It is when we have compassion for our own humanity, that we can be able to show the same compassion to others. The bridge to others is love and knowledge of self and compassion for others. We share the same humanity, the same fragility and inner chaos, though each in their own unique way…..it is our humanity, our commonalty that unities us. Not in controlling others with threats or shame but in loving others as ourselves. Grace again works through nature, though our lives, though everything. We are always invited to die to self, to find new and freer ways in dealing with life.
Raw places
Perhaps it is in the raw places,
Where blood flows
The skin torn and bleeding,
When pain comes,
Reasons for unanswered.
Perhaps,
This is where the Christ lives,
In our depths,
Our doubts,
Far away from pious feelings,
Fuzzy emotions,
In the gut wrenching moments
God shows us the cross.
Jesus form stretched out,
Nailed,
Body pierced by man’s hatred,
Desire for power,
Compassion lacking for the weak,
For those considered outcast by others,
With those outside was Jesus placed.
For life is hard,
Sin is a way of seeking to hide
To protect from the harsh realities
That yes all also suffer.
Our rage,
Hurt,
Lashing out at others
And yes at God,
walls built up
Keeping compassion,
empathy,
at bay.
God has no such protection,
For truth
Is vision naked,
Transparent,
It cannot hide from what it sees,
Nor can infinite love retreat
Protecting itself.
In anger and rage
For in its rawness Christ feels all,
Knows all,
Seeks all,
And yes mystery beyond telling,
Loves all.
My soul is often raw,
My wounds deep,
My struggle the same as others,
So I seek to protect myself
Unlike God
From reality.
At times sinking into forgetfulness
About life;
That I am a pilgrim
The journey short soon to end,
Yet I fool myself
Thinking,
I am here forever,
What is told me is true
What is important told me by others,
Yet,
In opposition to what Jesus has said,
That in the end only love matters.
The love that dies to self
Allowing something larger to unfold,
Take root,
Grow,
Embracing the whole world,
Knowing,
That Jesus is found in the least,
And aren’t we all least for someone,
Do we not all experience contempt,
Hatred,
Discounting from others,
Some experience this more than others.
Yet only once is enough
To plant the seed of compassion for others,
To allow the understanding of who
And what Christ is,
One who identifies with us,
Each,
The rich and poor,
The powerful and weak,
He calls us all out of our prison
Of self regard
Into the mind and heart of Christ.
Infinite light,
Joy,
Understanding,
Is what we are called to,
The way a paradox itself
The ground underneath
Our surety
Constantly taken away.
For the light filled
Dark road of faith.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
