Israel plays the unfaithful child and bride. These domestic images—as in the case of Hosea (cf. Hos 12)—show to what extent God wishes to bind Himself to His people.

      Mercy is the heart of God. It must also be the heart of the members of the

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