The Good Samaritan

Karen Pepe • July 7, 2022

From pastor’s desk in the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

This Sunday we meditate on the passage from the gospel of Saint Luke, which presents to us the parable of the Good Samaritan. This is probably the most well-known parable of all, even to the non-Christian world.  The phrase Good Samaritan has become a saying that indicates a person who knows how to selflessly help others without looking for any gain, but by simply showing concern for the well-being of another person in need.  Jesus’s parable is directed to us all and is intended to open our hearts for other human beings, despite their socio-economic or moral status.  Jesus wants us to have the eyes to see all those around us who are destitute and in desperate need of help.  Our Lord Jesus appeals to the deepest layers of the human heart while portraying an example of an authentic, loving and kind man, who knows how to, and is not afraid to, help his neighbor in need.

Although we tend to think that this parable applies only to our mere human situations, it also reveals truth about the mission of Jesus Christ.  Right from the beginning of Christianity, the Church Fathers interpreted the parable's deeper meaning recognizing Christ in the person of the Good Samaritan and the entirety of humanity as a man who prey to the hands of robbers.  Yes, it is all of us, all human beings, who after the original sin and after falling into subsequent sins, are now lying by the roadside and waiting for a Samaritan—Jesus Himself—to be rescued and cared for by the Divine Healer.  The robbers are the devils who do not care for the human soul, but want to ravage humanity and even leave it dead by the “roadside” of the world.

The truth about humanity is that after the first fall there was no one capable to rescue us except for Jesus, who is our Lord and Savior. As in the parable, neither the priest, who represented the worship in the Temple of Jerusalem, nor the Levite, representing the Law of Moses, could see the man in dire straits. They were blind to the human condition affected by the evil men. They could not see the wounded man because they had not received the spirit of Jesus yet. Only Jesus could step down from the heavens in order to become one of us and to save us. It is only Jesus who was capable to step down to the realm of the dead and bring the fallen man—in fact, the entire human race—to life again. Not only that, Jesus also left the means to cure the man completely and paid the price to the innkeeper. Our Lord Jesus paid for us the price with His Precious Blood on the Cross and left us in the Inn of the Universal Church, in which we find the necessary medicaments—the sacraments—for the cure of our wounded humanity.

With His very life, our Lord Jesus set up an example of how to love and how to help. I am sure we ask these questions ourselves too: How to help? Whom to help? — These are the dilemmas that many of us have while trying to reach out to others when they seek our support. Although we are all called to serve one another, it is not easy to help in a meaningful way. It is often much easier to give a couple of dollars to homeless man in the street than to talk to him. It is almost certain that most of us want to leave as soon as possible so not to be bothered. In addition, we already might have had a negative experience when someone lied to us or “abused” our “generosity” for a purpose other than initially declared by the person in need.

Unfortunately, our hearts are very often too harden. Too often we get used to luxury, convenience, and may be even embarrassed when we have to get out of our comfort zone. We may be even surrounded by human misery and poverty and choose not to see it, for it is too challenging to us. Hence, this parable of Jesus is directed exactly to us. Our Lord Jesus wants us to leave our comfort zones like He did. Let us pray that we may have generous hearts and courage to reach out to those who may need our help.

I wish you all blessed week. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor

