Traditional Catholic Teaching - TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. St. Luke 10: 30.

The Fathers of the Church have assigned a mystical interpretation to the parable contained in to-day's Gospel, and regard it as referring to the fall of man and his redemption, as well as to the means whereby we may and ought to participate in the fruits of this redemption. The man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho is Adam, who sinned against God, and whose sin we, as his descendants, have inherited. The name, Jerusalem, is derived from words signifying "the vision of peace," whilst Jericho means "change." By sinning man abandoned Paradise, where he had known God in purity and simplicity of heart, and brought about a change in his state of happiness, physical and mental, that he had enjoyed by the grace of God. In the same way every sin that we commit takes us from Jerusalem to Jericho, from the city of peace into a condition of pitiable change, for a most disastrous change is effected within us when we cease to be God's children and become His enemies, and when, instead of having a right to heaven, we make ourselves worthy of everlasting punishment.

The robbers in the parable represent the devil, who in the form of a serpent tempted our first parents to sin, thus depriving, them of many spiritual and corporal advantages. But there are other robbers, whom we ought carefully to avoid; they are all who tempt us to do wrong, they are our own evil thoughts and desires, and Satan himself, who still goes about as a raging lion.

The robbers left the poor traveller helpless. We may say that Adam and Eve in Paradise were helpless after they had sinned, but God, in His infinite mercy, did not reject them forever but promised to send them a Redeemer to save them. Whenever men have realized their deep degradation and spiritual misery, they have sought to raise themselves in various ways. Among pagans there have been wise men, who, following the light of their enfeebled reason, have taught many useful lessons, but they were not able to instruct men sufficiently regarding God and His holy will, and still less had they any power to deliver mankind from sin. By means of the Law of Moses, God Himself tried to prepare His people for the spiritual help that was to be given in the future. The Jewish ceremonies and sacrifices were, however, mere types, incapable of doing real good, and efficacious only in as far as they pointed to the coming Redeemer. Hence the priest and the Levite could not help the wounded man.

We all know the Good Samaritan; Jesus Himself, who, like a Samaritan, was hated by the Jews. At great cost to Himself He showed His pity for mankind; He bound up our wounds, the wounds inflicted by sin upon our souls, by allowing Himself to be wounded; He poured oil and wine into them, the soothing oil of His infinite mercy, and the wine of His holy Blood, that He shed for our sake, the best and surest pledge of His Divine compassion. He laid the half dead man upon His own breast — and the Fathers see in these words a reference to His own most sacred Body, for He bore the sins of us all, when suffering upon the Cross, as St. Peter says: "In His own self He bore our sins in His body on the tree" (I. Peter 2: 24).

The consideration of Christ, the Good Samaritan, ought always to fill us with love and gratitude towards Him, who wished not that one of us should perish, but that all should obtain eternal life. For Him it was not enough to have redeemed us, but He wished all men in every age and in every part of the world to share in the results of His redemption. Hence He brought the injured man, i. e., us Christians, to the inn, the holy Catholic Church, in which it is His will that all shall find a shelter; and in this inn there is a host, whose business it is to care for all who by God's infinite grace are brought into the shelter of the Church. It was to this host that Jesus said : "Feed My lambs, feed My sheep," and the innkeeper now is the Pope, our holy Father, the successor of the Prince of the Apostles. The Good Samaritan paid two pence to the innkeeper in order to make provision for the needs of humanity for all time. These two pence represent the two chief powers conferred by Christ upon the Church, viz., the power to teach what is infallibly true, and the power to administer the Sacraments. By means of true doctrine and the graces bestowed in the Sacraments, the Church is intended to promote the salvation of men.

In every detail of the picture drawn by our Lord of the Good Samaritan we can trace an allusion to what He has done for us, and the parable concludes with an impressive lesson to us all, for the Samaritan says: "Whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I at my return will repay thee." These words contain a very important instruction for all holding office in the Church. Jesus will come again, and reward them for all their trouble; but before the reward can be given, their merits must be investigated. Many allusions were made by Him on various occasions both to this examination and to His second coming to judge the world. What will He say if, on His return, He finds the sick man, for whom He did so much, dead, and not, as He expected, cured of his injuries? He will certainly call upon those, who should have tended the sufferer, to give a strict account. Sometimes they will be able in spite of my warnings, applied the remedies in a wrong way. He perished by his own fault, in spite of the loving care of the Good Samaritan, and in spite of the exertions of those, who, obeying the Good Samaritan's orders, have tried to care for him."

Therefore let us make good use of the means of salvation, which Jesus in His grace and mercy has given us. Let us not turn a deaf ear to those who teach us what is right; let us not follow our own devices, but rather the counsel and instruction of those whom Jesus has set over us for our welfare; let us zealously cooperate with the many graces offered us by the holy Catholic Church, so that when the Good Samaritan comes back to judge us, we may all be able to welcome Him with joy. Amen.

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