St. Conleth's Parish Newbridge - Newbridge Parish

“While he was still far off, his
father saw him and was filled
with compassion” (Luke 15:20)
Sr. Catherine Moran
One of the early miracles recounted in the Gospel of Mark
tells of the healing of a man who had been paralysed.
While the healing of the man is the main focus of the event,
I would like to dwell on how the paralytic was brought to
Jesus.
The report had gone out that “Jesus was at home… and many
were gathered together so that there was no longer room, not
even about the door.” Four men arrived carrying the paralysed
man on a pallet or mat, and when they realised they could
not get through the crowd to Jesus, they made an opening
in the roof above him and let down the pallet on which the
paralytic lay, thus enabling them to lower the man in front
of Jesus. These men were convinced that Jesus would cure
their friend. One wonders if, after all their trouble, they were
at first disappointed when Jesus simply said to the paralytic,
“Your sins are forgiven.”
What motivated these four men to take the paralytic to Jesus?
I would think that, while they had faith to believe that Jesus
would heal him, they were moved with compassion also for
the man.
Compassion is mentioned several times in the Bible –
both in the Old and New Testaments. The word means
‘suffering with’. God is sometimes referred to as a ‘God of
compassion’. According to a renowned Scripture scholar,
Carroll Stuhlmueller C.P., the Hebrew letter meaning ‘eye’
or ‘spring’ is found in the middle verse of all the verses in the
Book of Psalms – as if the eye of God looks compassionately
on every moment of our lives and sometimes sheds a tear.
The disciples sensed the infinite compassion of God in
Jesus of Nazareth. We are told that Jesus was “moved with
compassion” at the sight of human suffering. He saw and
experienced the magnitude of human pain. The Good
Samaritan was moved with compassion at the plight of the
man who had fallen among robbers.
It is possible, also, to reach back with compassion to
situations of suffering or distress. During the month of July
last year I was present at a very moving ceremony in a town
land in North Kerry. It took place in a field, referred to as “a
The Irish name for fuchsia, as you may know,
is Deora Dé (God's tears)
graveyard for the forgotten dead” – a burial place for babies
who died before they were baptised and were not afforded
the Christian rites of burial. These babies had been buried
at dead of night in lonely places, without ceremony or grave
marker because, in the words of the man who shared a
reflection during the Mass, “an authoritarian and uncaring
Church decreed that such children could not be buried
within consecrated ground.” Thankfully we now live in more
enlightened times. We are all made for the vision of God.
A large crowd from the parish attended the ceremony,
which was a real community event. A group of men from
the locality had prepared the field for the celebration of the
Eucharist. Homes in the locality had provided refreshments
for all who attended the ceremony. The evening was dull,
but all remarked afterwards how the sun had shone brightly
during the service. It was also noted how a little bird had
sent out a ‘thimble-full of song’ as the Mass began, only to
be followed by a chorus of birdsong. What a joy it was to
reclaim all those little children for Christ and to reach back
in compassion to parents and families who had mourned
for them. It is what the Kingdom of God is all about – a
community of love, compassion and justice where God’s
presence empowers people to love and serve each other. In
the words of St. Augustine, “The Christian community is a
great hospital.”
Members of staff and parents association in St Conleth's Infant School.
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