OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY

Valenzuela City • Quezon City •Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

Name: __DOMINIQUE P. CAWALO _____________________________Date: __________________

Program: ___BSITM___________________________________ Section: ________________

Topic no. 3: What is Misericordia and Compassion?

INTRODUCTION
While there is a lack of consensus on the definition of compassion and misericordia, its importance
is widely recognized and is receiving increased attention, (Strauss, Taylor, Gu, Kuyken, et al., 2016).
Compassion is now an interest in the fields of researchers, clinicians, teachers, and other professionals.
The importance of compassion is well recognized by the Our Lady of Fatima University as it is imbued in
the University logo and in its vision as an institution improving man as man by developing an individual
through a legacy of excellent education and compassionate value formation.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this module, students are expected to:
1. Identify what misericordia is
2. Differentiate mercy and compassion
3. Discuss the different elements of compassion
4. Analyze the common types of compassion seen in our society

MODULE LESSON

Misericordia - is the Latin for "mercy", derived from misericors, "merciful", which is in turn derived
from misereri, "to pity", and cor, "heart".

Compassion – In the Oxford English Dictionary, the word compassion came from the Latin word “Compati”
which means to “to suffer with”. In current literature, there is a common idea that compassion is related to
feeling the suffering of others and being motivated to act on it (eg. Goetz, Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010;
Lazarus, 1991).

Compassion leads you to have mercy, which is like forgiveness.

There are 5 Elements of compassion, as concluded in the study of Strauss, et al.in 2016:
1. Recognizing suffering others
2. Understanding the common humanity of this suffering
3. Feeling emotionally connected with the person who is suffering
4. Tolerating difficult feelings that may arise
5. And acting or being motivated to act to help the person

Common types of compassion seen in society:

1. Self-compassion – is where we take care of ourselves in response with a persons’ own suffering
and trials. Taking care of ourselves gives us the capacity to take care of others.
2. Extending compassion – is the feeling of love and care that we give to those we know or even to
those we don’t know personally.
3. Receiving compassion – is where we allow others to care for us in times when a person is in a
phase where he/she is not currently self-reliant
 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City •Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

MODULE ACTIVITIES

A. REFLECTION

Instructions:

Think about a specific scenario times when your close friend felt bad about himself or herself or is
really struggling in some way. How did you respond to your friend in this situation (especially when you’re
at your best)? Please write down your responses following the five elements of compassion discussed by
Strauss, et al., 2016.

1. Recognizing suffering of others

I always react with sympathy and support when my close friend is feeling horrible about their

struggles. I would try to show my friend compassion, empathy, a lack of judgment, kindness, and a

sincere desire to assist.

2. Understanding the common humanity of this suffering

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3. Feeling emotionally connected with the person who is suffering

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4. What difficult feelings did you experience during that situation?

______________________________________________________________________________

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5. What was your motivation to help the person?

______________________________________________________________________________

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 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City •Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

CLOSURE

Journal Writing

1. Now think about times when you feel bad about yourself or are struggling. How do you typically
respond to yourself in these situations? Please write down what you typically do, what you say, and
note the tone in which you talk to yourself.
2. Did you notice a difference? If so, ask yourself why. What factors or fears come into play that lead
you to treat yourself and others so differently?
3. Please write down how you think things might change if you responded to yourself in the same way
you typically respond to a close friend when you’re suffering.

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REFERENCES

Cohn-Vargas, B. (2016). How to Develop the 3 Most Common Types of compassion. Sixty and Me.
Mindset

Goetz, J. L., Keltner, D., & Simon-Thomas, E. (2010). Compassion: An evolutionary analysis
and empirical review. Psychological Bulletin, 136(3), 351–374.

Jazaieri, H., Jinpa, G., McGonigal, K., Rosenberg, E., Finklestein, J., Simon-Thomas, E., Cullen, M., Doty,
J., Gross, J., Goldin, P. (2012) Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Control Trial of a
Compassion Cultivation Training Program. Springer Science-Business. Springer
 OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY
Valenzuela City • Quezon City •Antipolo City • Cabanatuan • Pampanga

Veritas et Misericordia

Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Misericord. (n.d.). In Webster's II New College Dictionary. Retrieved May 3, 2018, from
https://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=OL60E3r2yiYC&pg=PA717&lpg=PA717&dq=misericordia+meaning+webster+dictionary&source
=bl&ots=CzQMCOP0zm&sig=tJx5oTT7c7I9NJT3XgODD-
jpEVk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj1ycHZqenaAhXBHJQKHfc1DE8Q6AEIczAH#v=onepage&q=
misericordia%20meaning%20webster%20dictionary&f=false

Strauss, C., Taylor, B., Gu, J., Kuyken, W., Baer, R., Jones, F., Cavanagh, K. (2016), What is Compassion
and How Can We Measure It? A Review of Definitions and Measures, Clinical Psychology Review,
Elsevier