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The Time After Pentecost
justify himself, and therefore he asked: “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus then related the parable
of the good Samaritan and at the end asked the lawyer: “Which of these three, in thy opinion,
was neighbor to him that fell among robbers?” He said: “He that showed mercy to him.” Jesus
said to him: “Go and do thou in like manner.” This, then, is the commandment of the Lord:
Go and be also a good Samaritan.
“The earth shall be filled with the fruit of Thy works, O Lord” (Communion). The bread and
wine of the Holy Eucharist give the Church the power and the obligation to be a good Samaritan
to suffering humanity. Man is not called to merely an earthly goal, to attain which he must
fulfill his duties on earth and make use of his natural powers and talents; but beyond that he is
destined for a heavenly goal, for which he must develop his supernatural powers and faculties
in order to share in the divine life. He is to be permeated with divine and sanctifying powers of
life, that he may be lifted up into the fullness of life in God. This elevation of man to share the
divine life, however, cannot be the work of man himself. It is the work of God, of His free and
merciful love and grace.
When God created man in Paradise, He made him a partaker of this divine life through
grace. Both grace and nature had been bestowed on Adam for all of us. But Adam sinned and,
as the head and representative of the entire human race, lost for all mankind the life of grace.
Thus humanity is the man who fell among robbers. Who will save him and restore to him
the life of the sonship of God? It can be restored to him only by God Himself through Christ
and His Church. To the latter God has entrusted the wine of the Holy Eucharist and the oil
of the graces of salvation. With all the power of her divine Master she ministers to humanity.
She feels obliged to render her service to those who fall among robbers, for she performs the
service of the good Samaritan when she fulfills the command of her Master: “Going therefore,
teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19
f.). With unmoved courage and heroic perseverance, the Church for two thousand years has
fulfilled her commission, strengthened by the power which the good Samaritan provided for
her when He gave her the two pence: the power of teaching and the sacraments, especially the
Holy Eucharist.
Our Lord commanded His Church to “take care of him,” but first of all, of the salvation
of his soul. He wants her to practice the works of mercy, particularly the spiritual works
of mercy. Therefore the Church prays for the living and the dead, and prays especially for
those who are dead in sin, that they may rise again to the life of grace. To show sinners the
right way and to instruct the ignorant were always important duties of the Church. She
never wearies of caring for sinners and the ignorant through instruction and admonition,
but especially through the administration of the sacrament of penance. In this sacrament
of mercy the Church, full of understanding, mercy, and love, bows down to the man fallen
among robbers. Into his wounds she pours the oil of grace and forgiveness through the
power of God. New life and new joy will return to the soul which before was full of fear
and despair. When a new will and a new strength for doing good, a powerful longing for
God, and a healing peace come back into such a man’s soul, it can be truly asserted that no
power on earth is able to console, heal, and show mercy as does the Church in the sacrament
of penance. “Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbor to him that fell among
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