 Perhaps the most obvious difference between tragic compassion and Mother Teresa’s is the fact that the latter involves the proposition the sufferer is a type (brother, sister, beloved) of Christ. This has the implication that Christian compassion is not primarily a “kind of pain.” It is uncomfortable certainly, and the subject of this compassion is moved to alleviate the suffering as she can; but it is also a joy, and the work is “sweet,” and the poor sufferers are “doubly dear” — dear on their own account and on Christ’s. Mother Teresa expresses an almost erotic enthusiasm for the people she serves, and it is because she loves Christ above all. The prayer exudes not just compassion, but also gratitude and devotion, and the compassion derives its character in part from these other emotions, which in turn have their character because of the belief-system in which Mother Teresa lives.