Patmos Abbey - the Order of St Columba
  • Welcome!
  • Order of St Columba -An Introduction
    • Our Story
    • Our Mission
    • Our Values
    • How does Abbey see Jesus of Nazareth?
  • Celtic Spirituality
    • A Concise History of the Celtic Way
    • A Litany of Celtic Saints
    • Ita - Nurtura of Saints -January 15
    • Brigid of Kildare - February 6
    • Patrick - apostle to Ireland - March 17
    • Egbert - April 24th
    • Venerable Bede - May 25
    • Columba of Iona - June 9
    • Kilian - the missionary - July 8th
    • Aidan of Lindisfarne - August 31
    • Ciaran - September 9th
    • Francis of Assisi - October 4th
    • Columbanus - November 23rd
    • Finian of Clonard - December 12th
    • What is the influence of the Celtic Christianity?
    • What is the relevance of Celtis Christianity in the 21st century?
    • Some features of Celtic Spirituality
    • Celtic Cross
  • The Abbey
    • Ways of Connecting
    • The Emerging expression of community
    • House communities and the Jesus Movement - a perspective
    • Monastic Virtues and Ecumenical Hopes
  • Mingary Online Oratory
    • Requests for Intercession
    • Light a Candle
    • 3 minute a day 'mini-breaks'
    • Reflect as you Go
    • Labyrinth Walk
    • Music and Chant Reflections
    • Daily Reflection "bread 4 life"
    • Lectio Divina - for each day
    • Daily Office
    • Remembering those we love...
    • Taize
    • Calendar
    • Plainchant
  • The Abbey Institute of Spiritual Direction and life-mentoring
    • Spiritual Direction >
      • 12 Steps recovery and Spiritual Direction
    • Prayers and Spirituality
    • Spirituality and Practice - the power of 12
    • Jewish Table Blessings
    • Solitude with God
    • Rituals and Blessings to help Family life
    • Prayers for Healing Painful Memories
    • Patrick of Ireland's Breastplate prayer
    • Celtic Blessings
    • Casting a caim or encircling prayer
    • The Jesus Prayer
    • Lectio Divina
    • Quiet Quest
    • How to meditate
    • Guided meditations...
    • Coping with Change
  • ColumCille House
  • Outreach - SmallSteps Project
    • Myphatso
  • The Christian Year
    • Lectionary Resources
    • Advent Prayers, Resources and Themes
    • Christmas - New Year >
      • A Celtic Christmas reflection
      • A Celtic New Year Blessing and Prayer
      • The Epiphany
    • Morning and Evening Prayer for Lent
    • Lenten resources
    • Holy Week and Easter
    • A Pentecost reflection
    • Some Pentecost prayers
  • The Four Gospels and Paul
    • Matthew
    • Mark
    • Luke
    • John
    • Paul of Tarsus
  • St Columba's School of Theology and Ministry
  • Monastery of the Heart Network
  • Abbey Blog - Guest Book
  • Suggested Reading
  • St Aidan's Bookstore
  • Links
  • Contact us...
  • Charter of Compassion
  • Centre for Loss and Life Transitions
  • The Lindisfarne Gospels
  • Book of Kells
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  • Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of "God."

We therefore call upon all men and women ~ to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.



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