FRANCISCAN VIRTUES
EMPATHY

By Brother Patrick

For a brief season in a long life, this poor sinner was broke, sick, unemployed, and uninsured. He believed in self-reliance. He believed in rugged individualism. He believed in pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. But as Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. says: “It is a cruel injustice to tell a bootless man to pull himself up by his own bootstraps.”

This poor sinner learned what it means to not have boots. He learned about the blessings of family. He learned about the generosity of good friends. He learned about the helping hand of government. And he learned about a hard truth often repeated by Pope Francis (1936-2025): “No one is saved alone.” This poor sinner also learned about empathy.

Empathy is rooted in a Greek word for feeling. Empathy is an ability to feel for others. It is an ability to identify with the suffering of others. It is an ability to show sympathy and solidarity with a person’s grief, a people’s hardship, and a community’s poverty. A noted psychologist writes: “Emphatic presence involves listening to someone else’s pain with what we call the Five A’s: attention, acceptance, appreciation, affection, allowing (David Richo).” To empathize, then, is to show compassion. To empathize is to listen intently; feel the pain of those who struggle; and walk arm-in-arm with those who suffer.

The scriptures speak of empathy. In the Gospel of Matthew, we read: “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were distressed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd (9:36).” In the Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul writes: “Weep with those who weep (12:15).” And in the Letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul writes: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ (6:2).”

What is this law of Christ? It is the Great Commandment to love God and love neighbor. But how can we love if we do not empathize? How can we preach the Gospel if we fail to practice it? How can we live the Gospel if we fail to listen for the cries of the poor, the persecuted, and the oppressed? How can we share God’s love if we fail to serve God’s little ones: the poor, the sick, the elderly, the unwelcome, and the left behind?

Some say we should not bother. Some say that empathy is overrated. Some say that empathy is a pernicious virus. A famous psychologist writes a book called The Sin of Empathy. The richest man on earth says: “The fundamental weakness of western civilization is empathy.” And the current vice president revives an ancient idea called the order of love. It holds that there is a natural sequence by which we should love and care for others: family, neighbor, local community. If any love is leftover, then and only then, share it with the rest of the world.

In response to this idea, Pope Francis offers a strong response. Just weeks before he dies, the Holy Father says: “Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other groups or persons. The true order of love…is what we discover by meditating constantly on the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exceptions (2-10-25).” By raising the good example of the Good Samaritan, Pope Francis reminds us that our neighbors and families are not bound by borders or bloodlines.

Our family is God’s family. You. Me. Us. Brothers and sisters all. We are all God’s children. We are all loved by our Father in heaven. We are all members of the Beloved Community. We all deserve each other’s love. We all deserve one another’s empathy. Kat Armas wrote: “The love Jesus speaks of is not about calculation or a choice between our families or neighbors. It is not a finite resource to ration out, but a river that flows, wild, and without restraint. The empire’s vision of love is built on scarcity, but the kingdom of God is built on abundance (National Catholic Reporter, 2-1-26).”

In this spirit, in this boundless plenty of love, it is the virtue of empathy that inspires and empowers us: to see and acknowledge the plight of our neighbors; to respond to them in faith, hope, and charity; to stand with them; to suffer with them; to speak for them; to wage peace for them.  Maya Angelous says: “When we look at each other, we must say: I understand. I understand how you feel because I have been there myself.”

Empathy speaks through our voices and our good works. Empathy requires courage. Empathy depends on constant prayer. In this spirit, we join together, link arms, and lift our hearts to heaven:

Give Us Hearts
A Prayer by Father Dan Hartnett, SJ

God of love and compassion,
may we always recognize your spirit:
in the refugee family, seeking safety from violence;
in the migrant worker, bringing food to our tables;
in the asylum applicant, seeking justice for their family;
in the unaccompanied child, traveling in a dangerous world.
Give us hearts that break open
whenever our brothers and sisters turn to us.
Give us hearts that no longer turn deaf to their voices in times of need.
Give us eyes to recognize a moment for grace instead of a threat.
Give us voices that fail to remain silent
but which decide instead to advocate prophetically.
Give us hands that reach out in welcome,
but also in work, for a world of justice
until all homelands are safe and secure.
O Lord, bless us. Amen.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Saint Francis of Assisi, pray for us! Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us! Our Lady of the Angels, pray for us! Pope Francis, pray for us!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brother Patrick Garvey is co-founder and spiritual director of the Assisi Project. He is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine, Saint John Seminary, and the Catholic University of America. He is a writer, spiritual director, retreat leader, and university lecturer. He also serves as an Associate Minister in the Catholic Community of Gloucester & Rockport in Massachusetts. On October 3, 2023, the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Francis of Assisi, Brother Patrick was consecrated as a diocesan hermit by Bishop Mark O’Connell, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Boston. For more information about the Assisi Project and our ministries with adults of all ages and backgrounds, please contact Brother Patrick at brpatrick@assisiproject.com.

Art Credit: Life of Saint Francis by José Benlliure Gil  – Wikimedia Commons

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ABOUT US

Founded in 2007, the Assisi Project is a Fellowship of Franciscans in Spirit with friends and followers throughout the world. We are dedicated to helping Christian believers of all ages more faithfully live the Gospel of Christ in the spirit of Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi. We are also dedicated to promoting a devotion to Pope Francis (1936-2025) as a patron of peace, mercy, and fraternity in our sick and suffering world.

The Assisi Project is a non-profit, tax exempt charitable organization. Please support our ministry via Pay Pal (see link below) or mail a tax-deductible donation to the Assisi Project, Post Office Box 3158, Gloucester, Massachusetts 01931-3158. The Assisi Project Podcast is produced by the Assisi Project, Inc. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. May the Lord give you peace!

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