THIS is no one other than Christ
himself, who being God
“emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2,7-8)
I suppose there can be no one who can surpass this supreme
act of empathy. That is why we have to look closely at Christ, nay,
become Christ ourselves, which is made possible by Christ giving
himself totally to us through his word, the sacraments, his Church,
his living presence and abiding interventions in our life.
This supreme act of empathy is not something that remains
in the theoretical or generic levels, detached from the concrete
situations of people in their daily lives. From the beginning of their
life with Christ, the disciples saw and felt the empathy of their
Master.
They witnessed his capacity to put himself in the place of
the others, his delicate understanding of what was taking place in the
interior of the human heart, his refinement in perceiving the pains of
the others, etc.
Christ continues to show this empathy to us now till the
end of time. That’s simply because, he will always be a contemporary
to every age and generation with its distinctive culture and ways. He
adapts himself completely to our human condition without compromising
his identity and mission which is to save all men.
That is the standard we have to use in building up our
empathy. Nowadays, when empathy seems to be in very short supply, we
need to make great effort to develop it by striving to be another
Christ. There is no other way empathy can be an integral part of our
life.
Our initial problem is that many of us understand empathy
more as an instinctive and emotional reaction, and nothing much else.
When you see someone stumble and in pain, you immediately mirror his
condition by vicariously feeling the fellow´s predicament yourself.
We are in need of mirroring one another´s conditions,
since this is how we learn, grow and develop. Thus, the importance of
physical, face-to-face encounters, and of being wary of our tendency
to just keep to ourselves, limiting our relations with others in the
level of intentions.
Of course, we should be careful to avoid extremes—empathy
either as only a physical and emotional thing or only as an
intentional and disembodied affair.
Empathy is certainly part of our nature that indicates
that not only are we individual persons, we are also social beings;
not only are we spiritual and intellectual persons. We are also beings
of flesh with feelings and emotions.
In other words, empathy should not just be an instinctive
and automatic reaction; it has to be a deliberately cultivated trait.
It should not just remain in the emotional level; it also has to be
properly directed and driven by our conscious reason, then by our
faith and charity.
It´s this wholistic grasp of empathy that would truly help
us build the society that we deserve as persons and as children of
God. We need to do everything to attain that understanding and the
skill to live it.
Thus, we have to study it not only in the physical,
biological and social sciences. It has to be studied also under the
light of our faith and religion. The Christian faith, for example,
links empathy to the whole range of Christian charity that includes
not only loving those who love us but also those who don´t.
It´s this faith where empathy breaks free from its usual
confinement in the emotional level to enter into the world of the
supernatural to which we are called due to our spiritual nature also.
As to the practical implications of this concern about
empathy-building, I can mention a few ideas—to be thoroughly familiar
with our Christian faith, to be vitally identified with Christ by
always praying and developing the virtues.
We need to cultivate the desire to flood our surroundings
with an atmosphere of goodness, kindness, understanding and
compassion, complete with smiles, gestures of courtesy and gratitude.
We have to be judicious in our use of the Internet and
other modern technologies such that they don´t take us away from
direct contact with others, basic in developing empathy. Family and
other social get-togethers should be fostered and made an integral
part of our daily activities.
Every little act of reaching out to the others, even if
only internally, will go a long way in building up empathy. We need to
reverse the current disturbing trend where we seem to alienate one
another.
“emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2,7-8)
I suppose there can be no one who can surpass this supreme
act of empathy. That is why we have to look closely at Christ, nay,
become Christ ourselves, which is made possible by Christ giving
himself totally to us through his word, the sacraments, his Church,
his living presence and abiding interventions in our life.
This supreme act of empathy is not something that remains
in the theoretical or generic levels, detached from the concrete
situations of people in their daily lives. From the beginning of their
life with Christ, the disciples saw and felt the empathy of their
Master.
They witnessed his capacity to put himself in the place of
the others, his delicate understanding of what was taking place in the
interior of the human heart, his refinement in perceiving the pains of
the others, etc.
Christ continues to show this empathy to us now till the
end of time. That’s simply because, he will always be a contemporary
to every age and generation with its distinctive culture and ways. He
adapts himself completely to our human condition without compromising
his identity and mission which is to save all men.
That is the standard we have to use in building up our
empathy. Nowadays, when empathy seems to be in very short supply, we
need to make great effort to develop it by striving to be another
Christ. There is no other way empathy can be an integral part of our
life.
Our initial problem is that many of us understand empathy
more as an instinctive and emotional reaction, and nothing much else.
When you see someone stumble and in pain, you immediately mirror his
condition by vicariously feeling the fellow´s predicament yourself.
We are in need of mirroring one another´s conditions,
since this is how we learn, grow and develop. Thus, the importance of
physical, face-to-face encounters, and of being wary of our tendency
to just keep to ourselves, limiting our relations with others in the
level of intentions.
Of course, we should be careful to avoid extremes—empathy
either as only a physical and emotional thing or only as an
intentional and disembodied affair.
Empathy is certainly part of our nature that indicates
that not only are we individual persons, we are also social beings;
not only are we spiritual and intellectual persons. We are also beings
of flesh with feelings and emotions.
In other words, empathy should not just be an instinctive
and automatic reaction; it has to be a deliberately cultivated trait.
It should not just remain in the emotional level; it also has to be
properly directed and driven by our conscious reason, then by our
faith and charity.
It´s this wholistic grasp of empathy that would truly help
us build the society that we deserve as persons and as children of
God. We need to do everything to attain that understanding and the
skill to live it.
Thus, we have to study it not only in the physical,
biological and social sciences. It has to be studied also under the
light of our faith and religion. The Christian faith, for example,
links empathy to the whole range of Christian charity that includes
not only loving those who love us but also those who don´t.
It´s this faith where empathy breaks free from its usual
confinement in the emotional level to enter into the world of the
supernatural to which we are called due to our spiritual nature also.
As to the practical implications of this concern about
empathy-building, I can mention a few ideas—to be thoroughly familiar
with our Christian faith, to be vitally identified with Christ by
always praying and developing the virtues.
We need to cultivate the desire to flood our surroundings
with an atmosphere of goodness, kindness, understanding and
compassion, complete with smiles, gestures of courtesy and gratitude.
We have to be judicious in our use of the Internet and
other modern technologies such that they don´t take us away from
direct contact with others, basic in developing empathy. Family and
other social get-togethers should be fostered and made an integral
part of our daily activities.
Every little act of reaching out to the others, even if
only internally, will go a long way in building up empathy. We need to
reverse the current disturbing trend where we seem to alienate one
another.
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