📖Introit (Psalm 106:9-10, 8)
Satiávit Dóminus ánimam inánem... The Lord has satisfied the empty soul: them that sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death, bound in misery and iron. / Let them give glory to the Lord for his mercy: and for his wonderful works to the children of men.
📜Reading (Is. 58:6-9, 10)
Thus says the Lord: Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, and let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house: when thou seest the naked, cover him, and despise not thine own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy justice shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. When thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday.
✝️Gospel (Lk. 10:29-37)
At that time, a certain lawyer, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him, went away, leaving him half dead. And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place, and saw him, passed by. But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee. Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among the robbers? But he said: He that shewed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.
🤔Reflections
💡The one who went down from Jerusalem is Adam, and all of humanity. Jericho is the world, and the robbers are the devil and his angels, who stripped him of immortality and left him half-dead. The priest and the Levite, figures of the Law and the Prophets, passed by, for the Old Testament could not save. The Good Samaritan is Christ Himself, who pours into our wounds the oil of consolation and the wine of hope, placing us upon His own flesh, for 'He himself bore our sins in his body' (1 Pet 2:24), and leads us to the inn, which is the Church, promising to return (St. Augustine, Sermon 171). Therefore, mercy is not merely a feeling but a participation in the redemptive work of Christ; the neighbor is not one who is close by blood, but one who draws near through compassion, becoming a 'guardian' of the wounded brother (St. Ambrose, Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, Book VII).
🕊️The parable of the Good Samaritan is unique to the Gospel of Saint Luke. However, the preceding dialogue about the greatest commandment finds parallels in Saint Matthew (22:35-40) and Saint Mark (12:28-34). In those, the question is about 'the greatest commandment,' and Christ's answer unites the love of God and neighbor. In Luke, the question deepens with the query, 'And who is my neighbor?', leading Jesus to reverse the perspective: instead of defining who is worthy of our love, He shows that the true neighbor is the one who makes himself a neighbor through mercy, transforming a legal precept into a universal demand for active charity.
✉️Saint Paul deepens the law of love for one's neighbor, defining it as 'the fulfillment of the law' (Rom 13:10). The action of the Samaritan, who cares for the wounded man, materializes the Pauline precept: 'Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ' (Gal 6:2). While the Gospel narrates a singular act of mercy, Saint Paul universalizes this duty in the doctrine of the Mystical Body, where 'if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it' (1 Cor 12:26), eliminating the distinction between near and far, Jew or Gentile, for all are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).
🇻🇦The Magisterium of the Church, in documents such as the encyclical Rerum Novarum, extends the principle of the Good Samaritan to the social sphere. Just as the Samaritan did not ignore the wounded man, the Church insists that society cannot ignore the condition of the workers and the poor, 'a multitude of helpless proletarians.' The charity taught in the Gospel becomes a principle of social justice that demands not only individual acts of mercy but also the creation of just structures that protect the weak and do not 'pass by on the other side' in the face of suffering caused by economic exploitation and misery.
🧐See English articles here.
Satiávit Dóminus ánimam inánem... The Lord has satisfied the empty soul: them that sat in darkness, and in the shadow of death, bound in misery and iron. / Let them give glory to the Lord for his mercy: and for his wonderful works to the children of men.
📜Reading (Is. 58:6-9, 10)
Thus says the Lord: Loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, and let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke. Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are cast out to thy house: when thou seest the naked, cover him, and despise not thine own flesh. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy justice shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. When thou shalt pour out thy soul to the hungry, and shalt satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday.
✝️Gospel (Lk. 10:29-37)
At that time, a certain lawyer, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him, went away, leaving him half dead. And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place, and saw him, passed by. But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee. Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among the robbers? But he said: He that shewed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.
🤔Reflections
💡The one who went down from Jerusalem is Adam, and all of humanity. Jericho is the world, and the robbers are the devil and his angels, who stripped him of immortality and left him half-dead. The priest and the Levite, figures of the Law and the Prophets, passed by, for the Old Testament could not save. The Good Samaritan is Christ Himself, who pours into our wounds the oil of consolation and the wine of hope, placing us upon His own flesh, for 'He himself bore our sins in his body' (1 Pet 2:24), and leads us to the inn, which is the Church, promising to return (St. Augustine, Sermon 171). Therefore, mercy is not merely a feeling but a participation in the redemptive work of Christ; the neighbor is not one who is close by blood, but one who draws near through compassion, becoming a 'guardian' of the wounded brother (St. Ambrose, Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, Book VII).
🕊️The parable of the Good Samaritan is unique to the Gospel of Saint Luke. However, the preceding dialogue about the greatest commandment finds parallels in Saint Matthew (22:35-40) and Saint Mark (12:28-34). In those, the question is about 'the greatest commandment,' and Christ's answer unites the love of God and neighbor. In Luke, the question deepens with the query, 'And who is my neighbor?', leading Jesus to reverse the perspective: instead of defining who is worthy of our love, He shows that the true neighbor is the one who makes himself a neighbor through mercy, transforming a legal precept into a universal demand for active charity.
✉️Saint Paul deepens the law of love for one's neighbor, defining it as 'the fulfillment of the law' (Rom 13:10). The action of the Samaritan, who cares for the wounded man, materializes the Pauline precept: 'Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ' (Gal 6:2). While the Gospel narrates a singular act of mercy, Saint Paul universalizes this duty in the doctrine of the Mystical Body, where 'if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it' (1 Cor 12:26), eliminating the distinction between near and far, Jew or Gentile, for all are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:28).
🇻🇦The Magisterium of the Church, in documents such as the encyclical Rerum Novarum, extends the principle of the Good Samaritan to the social sphere. Just as the Samaritan did not ignore the wounded man, the Church insists that society cannot ignore the condition of the workers and the poor, 'a multitude of helpless proletarians.' The charity taught in the Gospel becomes a principle of social justice that demands not only individual acts of mercy but also the creation of just structures that protect the weak and do not 'pass by on the other side' in the face of suffering caused by economic exploitation and misery.
🧐See English articles here.