Talk Summary

“The Gift of Compassion:  God, Self, Others”

In order to practice authentic compassion, we must first experience God’s compassion for us.

We will begin the retreat by: distinguishing between compassion, sympathy, empathy and mercy; exploring together God’s compassion for His people through the witness of the Scriptures and the life of the Church; and, utilizing icons depicting stories of compassion in the Scriptures to better understand common and unique characteristics of compassion and its many faces.

We will then discuss the practice of compassion for others, particularly as clergy wives, utilizing real-life scenarios we encounter in our parish families.