Jesus is the personification of God’s compassion and mercy. Time and time again, Jesus is moved with pity over someone’s circumstances. But it doesn’t stop there; Jesus is moved to action. Look at today’s gospel. Jesus demonstrates concern for His disciples’ need for rest and nourishment. Then He acts to bring them to a place where those needs can be met. Once there, Jesus is faced with a crowd of people who “were like sheep without a shepherd”. Jesus could feel their need for spiritual nourishment. He saw their hunger for His word. So, what did Jesus do? Out of compassion, He left the boat immediately and gave the people what they were seeking. We often have empathy for the suffering of others. We must strive to emulate Jesus and DO something that will help. Let God guide your efforts to pray, donate, volunteer, or be a shoulder to cry on. When we put others’ needs ahead of our own, we begin to understand that compassion is really a verb.