Page 173 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible

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compassion, then you will not draw compassion from others.
So when the sincere urge to alleviate the sufferings of others blooms within your heart, in turn, you will obtain mercy. The entire Cosmic plan will show its mercy towards you because God is supremely merciful.
See Your Weaknesses Clearly
If a virtue is to be properly developed, one’s unconscious must change. This takes great patience and self-introspection. If you fail in practicing a virtue, strive even harder to overcome your weaknesses. Try again and again, never to be daunted by failure.
Blindly asserting, “I am compassionate and I have always been so,” does not allow you to practice benevolence, because you are not being re ective. It is only when you realize the ways in which you lack kindness that you can enthusiastically embrace the project of becoming compassionate. It is only when you know that you are not a good singer that you can become a better one.
So it is actually a great achievement to realize that you have only a limited degree of compassion. At the same time, you should have faith in the fact that compassion is an innate virtue of your soul. When the adventitious growth of cruelty is removed from your heart, you become the very embodiment of compassion and mercy.