Good morning. At the end of today’s Gospel parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asks the scholar of the law and us a very important question: “Which of these three [the priest, the Levite, or the Samaritan], in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" Our answer, of course, is the same as the scholar who said: "The [Samaritan] who treated him with mercy." I said “of course” because it is very obvious to any of us that if we were to fall victim to a crime or injustice of any kind that we would want our neighbor to treat us with mercy and compassion in the same way that the Samaritan treated the robber’s victim.
Reflecting on this parable of the Good Samaritan, Pope Leo XIV said that “compassion is a question of humanity! Before being believers, we are called to be human. . . This Samaritan simply stops because he is a man faced with another man in need of help. . . a Samaritan approaches, because if you want to help someone, you cannot think of keeping your distance, you have to get involved, get dirty, perhaps be contaminated; he binds the wounds after cleaning them with oil and wine; he loads him onto his horse, taking on the burden, because one who truly helps if one is willing to feel the weight of the other’s pain. . . “
This can certainly be a challenge for us for various reasons, such as our own safety or our limited resources. Yet, Jesus says to us, "Go and do likewise;" go and treat our neighbor with mercy and compassion. How are we to respond? We look to the saints who have done before us, like Saint Damien of Molokai, who risked his own health to live among those afflicted with leprosy and, in doing so, Fr. Damien “became a witness of the love of God for His people.” For me, this short but powerful prayer by Saint Faustina comes to mind: “Jesus, I trust in you.” Jesus tells us to not worry about our life, that God will provide for us just as he provides for the “birds in the sky” and the “grass of the field” and we are so more important to Him than they are (Matthew 6:25-34). He tells us to “seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness” (id).
In other words, our Lord and our God treats us with mercy and compassion and he tells us to go and do likewise with each other. We cannot do this on our own power but with God, nothing is impossible, so we come to Mass to receive our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. True food and true drink (John 6:55) that gives us the courage to be a good Samaritan to our neighbors, to be Christ to our sisters and brothers in need.
