8th day
Like the Good Samaritan
Christ Jesus asks us to be converted, to love God and our neighbor, and to pay particular attention to the most destitute and oppressed. ‘‘This implies valuing the poor in their inherent goodness, with their way of being, their culture, and their way of living their faith. True love is always contemplative, it allows us to serve the other not out of necessity or vanity, but because he or she is beautiful, beyond appearances’’[1].
In this sense Pope Leo XIV calls on us, ‘‘When I encounter a person sleeping exposed to the elements, I may consider this pile to be an unforeseen event that stops me, an idle delinquent, an obstacle in my path, an annoying sting to my conscience, a problem that politicians must solve, and perhaps a heap of waste that pollutes the public space. Or I can respond from faith and charity, and recognize in her a human being endowed with the same dignity as me, a creature infinitely loved by the Father, an image of God, a brother redeemed by Jesus Christ. That is what it means to be a Christian! Is it possible to understand holiness apart from this living recognition of the dignity of every human being? What did the Good Samaritan do?’’[2].
At the 2025 General Chapter, we were asked the same question: ‘‘In the societies where we live where there is a lot of poverty, are we not overlooking the poorest? ‘’. Cf. Orientation and Decisions of the 2025 General Chapter, page 15
Prayer to be said together
Lord, may your Spirit of love inspire us to imitate the Good Samaritan, helping our brothers and sisters in need. Help us to do so wholeheartedly and with our simple means: presence, listening, attentiveness, service to others, and material, spiritual and emotional solidarity.
[1] Cf. ‘‘I have loved you’’, Dilexi te, Apostolic Exhortation on love to the poorest, Pope Leo XIV, 2025, n°101.
[2] Cf. Idem, n°106.