Dear People Whom God Loves,
A soft soul is essential for doing good. It is essential for being good. It means compassion for ourselves and others. It means loving ourselves as mixed up human beings and loving others as mixed up human beings. It means recognizing that we and everyone are cherished by the Love we name God.
It is especially needed when we are church leaders and for anyone working for a good cause. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have convictions and values, but it does mean we listen to, understand, and value those whose convictions and values differ from ours. It does mean that we recognize that we are human and never see the whole truth. Only God can see the depths and breadth of the whole truth.
The reason that this softness of soul is so hard for me and probably everyone is that our position and pursuit of good causes easily and subtly seeps into our egocentricity. And when our ego is in charge, we are blind to—or dismiss as necessary—the harm we do to people.
What can help us to see this in ourselves? Recognizing it is hard for me and, I suspect, for almost all of us. We are so convinced we are doing good that all else is invisible to us. Here are some hints that are helpful to me.
Am I angry, abrasive, dismissive? Do I think of the others as bad or stupid? Am I willing to understand where they are coming from? Can I put myself in their shoes? Do I feel convinced that I have the whole truth? Do I love them?
Here are some issues in our church where softness of soul would be valuable for we who are leaders and who are working for good causes. The issues are in alphabetical order. I must acknowledge that I have a long way to go in this journey.
Abortion
Alienated Catholic
Child Abuse
Capital Punishment
Disabled Domestic Violence
Elderly Abuse
Environment
Immigration
Poor Race
Religion
Sexual Orientation
War
Smile, God Loves You,
Father Clay
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