During the general audience, the Pope invites us to meditate on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Addressing the 40,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, he explains that life “is made up of encounters” and when we find ourselves “in front of the other, facing their fragility and weakness,” the choice is to take care of them or ignore them. Often, our haste causes us to overlook, but to truly offer help, we need to stop and not keep our distance. Real help comes when we are willing to feel the weight of the other person’s pain.
By: Tiziana Campisi – Vatican News
Publication Date:
“Changing perspective” and opening up “to hope”: this is what we must learn from the parables. Often, we get fixated on a rigid and closed way of seeing things, and we lose hope. Instead, the parables help us to look at everything “from a different point of view.” Pope Leo XIV explains this in his second general audience, after touring St. Peter’s Square in a white jeep, greeting the 40,000 pilgrims and faithful who welcomed him with applause, songs, and joyful cries, waving colorful scarves, hats, and banners.
A true crowd immersion for the Pope, who reciprocates smiles and greetings, stopping from time to time to bless children and infants. Then, upon reaching the parvis of the Vatican Basilica, he continues the series of catecheses dedicated to the parables, within the chapter on “The life of Jesus” of the jubilee cycle “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” and focuses on the parable of the Good Samaritan, where compassion, loving care for others, and attention to one’s neighbor emerge, expressed through “concrete gestures.”
In Front of the Other
There are two perspectives that the Pontiff offers in analyzing the gospel story. There is a man who takes a road from Jerusalem to Jericho, along which he is “attacked, beaten, robbed, and left half dead.” How can we not think of life, “a difficult and challenging road,” and the experience that happens when situations, people, sometimes even those we have trusted, take everything away from us and abandon us?
Life, however, is made up of encounters, and in these encounters, we come out for who we are. We find ourselves facing the other, facing their fragility and weakness, and we can decide what to do: take care of them or ignore them.
A Matter of Humanity
There is, therefore, someone who comes across the man left “half-dead on the road.” Jesus describes “a priest and a Levite” who pass by. “They are people who serve in the Temple of Jerusalem,” but their attitude shows that “the practice of worship does not automatically lead to being compassionate,” observes Pope Leo XIV.
Compassion is a matter of humanity before being a religious issue! Before being believers, we are called to be human.
Stopping for Others
But often our hectic lives do not allow us to be compassionate; we believe we must first give space to our occupations.
It is precisely the haste, so present in our lives, that often prevents us from feeling compassion. Those who think their journey should take priority are not willing to stop for others.
Concrete Gestures
The parable passed down by the evangelist Luke tells that someone stops in front of that wounded and dying man, “a Samaritan, someone who belongs to a despised people.” “Religiosity has nothing to do with it,” emphasizes the Pope. This person stops simply because he is a man in front of another man who needs help.
If you want to help someone, you cannot think of keeping your distance; you must get involved, get dirty, perhaps even get contaminated.
The two scenarios of conflict and pain are at the heart of Pope Leo XIV, who, at the end of the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, raises his voice for the cessation of the noise of weapons…
And this is what the Samaritan does: “he bandages the wounds” of the dying man “after cleaning them with oil and wine,” he takes him with him, “meaning he takes care of him because true help comes when you are willing to feel the weight of the other person’s pain,” specifies the Pontiff, and then he finds “an inn where he spends money,” committing to “return and possibly pay more because the other is not a package to be delivered but someone to take care of.”
Jesus takes care of each of us
The parable, in short, urges us to “interrupt our journey” and “have compassion,” this can happen, as Pope Leo XIV points out, “when we understand that the wounded man on the road represents each of us” whom Jesus has taken care of many times.
Embarking on the Journey
Another reflection the Pope invites is offered by the one who prompts Jesus to tell the parable. It is a lawyer, “an expert, prepared person,” who asks how one “inherits” eternal life. The words he uses, however, betray a selfish attitude, as he understands eternal life “as an unequivocal right.” Through his parable, the Master shows “a path to transform that question, to move from ‘who loves me?’ to ‘who has loved?'”
Are you tired of the same old boring content? Well, look no further! Here at Unique Content Creators, we specialize in turning dull into dazzling. Our team of expert writers and designers will take your ideas and transform them into engaging and eye-catching content that will captivate your audience.
From blog posts to social media content, we’ve got you covered. We use HTML tags to enhance the look and feel of your content, making it stand out from the competition. Say goodbye to bland and hello to bold with Unique Content Creators.
Don’t settle for mediocrity when you can have excellence. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help elevate your content to the next level. Let us bring your ideas to life and make your brand shine online. Your audience will thank you for it!
Source link
