Dear Parishioners & Visitors,
“But a Samaritan traveler . . . was moved with compassion at the sight.” While
the priest and the Levite pass by the severely injured victim because they
were afraid of becoming unclean or simply just didn’t want to get involved,
the merciful Samaritan is in possession of compassion and acts on behalf
of the man who was robbed and beaten. It is risky to love.
Consider the Samaritan’s hands-on healing response; his focus is
completely on the well-being of the bloodied and bruised man who is
absolutely vulnerable without assistance. The Samaritan’s response also
places the Samaritan himself in harm’s way since the robbers could be
lurking still. It is risky to love. He endangers his own life, pours oil & wine
to heal the wounds, carries the victim of violence on his horse, probably
offers him words of encouragement, gets him food & drink and a room at
a hotel offering payment for the man with the promise of more payment
as needed, and, finally, entrusts the wounded man to the innkeeper.
Who are the bruised, broken, and vulnerable around us as we travel
from here to there on our modern horses? With whom do I live or work
who is in need of a kind word, extra time together to talk things over, or
listening to someone who is sad and afraid about the violence of recent
terrorist activity? The Missionaries of Charity just down the road here in
Houston recently lost four of their Sisters living in Yemen to martyrdom by
terrorists. These four Sisters were caring for the elderly. It is risky to love!
In God’s loving kindness,
—fr. Chris, O.P.