Mensaje del pastor para la celebración de la Pascua 2025

By Anthony Aruanna • April 14, 2025
Queridos hermanos y hermanas,

Pastor’s message on Easter 2025

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Dear brothers and sisters,

From Pastor’s Desk on the Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?” — Our Lord Jesus addresses this question to His disciples trying to tell them that they need to be healed of their spiritual blindness first. In this context blindness is not to believe in Christ and healing means to have faith in Jesus who is the Light of the world. In other words, when we gain our spiritual sight through faith, then we will be able to help others on the way to salvation. Without faith in Jesus we just remain living in the darkness of sin. Without Jesus we are all like blind men bouncing against the walls of reality and against each other. However, when we embrace faith in God in the person of Jesus and let our hearts be set on Christ, then He—the Son of God and Our Lord—becomes our guide. Because of that our every step will be illumined with the light of faith. While putting our faith into action in our daily life we also start bearing good fruits of an authentic and happy life.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el Octavo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • March 2, 2025
“ ¿Puede un ciego guiar a otro ciego? ¿No caerán ambos en un pozo? ” - Nuestro Señor Jesús dirige esta pregunta a sus discípulos tratando de decirles que primero necesitan ser curados de su ceguera espiritual. En este contexto, ceguera significa no creer en Cristo y curación significa tener fe en Jesús, que es la Luz del mundo. En otras palabras, cuando ganemos nuestra vista espiritual a través de la fe, entonces seremos capaces de ayudar a otros en el camino de la salvación. Sin fe en Jesús solo permanecemos viviendo en la oscuridad del pecado. Sin Jesús todos somos como ciegos que rebotan contra las paredes de la realidad y contra los demás. Sin embargo, cuando abrazamos la fe en Dios en la persona de Jesús y dejamos que nuestro corazón se fije en Cristo, entonces Él -el Hijo de Dios y Nuestro Señor- se convierte en nuestro guía. Por eso, cada uno de nuestros pasos estará iluminado por la luz de la fe. Al poner nuestra fe en acción en nuestra vida diaria, también empezamos a dar buenos frutos de una vida auténtica y feliz.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 5º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
A menudo la gente nos pregunta a nosotros, los sacerdotes, qué hacer para profundizar en su vida espiritual. A todos se nos ocurren respuestas diferentes y, ciertamente, hay muchos caminos para una mayor vida espiritual. Hay, sin embargo, un método más probado que ha ayudado a muchos cristianos católicos a estar en la vía rápida de la santidad y a comprender mejor la vida espiritual. Es la consagración total al Corazón Inmaculado de María, o como propuso originalmente San Luis Grignon de Montfort allá por el siglo XVII, la Consagración Total a Jesús por María. Después de San Luis hubo muchos otros que siguieron sus pasos. Entre algunos de los santos más conocidos se encuentran el Papa Pío X, San Maximiliano Kolbe y San Juan Pablo II. Estos santos reconocieron que María desempeñó un papel vital en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva y que la Santísima Madre sigue desempeñando un papel importante en la Iglesia de nuestros tiempos.

From Pastor’s Desk on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • February 6, 2025
Often people ask us, priests, what to do in order to deepen their spiritual life. We all can come up with different answers and there are certainly many ways to greater spiritual life. There is, however, a more proven method that has helped many Christian Catholics to be on the fast track to holiness and to better understanding of spiritual life. It is the total consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as originally proposed by Saint Luis Grignon de Montfort back in the XVII century, the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary. After St. Luis there were many others that followed in his footsteps. Among some of the most known saints were Pope Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, and St. John Paul II. These saints recognized that Mary played a vital role in the life of the early Church and that the Blessed Mother still plays an important role in the Church of our times.

Del Escritorio del Párroco en el 2º Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
Estoy seguro de que todos estamos atónitos y horrorizados por los incendios forestales del sur de California que afectan ya a cientos de miles de sus habitantes. La velocidad y la ferocidad del fuego sólo demuestran lo frágiles que somos como seres humanos individuales y como humanidad en general. Muchos californianos pueden estar dudando de su fe en estos momentos; muchos se plantearán preguntas: ¿Dónde está Dios? ¿Por qué permite Dios catástrofes tan terribles? Ciertamente, muchos de nosotros nos haríamos las mismas preguntas. Si Dios está detrás o no, no lo sabemos. Sin embargo, sí sabemos que vivimos en un mundo creado que tiene su propio ritmo y ciclos que se dan en la naturaleza. Las cosas suceden con y sin interrupción humana. Algunas cosas las podemos controlar (muy poco, de hecho), y muchas otras no. Lo que sí podemos reconocer es que las catástrofes naturales son una forma de llamada a la conversión y a una mayor confianza en Dios. También es una llamada a la acción para hacer la tierra más acogedora, de modo que las personas puedan prosperar en ella.

From pastor’s desk on the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C

By Anthony Aruanna • January 26, 2025
I am sure that all of us are stunned and horrified by the wildfires in Southern California impacting now hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. The speed and ferocity of fire only proves how fragile we are as individual human beings and as humanity by and large. Many Californians may be doubting his or her faith at this moment; many will pose questions: Where is God? Why does God permit such terrible disasters? Certainly, many of us would ask the same questions. Whether God is behind it or not, we do not know. However, we do know that we live in a created world that has its own rhythm and cycles that occur in nature. Things happen with and without human interruption. Some things we can control (very little, in fact), and many things we can’t. What we can recognize is that natural disasters are a form of a call to conversion and to greater trust in God. It is also a call to action to make the earth more hospitable so that people can prosper in it.

From pastor’s desk on 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year, B

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
Last July over 50 thousand Catholics gathered in Indianapolis for the 10th National Eucharistic Congress. Obviously, the central theme of the gathering was the Eucharist. One of the key speakers at the Eucharistic Congress, Monsignor James Shea, said:

Del Escritorio del Párroco el 29 Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario

By Anthony Aruanna • October 19, 2024
El pasado mes de julio, más de 50.000 católicos se reunieron en Indianápolis con ocasión del 10º Congreso Eucarístico Nacional. Obviamente, el tema central del encuentro fue la Eucaristía. Uno de los principales oradores del Congreso Eucarístico, Monseñor James Shea, dijo: