Daily Meditation for January 14, 2026

The Dalai Lama teaches, “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” What exactly is compassion? Wikipedia defines it as “a feeling of deep sympathy for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” Notice that the feeling of sympathy alone is not enough. Before we can claim the virtue of compassion, we need a genuine and strong desire to alleviate the other’s suffering. We cannot remain passive observers; rather, we must be moved to action. That action may require us to share in the other’s pain and loss, to suffer with the other. Meister Eckhart, a 13th century German philosopher and mystic, wrote, “You may call God love; you may call God goodness; but the best name for God is compassion.” The life of Jesus revealed that compassionate God. The lives of Christians are meant to do the same.

By Delores Dufner, OSB