Office for Social Ministry
“(The parable of the good Samaritan) constantly challenges us to think about our own lives. It troubles our dormant or distracted consciences, and warns us about the risk of a complacent faith that is satisfied with the outward observance of the law but incapable of feeling and acting with the same merciful compassion as God.” (Pope Leo XIV in his July 13 homily)
Pope Leo XIV offers an inspiring reflection on the parable of the good Samaritan — calling us to re-focus our lives through the lens of compassion.
“The parable,” he began, “is really about compassion. … How we look at others is what counts, because it shows what is in our hearts. We can look and walk by, or we can look and be moved with compassion.”
Instead of pretending not to see the suffering around us, the pope encourages us to see “with the eyes of the heart, looking more closely, empathizing with others, sharing his or her experience, letting ourselves be touched and challenged.” This not only transforms how we see others, but also “how we live our life” and our responsibility toward others.
“The parable speaks to us first about God’s way of seeing us, so that we in turn can learn how to see situations and people with his eyes, so full of love and compassion,” the pope said.
Pope Leo also reminds us that the response of the good Samaritan reflects Jesus himself, “the eternal Son whom the Father sent into our history precisely because he regarded humanity with compassion and did not walk by. … In Jesus, the good Samaritan, (God) came to heal our wounds and to pour out upon us the balm of his love and mercy.”
Quoting Pope Francis, Pope Leo reminds us Jesus is the human face of “the compassion of the Father toward us.” This is what makes this parable so challenging.
“If Christ shows us the face of a compassionate God,” said Pope Leo, “then to believe in him and to be his disciples means allowing ourselves to be changed and to take on his same feelings. It means learning to have a heart that is moved, eyes that see and do not look away, hands that help others and soothe their wounds, (and) shoulders that bear the burden of those in need.”
Pope Leo emphasizes: “If we realize deep down that Christ, the good Samaritan, loves us and cares for us, we too will be moved to love in the same way and to become compassionate as he is. Once we are healed and loved by Christ, we too can become witnesses of his love and compassion in our world.”
This is what Pope Leo calls a “revolution of love … looking without walking by, halting the frantic pace of our lives, allowing the lives of others … to touch our heart. That is what makes us neighbors to one another, what generates true fraternity and breaks down walls and barriers.”
In Hawaii, Sts. Damien and Marianne embodied how disciples of Christ witnessed to Jesus by allowing the lives of others in need to touch their hearts, which moved their eyes to see and their hands to help others in need.
This year Hope Services Hawaii is celebrating its 15th year of striving to live its motto of “inspiring hope, changing lives” by honoring its founder, Carol Ignacio.
Ignacio, who also started the diocesan Office for Social Ministry, once said, “I really believe the Spirit is calling us not just to remember what Sts. Damien and Marianne did, but to walk in their footsteps.”
In 1986, she was hired by the Diocese of Honolulu to establish social ministries on Hawaii island. Ignacio began by traveling island-wide to reach out with compassion, to meet with people and, like the good Samaritan, to see with the eyes of her heart their needs and listen to their suffering.
What she discovered was a rising crisis of homelessness.
Ignacio responded with compassion. She secured two donated vans and launched Care-A-Van, a mobile social ministry outreach effort providing food, hygiene and basic services to those in need. That seed of compassion grew into Hope Services Hawaii — a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Diocese of Honolulu serving thousands of people each year.
When asked what she’s most grateful for, Ignacio answered with disarming humility: “The opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of people who were hurting. To put my faith in action. Not just to talk, but to work with others who wanted to go the extra mile … to get to know people for who they are, not for what they did.”
Ignacio echoes papal reflections on the good Samaritan. She says: “In life it is vital to look and experience the reality of others. It is all about seeing with the heart that helps us recognize Christ in our midst.
“I always remember Jesus said, ‘What you do with the least, you do to me,’ so to care for the most vulnerable is living the Gospel.”
For more on Pope Leo’s reflections, go to www.vatican.va; for more on Ignacio and Hope Services Hawaii, visit www.hopeserviceshawaii.org. As Pope Leo said, “Let us look to Christ, the Good Samaritan. Let us listen again today to his voice. For he says to each of us, ‘Go and do likewise.’”
Let’s continue the “revolution of love,” seeing with the eyes of our heart and responding with compassion.
Mahalo,
Your friends in the Office for Social Ministry