by Fr. Tommy Lane
We are well aware of the parable Jesus told in today’s Gospel (Luke 10:25-37). The Good Samaritan is among the best-known of Jesus’ parables. Jesus’ parables are fictitious stories he told to make a point so Jesus could have chosen anyone as the hero of his parable. He chose a Samaritan as the hero. The Samaritans and Jewish people had been hostile to each other for centuries. By making the Samaritan the hero, it is obvious what Jesus intends in this parable: those who are despised are also neighbors to be loved.
In the parable the man is lying by the side of the road half-dead. Those lying by the side of the road now are many. They are many different types of people, and I will think about a few today. An unfortunate situation has developed in some families in that practicing Catholics are being persecuted by non-practicing family members. It may be more widespread than we know because no one wants to talk about it as it is an embarrassment to be persecuted by one’s own family members. No one was taught social skills when growing up how to cope with such a situation, so it is difficult and challenging. It is a white martyrdom: white because there is no bloodshed, but nevertheless it is a martyrdom for being a faithful Catholic. We can help these neighbors by praying for them. If they ever decide to share their pain, we can listen and comfort them and journey with them through this painful time.
The unborn whose lives are threatened are also, in a sense, like that man in the parable lying by the side of the road. Looking at an ultrasound scan would surely help put an end to taking the life of the unborn. Eighteen days after conception the baby’s heart is beating and at six weeks the baby is already moving though the mother cannot yet feel those movements. At eight weeks every part of the body of an adult is already in the baby and at twelve weeks the baby’s lips open and close and the baby can wrinkle the forehead, turn the head, smile, and frown. At sixteen weeks the baby reacts to sound, and I could keep listing what happens in the other weeks. I think it would be profitable to reread today’s parable and see the one lying by the side of the road as the unborn whose lives are endangered.
A third group that I fear is being left lying by the side of the road more and more is the souls in purgatory because we don’t want to think about purgatory anymore. We have bought into the belief that we go straight to heaven when we die, even though we are not saints. It is not that God is cruel and imposes purgatory on us; when you go from a dark room into bright sunlight you are temporarily blinded, and we believe it is similar when we die. Unless we are really and truly saints, we are not ready for the light of heaven, and purgatory is the opportunity to allow ourselves to be purified to be ready to see God (see Exod 33:20; 1 Tim 6:16). Praying for the souls in purgatory is a great thing to do for them. The reason we have a funeral Mass is to ask God to take our departed loved one as quickly as possible to heaven. The greatest prayer we can offer for the souls in purgatory is Mass because during Mass, as the bread and wine are offered and become the body and blood of Jesus, we ask the Father to look on Jesus on the cross, atoning for our sins by giving his body and blood, instead of looking at our sins. The more we try to abolish purgatory, the more those souls will still be waiting for our prayers to assist them complete their journey to heaven. If you read the lives of any of the saints, such as St. Faustina or Padre Pio, you will see in their visitations from souls in purgatory how much the souls depend on our prayers to help them arrive in heaven. The Catechism tells us: “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.” (Catechism §958) So if we pray for them, they can also help us.
I have shared some thoughts on those whom I think we could say are in the place nowadays of the man lying by the side of the road in Jesus’ parable: persecuted Catholics, the unborn, and the souls in purgatory. What about the Good Samaritan nowadays? Any time we help others, we are the good Samaritan. When we help others, we also help ourselves, and I conclude with an excerpt of a book by the famous priest psychologist Fr. Benedict Groeschel:
There are very few
remedies in human experience that always work. In the case of great
disappointment and intense sorrows, there is one remedy that works
infallibly, so long as this remedy is applied carefully and
consistently. This is to get out of yourself and help someone else.
Long ago I memorized a line from somewhere: “Save another’s soul,
and it will save your own.” I think that the self-preservation
implied in this statement fits in well with our Lord’s admonition:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” The works of mercy are like so
many doses of medication for the wounded heart.
(Benedict
Groeschel Arise from Darkness: What to Do When Life Doesn't Make
Sense p. 145)
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2022
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Fifteenth Sunday of Year C
Jesus is Your Good Samaritan 2019
The Good Samaritan: thinking purified by Jesus 2010
Father Damien of Molokai was a Good Samaritan
The Good Samaritan: the Medicine of Love
Related Homilies: love of neighbor Seeing Jesus in others
If anyone wants to be first he must be servant of all
Today’s Gospel in the context of Luke 2007
stories about helping others
stories about seeing God in others