Compassion Quotes

“Prayer for others, therefore, cannot be seen as an extraordinary exercise that must be practiced from time to time. Rather, it is the very beat of the compassionate heart.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“As long as religious people are well dressed, well fed, and well cared for, words about being in solidarity with the poor will remain pious words more likely to evoke good feelings than creative actions. As long as we are doing well what others are doing better and more efficiently, we can hardly expect to be considered the salt of the earth or the light of the world. In short, as long as we avoid displacement, we will miss the compassionate life to which our Lord calls us.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“God wants to bring joy not pain, peace not war, healing not suffering. Therefore, instead of declaring anything and everything to be the will of God, we must be willing to ask ourselves where in the midst of our pains and sufferings we can discern the loving presence of God.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“Jesus' whole life and mission involve accepting powerlessness and revealing in this powerlessness the limitlessness of God's love.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“Action with and for those who suffer is the concrete expression of the compassionate life and the final criterion of being a Christian.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“God is always active in our lives. He always calls, he always asks us to take up our crosses and follow him. But do we see, feel, and recognize God's call, or do we keep waiting for that illusory moment when it will really happen? Displacement is not primarily something to do or to accomplish but something to recognize.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“It is through the recognition of our displacement and the willingness to hear in it the first whispers of God's voice that we start forming community and living compassionate lives. Once we begin to experience our actual physical, mental, and emotional displacements as forms of discipleship and start to accept them in obedience we become less defensive and no longer need to hide our pains and frustrations. Then what seemed a reason for shame and embarrassment becomes instead the basis of community, and what seemed to separate us from others becomes the basis of compassion.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“Radical servanthood challenges us, while attempting persistently to overcome poverty, hunger, illness, and any other form of human misery, to reveal the gentle presence of our compassionate God in the midst of our broken world.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“As soon as we start taking ourselves and God seriously and allow him to enter into a dialogue with us, we will discover that we also are asked to leave fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters and follow the crucified Lord in obedience. Quite often we will discover that we are asked to follow our Lord to places we would rather not go. But when we have learned to see him in the small displacements of our daily lives, the greater call will not seem so great after all. We then will find the courage to follow him and be amazed by our freedom to do so.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“We do not have to go after crosses, but we have to take up the crosses that have been ours all along.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“Suffering is not the issue. Fellowship with Jesus Christ is not a commitment to suffer as much as possible, but a commitment to listen with him to God's love without fear. It is to obedience that we are called.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“The great mystery is not the cures, but the infinite compassion which is their source.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“Jesus reaches out to the suffering world from the silent center where he stands in full attentiveness to his Father.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life

“Are we really servants when we can become masters again once we think we have done our part or made our contribution? Are we really servants when we can say when, where, and how long we will give of our time and energy? Is service in a far country really an expression of servanthood when we keep enough money in the bank to fly home at any moment?”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Compassion: A Reflection on the Christian Life