Teaching empathy?

This afternoon I went to another performance by the Oregon Bach Collegium, this one at my neighborhood Episcopal church. The pieces were performed by two sopranos, a harpsichorist, and a player of the viola da gamba, and they were "Leçons de Ténèbres" by François Couperin, a sonata by Telemann, and then the "Stabat Mater" by Giovanni Sances.

As I sat in the church, looking at the art on the walls for the Stations of the Cross, I realized that the Catholic Church had actually developed useful tools for teaching empathy and compassion. The text of the Stabat Mater was in the same vein -- essentially perspective-taking on the emotional experiences of Mary and Jesus. I wonder if other churches have done anything similar -- that is, I know that Buddhism has exercises for teaching compassion, and it certainly encourages people to use their imaginations, but this very personal type of empathy-building that the Catholics came up with seems rather special. Maybe it's that it's easy to relate to Christmas, but less natural to spend one's time picturing grief and loss when spring is blooming around us, so they worked hard to come up with effective ways to teach it.

In other news, I finally got the poppy seeds planted, and we bought a hummingbird feeder.