Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of Saint Faustina Kowalska, Virgin
Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest [USA]
The parable of the Good Samaritan feels especially appropriate on the Memorial of St. Faustina Kowalska, a very special promoter of God’s divine mercy.
In today’s parable, both a priest and a Levite encounter a desperately wounded man, and both simply choose to walk by and avoid him. We are not provided with reasons or excuses. Despite whatever interior reaction they had at the sight of the wounded man, they were not willing to allow themselves to be moved to action.
In order to be moved, one must first be willing to allow oneself to be moved. And we are told that the Samaritan in the passage was “moved with compassion at the sight.” He was willing to allow the sight of the wounded man to touch him to the core. He surely had places to go, people to see, and an itinerary for the day. But he was able to interiorly discern in that moment that the value of the wounded man's life superseded whatever other plans he had. He allowed his plans to change.
It’s worth taking some time to reflect on how free we really are in this regard. How willing are we to allow ourselves to be moved? How free are we with our time, especially our “me time”? How willing are we to allow the unexpected needs of others to impose upon the carefully structured schedules that we craft for ourselves?