ReVisioning Together: Compassion in Action
When my wife told me that her birthday wish was to attend the CAC’s ReVision: What Do We Do with Christianity? conference in Albuquerque, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had never been to such a gathering before, but of course I would never say no to her birthday wish. I didn’t realize how deeply the weekend would move me or resonate with my life and work.
Over those few days, we listened to stories of grace, humility, and humanity from voices like Fr. Richard Rohr and Fr. Greg Boyle. What struck me most were the ideas that contemplation must lead to action and that inner reflection means little unless it moves us toward helping others. The conference reminded us that compassion isn’t passive. It’s an active force that can heal communities, challenge injustice, and remind us that we are responsible for one another.
That message struck a deeply personal chord. I was born and raised in Lebanon during the civil war, surrounded by loss and uncertainty. Survival often depended on the kindness of others. Later in life, my work took me to places like Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Iraq, Darfur, Libya, Ukraine, and Haiti, where I witnessed the worst of human suffering. I have seen the devastation of war, the toll of displacement, the agony of famine, the cruelty of indifference, and the lasting wounds of genocide. Those experiences taught me that compassion isn’t an abstract idea. It’s a lifeline.
Today, I lead a global health and humanitarian organization that works to strengthen health systems and respond to emergencies. Whether rebuilding hospitals in Ukraine, supporting midwives in Sierra Leone, delivering medical aid in Gaza and Sudan, or responding to Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica, our mission rests on a simple conviction: Every person deserves access to quality healthcare and the opportunity to live with dignity and hope.
During the conference, I thought about how much the world is changing, and not always for the better. Resources for the most vulnerable are shrinking. Attitudes are shifting. We are no longer the welcoming communities we once aspired to be. Too many people navigate crisis after crisis alone. Whether it is war, displacement, disease, the climate crisis, or poverty, the need for compassion and solidarity has never been greater.
Fr. Boyle spoke about kinship: standing so close to those who are suffering that there is no “us” and “them,” only “us.” I have seen that truth come alive in refugee camps, shelters, rural clinics, and communities rebuilding after disaster. Real change begins when we refuse to look away and instead choose to stand alongside one another.
The ReVision conference helped me see my work and our shared responsibility in a new light. Compassion isn’t just something we feel. It’s something we practice. Whether through a kind word, helping hand, or commitment to justice, each of us has the power to make the world a little more humane.
Returning home, I carried with me a renewed commitment to keep showing up because, in the end, the smallest acts of compassion, repeated daily, truly hold the world together.
Rabih Torbay is the President and CEO of Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization working in more than thirty countries to place power in the hands of local health workers so that everyone, everywhere, can access quality healthcare. Learn more at www.projecthope.org.
The Center for Action and Contemplation’s mission is to introduce Christian contemplative wisdom and practices that support transformation and inspire loving action. In this issue of the Mendicant, we are honored to share with you articles from five members of CAC’s community about what loving action looks like in their lives. Download a PDF of this issue.