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It is possible to argue, regarding compassion, that history focused mainly on the idea of feeling with the others and to act accordingly. Humans are social beings and rely on their interactions with others to survive, hence, understanding what the other person is feeling might determine the difference between life and death (Singer & Klimecki, 2014).
The Catholic Church used countless times references to compassion. Pope Francis (2014), in one of his homilies, defined compassion as “…suffer with, in other words to empathize with the suffering of another, to the point of taking it upon oneself.”. Still, this idea of compassion is also rooted in one of the bases of the Church, that Jesus died for the sins of the world, taking them with his death (Jon Sobrino, 2009). Many stories followed this example, showing that the ultimate sacrifice is to value the others more than oneself, to the point that even one’s own life is valued less than that of the others (Montero-Marin et al., 2018). Once this set of beliefs is incorporated, specially if it is influenced by religious doctrine, it becomes very difficult to understand, accept and heal self pain.
Neff and Davison (2016) noted this tendency in western cultures. They explain the impact in physical and psychological health that taking this position causes and promoted tools and approaches to overcome this limited perspective. The suggest three elements to reach self compassion. These are self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Gilbert (2019) explained that while practicing mindfulness, the mind slows down which allows a truer value of the lived experience. This experience would enable compassion to appear.
Embarking in self-compassion means questioning several pre-set ideas, which are used constantly in society, such as how success and failure are inescapable (Jones et al., 2024). As Croston & Rutter (2023) pointed out, a mix of theory and practice is required to achieve the self compassion. The main requirement is the willingness to start.
References
Croston, M., & Rutter, S. (2023). Becoming an inner ally: the compassionate minds approach to self-compassion − an online programme. British Journal of Nursing, 32(1), S20–S23. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.12968/bjon.2023.32.1.S20
Gilbert, P. (2019) Explorations into the nature and function of compassion. Current Opinion in Psychology, Volume 28, 108-114, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.12.002.
Jon Sobrino, S. J. (2009). Jesus of Galilee from the Salvadoran context: Compassion, hope, and following the light of the Cross. THEOLOGICAL STUDIES, 70(2), 437–460.
Jones, N., Kidwell, B., & Hamby, A. (2024). Success is not final; failure is not fatal: How failure versus success messaging leads to preference for masculine brands. Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), 61(2), 330–348. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1177/00222437231181078
Montero-Marin, J., Kuyken, W., Crane, C., Gu, J., Baer, R., Al-Awamleh, A.A., Akutsu, S., Araya-Véliz, C., Ghorbani, N., Job Chen, A., Kim, M.S., Mantzios, M., Rolim dos Santos, D.N., Serramo López, L.C., Teleb, A.A., Watson, P. J., Yamaguchi, A., Yang, E.J., & García-Campayo, J. (2018). Self-Compassion and cultural values: A cross-cultural study of self-compassion using a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) Analytical Procedure. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02638
Neff, K. D. & Davidson, O. (2016). Self-compassion: Embracing suffering with kindness. In I. Ivtzan & T. Lomas (Eds.), Mindfulness in Positive Psychology (pp. 37-50). Rutledge
Pope Francis, (2014, August 03) Homily at St. Peter Square. https://www.popefrancishomilies.com/compassion
Rosan, P. J. (2014). The varieties of ethical experience: A phenomenology of empathy, sympathy, and compassion. Phänomenologische Forschungen, 155–189. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24360726
Sahraian, K., Abdollahpour Ranjbar, H., Namavar Jahromi, B., Cheung, H. N., Ciarrochi, J., & Habibi Asgarabad, M. (2024). Effectiveness of mindful self-compassion therapy on psychopathology symptoms, psychological distress and life expectancy in infertile women treated with in vitro fertilization: a two-arm double-blind parallel randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry, 24(1), 1–17. https://doi-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/10.1186/s12888-023-05411-6
Singer, T., & Klimecki, O. M. (2014). Empathy and compassion. Current biology, 24(18), R875-R878.
Your blog is amazing. The title is resounding, showcasing the underlying roots of compassion and how it has connection with the church and the example of Jesus and his compassion for people which is known world-wide. It’s interesting how you have used references from the class to support your write up. Truly, one should have the willingness to have self-compassion and only then will be able to show that compassion towards others.
I agree with the opinion that being social creatures, humans depend on their relationships with other people to exist. “Self-compassion” refers to the idea that we should to have a sense of empathy for ourselves. We can only transform from the heart in this way, leading to a state where we go beyond ourselves. If a person lacks empathy and compassion for himself, no matter how hard he tries, he will never be able to achieve a complete change.
You made an excellent point on how the Catholic church emphasizes compassion as being on others rather than ourselves. This seems to be prevalent in many cultures. However, compassion without self-compassion can lead to empathy fatigue and burnout. We have to maintain a balance between the two. It is about being aware of how we treat ourselves to change that inner narrative.