Editorial

Compassion must fill our hearts for our brothers, sisters in need

Families mourning the loss of loved ones because of unprecedented flooding in Texas.

Those dealing with the casualties of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia and in other parts of the world where conflict is prevalent, including three people killed and several others injured on July 17 when Israeli tank fire struck Holy Family Parish, the Gaza Strip’s only Catholic parish.

Our brothers and sisters across the globe facing hunger, homelessness and other societal challenges because of their state in life.

If we read Pope Leo XIV’s homily during Mass on July 13 at St. Thomas of Villanova Church in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, and reflect on each of the above situations through the lens of faith, we realize each of those impacted is our neighbor.

And like the Good Samaritan cited in the Gospel (Lk 10:25-37) during that day’s Mass, we too are called to have a loving and compassionate heart for our brothers and sisters in need.

“That parable constantly challenges us to think about our own lives,” Pope Leo said. “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.”

We understand this Scripture passage is “really about compassion,” the pope continued, and it teaches that “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.”

In today’s increasing “me-first” world, it is heart-rending to see how difficult it is for some to slow down, stop and help others. Too many in society have become quite good at tuning out the rest of the world as they settle into the bubble that envelops their life.

It may sound elementary, but we need to continually let faith guide us in all we say and do. Do we see Jesus in every person or situation? Are we Jesus to the person or persons?

“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,” Pope Leo said.

The Holy Father told those attending the Mass that the Good Samaritan is really a figure of Jesus, “the eternal Son whom the Father sent into our history precisely because he regarded humanity with compassion and did not walk by.”

Compassion is what filled the heart of the Good Samaritan, who did not allow religion or social barriers to prevent him from helping his neighbor in need. Citing Pope Benedict XVI’s book, Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Leo reminded his listeners what the former pontiff wrote: “But Jesus … turns the whole matter on its head: the Samaritan, the foreigner, makes himself the neighbor and shows me that I have to learn to be a neighbor deep within and that I already have the answer in myself. I have to become like someone in love, someone whose heart is open to being shaken up by another’s need.”

We must ask ourselves: Have our hearts hardened where our brothers and sisters in need are concerned? As we read earlier in Luke’s Gospel that weekend, the greatest commandments teach us: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself” (Lk 10:27).

The parable, we believe, offers a necessary reminder: Each day, we are called to imitate Christ.

“Looking without walking by, halting the frantic pace of our lives, allowing the lives of others, whoever they may be, with their needs and troubles, to touch our heart,” Pope Leo said, “is what makes us neighbors to one another, what generates true fraternity and breaks down walls and barriers. In the end, love prevails and proves more powerful than evil and death.”

As missionary disciples charged to follow the Good Samaritan’s example, may we “go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37).

—Mike Krokos