Explore the biblical witness for the core teaching on God’s mercy and compassion.
Saint Paul rightly grasped that compassion was at the core of everything Jesus taught and did when he directed the Colossians to “Clothe yourselves with compassion” (Col 3:12). In recent decades, mercy has been a central theme in papal teaching from Pope Saint John Paul II to Pope Leo XIV, consistently echoing the insistence of his predecessors on the urgent need for compassion, truth-telling, encounter, dialogue, justice, and respect for the dignity of all. In this book, renowned biblical scholars Leslie Hoppe, OFM, and Barbara Reid, OP, explore the biblical witness for this core teaching on compassion—the prime virtue we must “put on” to bring peace and wellbeing to our communities and to our planet.
Clothe Yourselves with Compassion expands on select passages from both Testaments that unveil compassion in many diverse aspects. By reflecting on these texts, readers not only come to understand that the whole story of God’s relationship with humankind and all creation is driven by compassion but also learn how to accept and live with mercy as the guiding force for their lives.
About the Author :
Leslie J. Hoppe, OFM, is a Franciscan friar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province and holds a PhD in religion from Northwestern University. He is Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, distinguished professor emeritus of Old Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union. He is the author of eighteen books, most recently Zechariah in the Wisdom Commentary series (Liturgical Press, 2024). He served as the general editor of The Bible Today and Catholic Biblical Quarterly. He is past president of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research and the Catholic Biblical Association of America.
Barbara E. Reid, OP, is a Dominican Sister of Grand Rapids, Michigan and holds a PhD in biblical studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She is president emerita and Carroll Stuhlmueller, CP, distinguished professor of New Testament studies at Catholic Theological Union. She is author of more than a dozen books including the two-volume commentary on the Gospel of Luke, co-authored with Shelly Matthews in the Wisdom Commentary series (Liturgical Press, 2021), for which she is also general editor.
Review :
"I cannot think of a more timely spiritual topic than God's mercy and compassion—or two more gifted people to write on it. A stunningly helpful, inspiring and necessary book that should be read by every believer."
James Martin, SJ, author of In All Seasons, For All Reasons
“Here two renowned scholars eloquently deepen and nuance the biblical meanings of compassion, and of Pope Francis’s guiding virtue, ‘mercy.’ They bring Christ the compassion of God to global poverty and hunger, communicable disease pandemics, mental illness, disability rights, patriarchy and women’s protests, social hatreds and enmities, and alliance of all with those sidelined by political and economic systems. Above everything, Hoppe and Reid joyfully proclaim the gift of present blessedness that comes to all who likewise act with generous compassion and mercy. An inspiring book to encourage readers along the necessary and difficult road of justice.”
Lisa Sowle Cahill, Monan Professor of Theology, Boston College
“Leslie J. Hoppe, OFM, and Barbara E. Reid, OP, amplify recent papal teachings on mercy by bringing together all the key biblical texts on mercy and related concepts. Their book is a thorough and accessible compendium that readers will revisit often to enrich their biblical theology and deepen their prayer life. Clothe Yourselves with Compassion belongs on the bookshelf of everyone who is consoled by the promise of God's mercy and strives to extend that mercy to others.”
Andrew R. Davis, Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry
“To grasp Pope Leo’s understanding of Sacred Scripture, few better starting places exist than this book by two pillars of the Catholic Theological Union, where he studied for the priesthood. Hoppe and Reid illustrate how virtually every page of the Old Testament witnesses to compassion, while eloquently showing how Jesus puts a human face on that mercy in the New Testament. This volume masterfully synthesizes how compassion broadens and deepens across the entire biblical narrative. It ends by leaning into Jesus in his Jewish environment where we come to understand why hope prevails.”
Garrett Galvin, OFM, former president, Franciscan School of Theology at the University of San Diego
