As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, I think our Founding Fathers would be grateful to know that the country they envisioned and helped build has endured for two-and-a-half centuries and continues to be a source of freedom and hope.
We have much to be thankful for, beginning with the freedoms our Founding Fathers secured and the beauty of this land “from sea to shining sea.” God has bestowed many blessings on us.
Most of all, we celebrate our people. I think we have tried our best to live by the principles of peace and justice in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Amid all the well-deserved celebrations, I find myself thinking a lot about one word: compassion.
Compassion means "to suffer with." It also lies at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching in the principle of solidarity. We have solidarity with our own people and with those in other nations who are suffering and struggling to survive.
I find myself wondering if we have lost some of our long tradition of compassion. Has it become more about ourselves, our own needs, and our own comfort? Are we less committed to those who are less fortunate?
I have always been proud that the United States stepped up and supported people in crises all around the world. Our government and groups like Catholic Relief Services and USAID have done so much to help people who need medicine, food, shelter – the basics of survival. Have we lost some of that?
Here at home, I also wonder whether we have lost some compassion for those who come to our country seeking a better life. They deserve the dignity that so many of our own ancestors hoped to find when they arrived here. As we uphold our laws, are we also finding ways to care for those who are most vulnerable?
In my work at Catholic Charities, I saw so many people who were down and out. They needed, deserved, and received a helping hand. It may have been food, shelter, or clothing. It may have been medical care, dental care, or mental health assistance. Our social workers did spectacular work with people who were left behind.
Those coats we gave out, the meals we served, and the shelters we provided showed me the compassionate heart of the Archdiocese of Washington and Catholic Charities at work – taking care of those in need in your name. We believe it’s what we should do, and what Jesus would want us to do.
Our Scriptures talk about so many ways the Lord Jesus showed compassion. Just a few Sundays ago, the Gospel told of the time Jesus came among the crowd and was “moved with pity” because they were “like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9)
Jesus had compassion. He appointed 12 Apostles to help him in his mission, and that mission continues today. I see it in hospitals, nursing homes, and on the streets of our city. People go out of their way to make sure that those in need are served with a loving heart.
Many people and places in the world today deserve our compassion. I think of the back-to-back earthquakes in Venezuela that devastated communities and claimed thousands of lives. Do our hearts still ache for people we will never meet?
We also cannot ignore three major wars in our world right now – in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran. I have compassion for so many innocent people who happen to live in those war zones. They lose loved ones, and their own lives are threatened by bombs, weapons, and missiles.
Closer to home, I think about the record-breaking summer heat in our own area and other parts of the world. The environment has become so hot and difficult for many. Do we have compassion for those here in Washington and elsewhere who are struggling in the summer heat?
This summer, as we celebrate and give thanks for our great country, I am also reflecting on compassion – my own compassion and the compassion we show as a nation. How can I be more compassionate and understanding, especially to those who suffer?
I ask myself what Jesus would do. How would he respond to various situations? What would he say to each of us if we don’t have compassion for those who need our help, support, love, and care?
Compassion is not just a word. It's also an action. Let’s pray for those in need and who are suffering. Let’s pray for peace throughout the world. And let’s all help where we can through acts of charity and support for organizations that do so much, like Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services.
As our nation was being founded, George Washington prayed that Americans would become a people who would "do justice, love mercy," and treat one another with charity and humility. Those are certainly Gospel values, and Washington also believed they were among the virtues that would make America a happy nation.
On our 250th birthday, may we also pray that God will make us a more compassionate people – doing justice, loving mercy, and caring for those in need. That would be a wonderful way to honor both our nation's highest ideals and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
