Last Sunday the Gospel reading was the parable of the Good Samaritan and that passage, Luke 10:25-37, was your homework for the week. I hope that you as an individual and as a family did the home work and discussed the meaning of that great teaching in how you act, especially in how you treat each other.

During the week, I went to the Vatican website and read the words of Pope Francis in his address on Sunday, July 10, after the Angelus that he prays every Sunday at Noon from the window in his study at the Vatican. I quote the words of the Holy Father:

“This parable in a simple yet stimulating way indicates a style of life, in which the center of gravity is not ourselves but others. Like the scholar of the law in the Gospel, we might ask ourselves, ‘Who is my neighbor? Is it friends, my parents, my fellow countrymen, my co-religionists? Jesus does not answer the question directly, but instead tells of the Good Samaritan, a man who did not observe the true religion, but who nonetheless helped the poor, abandoned victim of robbers – in contrast to the priest and the Levite who simply passed him by. This story, the Pope said, completely reverses our perspective. It is not up to us to try to categorize people, to see if they count as our neighbors. Rather, the decision to be, or not be, a neighbor, depends on us. It depends on me, Pope Francis said, it depends on me to be or not to be a neighbor to the person I meet who has need of my help, even if he is a stranger, or even hostile.

In the Gospel, Jesus tells the scholar of the law – and he tells us – to do as the Good Samaritan has done. We must have the attitude of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate our faith. The Pope quotes from the Apostle James. Reminding us that faith without works is dead! We should ask ourselves if our faith is fruitful, if it produces good works, or if on the other hand, it is sterile, and so more dead than alive. We should ask this question often because it is precisely on this question that we will be judged at the end of our lives. The Lord, the Pope said, will ask us, Do you remember that time on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho? That man, who was half-dead, was me. Do you remember? That hungry child was me. Do you remember? That migrant who so many people wanted to chase away was me. Those grandparents, abandoned in rest homes, were me. Those sick people in the hospital, who no one went to visit, were me!

With that challenging reflection, Pope Francis concluded his remarks, calling on the Blessed Virgin Mary to help us to walk along the paths of generous love towards others, the path of the Good Samaritan.”

During the Year of Mercy, the Holy Father has consistently challenged us to be merciful like the Father, especially within the relationships of our families, of our neighborhoods, in our community and within the Church. I encourage you to read the words of Pope Francis on the meaning of the Good Samaritan and to apply them to your situation and to become ‘good samaritans’ in your kindness, in your generosity, in your concern for others and in your willingness to serve others in their times of need, when convenient or inconvenient. Our love of God and our devotion for the Lord is seen in our prayers and in our worship as well as in our caring for the needs of our fellow human beings.

Within the past few weeks, there have been some sad and tragic happenings in our country and following the event in Orlando, we as a country need the guidance, the mercy and the wisdom of the Lord. In some serious ways we have not lived the meaning of the Good Samaritan Gospel! This weekend (July 16-17), the Psalm we read at Mass is Psalm 15, your homework for the coming week. These verses follow perfectly the spirit of the teaching of Jesus in the Good Samaritan Parable. May our love of the Lord be expressed in the way we seek to live in justice, with respect for all, with a gentle care and with an understanding heart toward others. My love, best wishes, gratitude and prayers to you and to your loved ones for who you are, for all you do for the Lord and for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church.

SHALOM! Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of July 17 – July 23
Psalm 15