The painting depicts the seven corporal works of mercy in traditional Catholic belief, which are a set of compassionate acts concerning the material welfare of others.

But if you decide to grant my request, it will seem a very compassionate act indeed, to me.

In a compassionate act to save his life, Esmeralda agrees to marry Gringoire.

Evidence of that compassionate act has been uncovered by Dr. Thomas Lowry and his wife, Beverly Lowry, amateur historians who found the decision among 570 documents with Lincoln's signature and comments.

We will make a determined attack on need, by promoting the compassionate acts of others.

In cases of emergency, rescue would be the most compassionate act compared with allowing a person to remain trapped in rubble.

Yet the panelists, including a clergyman, agree it would be preferable that such deaths occur in private, rather than with legal approval, thus criminalizing the compassionate acts of physicians.

While it certainly feels largely true, it's also worth remembering that there are millions of people in this country who commit kind, unselfish, compassionate acts, day in and day out for one another.

In 1990 our reviewer, David Rieff, called the book a "brave and compassionate act of witness."

But these compassionate acts also reveal moral contradictions.