Author: WebDept ParishAdmin

The story of The Good Samaritan is referenced widely in religious and secular circles. We all want to be the Samaritan, the one who reaches out and helps. We see the Samaritan as the hero of the story. The role of the Samaritan is indeed critical. Without him, the robbed man would have probably died on the road. However, we shouldn’t dismiss the other characters in Jesus’ story. In particular, the robbed man and the innkeeper.

As much as the Samaritan offered his assistance, the robbed man had to accept it in order for this scene to work out. He could have curled up, expecting the worse, and turned aside as the Samaritan came down the road. He could have rejected the help since it came from someone considered “unclean.” When we are hurt, excluded, or in the depths of pain and sorrow, it can be easy to lash out at those who would help us instead of raising our head and hands to accept what they are offering.

There is also the innkeeper. A few years ago, I read a book by Jane Knuth, a St. Vincent de Paul volunteer, entitled Thrift Store Saints: Meeting Jesus 25⍧ at a Time. In one section, a donor is feeling that she doesn’t do enough for the organization, since all she does is give money. She does not dedicate time, doesn’t encourage others to come to the store, etc. Jane responds to her:

A careful reading will reveal that it’s the innkeeper who actually does the work of taking care of the hapless traveler. The Good Samaritan gives some preliminary help and foots the bill, sure, but the innkeeper is put in charge of the long-term effort.

The parable shows a need for both immediate assistance and a long-term refuge.

As we continue on in this pandemic, I believe it’s important to recognize that there are times we fill each one of these rolls. There may come a time when we feel like the robbed man. Circumstances swirl around us and everything is beyond our control. We hurt, we bleed, we cry out for aid.

There may be days we need to be the Good Samaritan. We can reach out to a friend or neighbor who is struggling. We can drop everything to listen when a friend loses a job, or isn’t sure how they are going to handle working from home while their children participate in virtual learning.

We may also be called to be the innkeeper. We are in this for the long haul. We may have the opportunity to walk with someone through loss, grief or sorrow. Perhaps we have had to take on caregiving duties for a family member, or find ourselves serving our children’s education in a brand new way. The innkeeper is the daily grind, the one who gets up each day to meet the same problems head on.

Jesus continues to reveal truth to us through this parable, even today.

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I’m a worrier. Probably as a typical American, I worry about money a lot. Perhaps many people’s goal each day is to make money. How much can one make in how little time.

I also worry about something bad happening a lot. What if a loved one gets hurt or sick? What if I’m given something I just can’t handle?

Have you ever wondered just how many times the words “fear” or “anxiety” are found in the Bible? When I recently tried to look, it quickly became too many for me to count.

I realize now that more than anything else that what weakens my relationship with God is my lack of trust in Him. In today’s society, we often want to see results immediately. Instant messages, live-time social media feeds, we hold the world in the grips of a quick swipe on our cells or the click of a computer mouse. We tend to concentrate on what’s next without recognizing what’s already in our midst- God’s presence within us.

Today’s readings remind us: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And, what more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?

The Gospel calls us to ask ourselves, why do we turn against His beloved Son through sin? Is it for genuinely evil ways? This is probably not as common as it may be for the underlying anxiety and distrust we often have.

Perhaps more than anything else, we must take refuge in Him knowing His love for the world will surpass all our flaws.

Ultimately it is only by turning to our Father that we will find the peace we so yearn for. Prayer, indulgences, genuine self-care are some ways to cultivate our relationship with the Lord and demonstrate trust in His saving grace.

What can you do today to re-focus your priorities on His guarantees for His people rather than our doubts?

“Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you, all things are passing, God is unchanging.” – St Teresa of Avila

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Today’s Gospel reading is one that I had to read a couple times in order to understand what was going on. Jesus sometimes throws these curved balls where it’s hard to understand exactly where he’s coming from.

The disciples are rejoicing because they’ve seen the power of Christ at work in casting out demons. He reminds them that we should rejoice not because of what we can see God doing or our own ability to share the Gospel, but because we are children of God and he desires us in heaven with him.

