In returning to ourselves, in contemplating the compassion of Jesus and realizing that “This means me,” we come under the Mercy and qualify for the nametag “blessed.” In urging us to compassionate caring for others, Jesus invites us to have compassion for ourselves.

The measure of our compassion for others lies in proportion to our capacity for self-acceptance and self-affirmation. When the compassion of Christ is interiorized and appropriated to self, the breakthrough into being for others occurs.

In a win-win situation, the way of compassionate caring for others brings healing to ourselves, and compassionate caring for ourselves brings healing to others. Solidarity with human suffering frees the one who receives and liberates the one who gives through the conscious awareness “I am the other.”

from A Glimpse of Jesus