The following letter from Catholic Extension Society’s president, Father Jack Wall, was published in Extension magazine’s Spring 2026 issue. Read the full magazine here.
Ten years ago, I had the great honor of attending a binational Mass in El Paso’s Sun Bowl stadium, where just a short distance away in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Pope Francis was presiding at Mass along with us. The event was supported by Catholic Extension Society. As I watched the pope on the Jumbotron from the bleachers of the football stadium, the words he expressed in his homily struck me then and have never left me.
Referring to the plight of women and other young innocent victims of brutal violence, enslavement and extortion, he said we must ask God for the “gift of tears.” He was referring that day to the reading from the prophet Jonah, defining this “gift of tears” as the ability to “weep over injustice, to cry over corruption, to cry over oppression. These are tears that lead to transformation.”
Pope Francis’ words have come to my mind in recent months as I have met with Church leaders around the country who minister to people who are suffering immensely, experiencing untold anguish, living in fear or uncertainty. Thanks to your support the Church in the United States is accompanying these people by sharing in their tears. This is what we commonly call empathy. It is collective calling to be empathic people, as Pope Leo XIV affirmed in his apostolic exhortation “Dilexi te,” saying God “asks us, his Church, to make a decisive and radical choice in favor of the weakest.”
Compassion is the active response to empathy. Thankfully, the gift of compassion exists in abundance in the faith communities that you will read about in this issue of the magazine. When they confront the pain and problems of others, they do whatever they can to alleviate it. Even when immediate solutions are not readily available, they are still willing to be companions to others in their pain, to sit with them in their heartbreak, to share the sting of their tears, and to encounter the suffering face of Christ in the defenseless. This kind of compassion is not only a gift, but the beginning of true transformation.
People like Father Guillermo Treviño of rural Iowa prove this. His young life was cut too short by an untimely death at age 39, but his marginalized parishioners remember him as their tireless and compassionate advocate.
Or take Archbishop Ronald Hicks, a member of Catholic Extension Society’s Board of Governors, who was just installed as the new shepherd of New York. His priestly vocation has always been connected to the poor and vulnerable, specifically in his caring for orphans in Latin America. He begins his new role with a heart full of compassion.
Consider the compassionate work of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries in Lafayette, Louisiana. They help families with loved ones who are incarcerated by creating a supportive environment for children, siblings and parents of inmates to find peace in their families.
Deacon Miguel Serna from Idaho personally knows the pain and struggle of addiction, so he has dedicated his ministry to providing compassion and pastoral care to teens and families battling this affliction.
We believe in a God who promises to turn our mourning into gladness (Jeremiah 31:13 ). And in this season of Lent, we are invited to follow our Lord to the cross, so that we might ultimately have life with Him. Our hope remains in this promise of Easter joy.
At times and in certain situations, the resurrection seems like a distant promise. It may even seem absurd, as the Apostle Paul acknowledges, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 ). As president of Catholic Extension Society, I have the great privilege of seeing all the ways the Church stands by the crucified Christ, who appears in the suffering face of her people.
Therefore, I cannot emphasize how humbling it is for me to say on behalf of these people: Thank you for your support of these ministries. For in so doing, you are sharing the gift of your tears, your empathy. I invite you to see in this magazine how your generosity is helping to fuel a broad movement of compassion throughout our country, capable of transforming hearts, lives and society. I truly believe your compassion will lead to new life.
May God bless you and all whom you love.
Father Jack Wall,
President of Catholic Extension Society
Catholic Extension Society works in solidarity with people to build up vibrant and transformative Catholic faith communities. Please support our mission.