It reminds me of how we work so hard at our faith and we don’t always see results. It gets frustrating. How many times have we talked to someone about our faith and they shut us down or treat us like we are weak. Whether it’s praying for an end to abortion or for the conversion of a loved one, sometimes it seems like God doesn’t hear us.

It is easy to be a disciple when we see progress.

It’s easy to be a disciple when the culture is on our side and we have “Catholic Celebrities” encouraging us along the way. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with seeing progress or rejoicing when we have our prayers answered. However, Jesus himself reminds us that we shouldn’t rejoice at results but at the fact that “our names are written in heaven.”

In the first reading we hear of Job and how God blessed him with beautiful daughters. But we all know Job was also blessed with severe trials in order to prove his faithfulness. Trials that would leave most people cursing God. Can you imagine losing your children in a terrible accident? Losing all your animals and livelihood? The only thing left were three servants who were the sole survivors of the tragedies. I pray to God that I can still rejoice and praise him even when faced with hardship.

It’s much harder to wear your faith with pride when you realize being Catholic means that people might not invite you to the neighborhood barbecue. Or when we have to defend Mother Church amidst a period of horrible scandal.

Praising God is much harder when we don’t get the things we want. Catholicism might lose a bit of its appeal when things aren’t going great. But none of that matters. Christ is real and he’s in the Church. He’s present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass all around the world. God the Father calls to us every day in the simple things. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told lately that God talks to us in the silence.

Whether we’re in a period of consolation (where we see and feel God in our lives) or we’re feeling desolation (alone and abandoned) God is still with us. We are still called to be saints and there is a great plan for our lives that ends in our union with God in heaven.

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Today is the feast of the Guardian Angels. The first thing that comes to mind for me, and probably for you, is the famous image of an angel protecting a child as he or she walks across a bridge. The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of “each believer” having a guardian angel, a special guardian from the time of baptism to accompany us through life. Benedict XVI in an Angelus Address on October 2, 2011 called guardian angels “ministers of the divine care for every human being. From the beginning until the hour of death, human life is surrounded by their constant protection.”

Therefore, on this feast, we are celebrating our faith in God’s enduring love and his providential care extended to us each and every day until life’s end. Some of the saints had the blessing to actually see their guardian angel. Whether we can see our angel or not, belief in the guardian angel who accompanies us through life is an act of faith in the God who accompanies us on our way through life and into eternity. We can pray to them for assistance, or we can simply speak with our angel as with a friend.

In the Gospel, Jesus states: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

Our guardian angels remind us that our eternal home, the destination to which we are journeying under their protection, is heaven. Saint Bernard said that we have only to follow our angels, to stay close to them, and then at our death we shall dwell with them in heaven.

I never fail to be moved to tears at the end of the Funeral liturgy when those of us who remain on earth gather around the body of our dear sister and sing this farewell hymn from the Rite for Christian Burial:

“May the angels lead you into paradise;
may the martyrs come to welcome you
and take you to the holy city,
the new and eternal Jerusalem.”

Our guardian angel is a protector, a shepherd who leads us into life. In a way, when we are devoted to our guardian angel we are beginning on earth the life that will be ours in eternity when we will stand in the company of the angels singing with them to the glory to God.

Our veneration of the angels in heaven transforms our hearts in three ways:

• It leads us to honor and respect ourselves and others who are watched over through the goodness of God by an angel from heaven. We and others are never alone. We and others are never outside of the watchful eye of this angel who sees everything.
• It leads us to gratitude that God has given us a companion through life to enlighten us, defend us, guide us, and intercede for us, and ultimately to bring about our total dedication to God’s glory in our life.
• It leads us to hope. The fact that everyone has a guardian angel reminds us that the history of the world is in God’s hands and that the angels who watch over us are at work in each person’s heart to turn them to truth, goodness and beauty, that they might make decisions that will allow God’s loving plan for the world to unfold.

Our guardian angels are always before the face of the Father. We can turn to our own guardian angel in every need, and we can always pray to the guardian angels of others. When someone needs a reminder, comfort, conversion, or strength, turn to their guardian angel because this heavenly minister is right beside this person wherever they are and in whatever situation they find themselves. When you cannot be near someone in need, their angel is always right there with them.

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