27 February

Mercy And Compassion. For Them, For Us.

by Jon Katz
For Us
For Us

Thomas Aquinas wrote that human beings need to be merciful and compassionate to animals because it helps us to be more human. When I feed my animals, care for them, show them mercy and compassion, it is a selfish thing. It is for me as much as it is for them, always. We show animals the mercy and compassion that we do not show for ourselves or often, for our fellow human beings. This is the true message of what we call the news.

When I am struggling with anger or self-righteousness or judgement, I have learned to ask myself this: how do I treat my animals? How do I show patience and understanding for Red? For Simon? For the sheep? And then I seek to apply this to the people in my life. How strange that this should work this way, but this was Aquinas’s idea: we are merciful to animals because it shows us how to be merciful to ourselves, and to our fellow human beings.

 

 

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