You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with
all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do
this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of
robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.

It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side.
Like wise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way;
and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his
wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought
him to an inn, where he took care of him.

The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him,
and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.’”

Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands
of robbers?” The teacher of the law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and
do the same.”


Read: The Commandments of God are written in our hearts, as natural law. Christ is the Firstborn who models for
us how to live God’s Law. The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us how to put God’s commandment to practice.

Reflect: When the Samaritan saw the wounded man, he was moved with compassion. The Greek word used for this
being moved with compassion is “splagchnizomai.” This word, according to theologian James Allison, is “the parable’s
bombshell.” The noun form “splagchna” was used in Greek literature to designate the inner parts (bowels) of a blood
sacrifice. When the heart was cut out during a sacrificial ritual, it was called a splagchna. It later became a generic term
for the inner organs. Hence, using the word to refer to being moved implies a gutwrenching reaction. In other words, the
compassion of the Samaritan is not a reasoned-out, calculated decision based on an analysis of pros and cons, but an innate,
spontaneous reaction emerging from his entrails, which moves him into action. “Go and do the same” is an invitation to make
empathic compassion one’s core nature.

Pray: Pray for the grace of empathy—the capacity to be moved by the needs of others.

Act: Do anyone of the fourteenDo anyone of the fourteenworks of mercy, as taught by theChurch.