Faith of a Father

COMPASSION

I would that men were sympathetic, for

If sympathy alone would reign supreme,

Then men would live more gloriously, or

Become as men within His holy gleam.

I would that all men were compassionate;

I would they were forgiving, and as kind

As Christ, who died on Calvary, his fate

Too hard for men to bear.  And yet we find

He suffered, just as an earthly man in pain,

And died there, glad that we might be like him,

Arising after death to live again,

Triumphant over grave, the interim.

So when I think of Christ, his life divine,

I know ‘tis true: compassion is sublime!

• George Marion Hearne III

This poem was shared with me from one of our most gifted and dedicated members; it was found in their father’s papers. It is a sign that in the midst of our parishes that faith in Christ is growing and moving amid the lives of those with whom we share this journey of faith.