Channeling God's Compassion to Others

A little goes a long way for some things. It takes only a microscopic portions of trace minerals such as phosphorus or magnesium to maintain cardiovascular health. Typical spider silk, of which cobwebs are composed, is stronger than steel of the same thickness; yet a single strand of this webbing, if it were long enough to stretch all the way around the world, would weigh less than a pound.

A little virtue in a God-focused person goes a long way too. The Creator’s marvelous plan is to use his human creatures as the privileged instruments of the proliferation of his Divine Mercy to all of his precious people. “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Such “good works,” when directed to the aid of our fellow humans in need, are called “works of mercy.” Through Saint Faustina, Jesus gave directions for us to perform these works of mercy out of love for him – “always and everywhere” – in three ways by deed, by word and by prayer. ¹

The Catechism reviews the traditional listing of the “works of mercy” that we are called to perform:

The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God. (#2447)

“[H]appy are those who are kind to the poor” (Proverbs 14:21).

The works of mercy are simply ways in which we receive the vertically presented mercy of God and allow it to be “horizontalized” through us. We become more and more open channels of that mercy to others, fostering within ourselves the loving concern of God for his people. As parents in the procreation of their offspring are privileged to become participators in the creative power of the Almighty, and as a priest becomes an instrument in the flow of grace from God through his priesthood, derived from Jesus, the Eternal Priest, so also anyone and everyone should enjoy the privilege of propagating mercy as human instruments of the divine. Shakespeare expressed it in these words: “We do not pray for mercy; And that same prayer doth teach us all to render the deeds of mercy.” ²

Our God is a God of the hundredfold, whose return to us far exceeds the little we give him. He promises that ‘[a] good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over; will be put into your lap” (Luke 6:38). Paul reminds us that the Lord “by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

A simple interior act of love directed to the hidden Christ-presence in a person whom you find hard to love, an interior act of humility when unthanked or falsely accused, a tiny effort to be patient with others or a love-motivated act of courtesy will cause the Lord to tug you close to his heart and grace-kiss your soul. As the old hair cream commercial put it “ A li’l dab’ll do ya!”

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux’s spirituality encompassed the same principle that Mother Teresa of Calcutta espoused: it isn’t the greatness of the work that counts in God’s eyes; it’s the love with which it is undertaken. Love is the magnifier of all non-sinful activity, and the reward that it reaps is proportionate to the loving mercy or compassion that motivates it.

To get some idea of how the Lord likes to see his own mercy “teleported” to his people through each of us, we can recall the words of Jesus:

“Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear such fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5, italics mine)

So we strive to be merciful as our heavenly Father is merciful, as was Jesus himself.

The deeper we are immersed in the ambience of Jesus’ own love, the more our works of mercy will bear fruit. Some of this fruit you will be allowed to see in this life, and you will be thrilled to know how the Lord has used you. But much of the fruit will be recognized only when you receive your eternal “paycheck” with its bonus.

If you need assurance of that bonus, read the encouraging words of Hebrews 6:10-12:

God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints [the faithful], as you still do. And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

One of the many unappreciated ways in which God exercises his compassionately mercy involves ever ubiquitous human suffering and adversity. “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD rescues them from them all” (Psalm 34:18-19). But he likes to accomplish this “rescue” through us humans as his privileged instruments. And very often he will choose those who have been severely tested and survived, because they are usually the best equipped to help their besieged brethren. As a movement, Alcoholics Anonymous has found its greatest success in helping the addicted through the ministering of those who have struggles up the mountain of rehabilitation themselves; their empathy is almost miraculously therapeutic for other victims of addiction. That’s the real fruit of their labors. Those who most closely abide as branches in the divine vine are the ones who will be most fruitful in their heroic efforts.

The best drill sergeant is not the deskbound general but the soldier who has served in the front lines of battle. Paul shows how God marshals our difficult experiences to teach us how to comfort others who lie wounded:

[T]he God of all consolation….consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

¹ Diary, p. 742.

² The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, scene 1.

This excerpt is from the book The Awesome Mercy of God, by John H. Hampsch, C.M.F., originally published by Servant Books. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.