Celebrating our Core Values: Compassion

“Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate.” Luke 6:36

In the month of April we are called to reflect on the core value of compassion , As we reflect let us call to mind the words of Jesus himself in the Gospels where he teaches us about compassion, Luke 10:33, Mark 1:41, Mathew 20:44 and Luke 15:20

In Luke 10:33 it reads “But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion”. The good Samaritan was moved by compassion to feel for the man who was left half dead on the roadside, we too as Sisters of Nazareth, as Nazareth care we are called to have that heart full of compassion for those under our care and our neighbour. The important thing to remember here is that compassion comes from our hearts, we must learn to be compassionate to ourselves so as to be compassionate to our neighbours. As they say: you cannot learn to love someone before loving yourself in other words you cannot give what you do not have.

There are many ways we can show compassion to ourselves so as to radiate what we have to others. If we practice praising ourselves for every little thing that we do, for instance, making one’s bed, tiding one’s office and forgiving one’s mistakes, everything around us will automatically have a positive impact. It can be difficult but with practice it will be worth the effort.

During this difficult time, in Port Elizabeth house, I have seen our Sisters, our managing team and most importantly our carers being moved by compassion just like the good Samaritan reaching out to our residents with love to support and assure those who most of them had lost hope, some depressed, some very sick, some lost their beloved ones and most of them lonely.

Due to the restrictions that came with the Pandemic our residents were like Sheep without a shepherd but us as Sisters of Nazareth and as Nazareth care we showed them compassion and that kept us going strong despite the challenges/situation beyond our control. What made Jesus the one whom Victoire Lameniar imitated and the one whom we are imitating different is the compassion he felt for the poor and oppressed and thus our everyday call as Sisters of Nazareth.