Then the lawyer asked, “and who is my neighbor?”
In his pride the lawyer did not believe that there was anyone who could
be his neighbour or even neighbouring (i.e. close), because he thought
that no one could possibly compare to himself in terms of justice or
holiness. With such a question he showed that he lacked a love of
neighbour, and consequently also lacked a love of God, for he who does
not love his brother whom he sees, cannot love God whom he does not see
(1 John 4:20). In what follows Christ teaches him not to think that
because he is righteous he has no neighbours. It is as if He were saying
to him: all men are close to you, they are your neighbours. So be close
to them through charity, help them and take care of them. That is the
reason he gave them the well-known parable of the Samaritan.
“And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho..”
This man, according to St. Augustine, represents Adam and the whole
human race. Jerusalem, which means "city of peace", represents paradise
out of whose happiness Adam had fallen. Jericho means “moon”, and it
signifies our mortality (caused by original sin), because through its
phases it seems to be born, grow up, grow old and then die. Jericho is
in the valleys, while Jerusalem is on the heights. So the man from the
heights was going down into the valleys when he was assaulted (St.
Basil).
“..and fell among robbers, who also stripped him and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead.” These thieves are the demons, in whose hands man would not have fallen if he had not turned away from God’s commandments (St. Ambrose). They stripped man of his innocence and wounded him, causing him to be unable to make a proper use of his free will. And we are even more wounded because in addition to the original sin we are born with, we add many personal sins (St. Augustine).
“..and having wounded him..” (in other words, having tempted him to sin), they left him half dead, and he lay there because he did not have the strength to rise up by himself, but he needed a doctor to heal him, which is, [he needed] Christ (St. Augustine).
“And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by.” The priest and the Levite represent two times: the priest represents the time of the law, in which the Jewish priesthood and the sacrifices were instituted, and the Levite represents the time of the prophets. In neither of them could mankind be healed, because the law defined sins but did not forgive them (St. Augustine) and the prophets proclaimed the Redeemer Messiah but did not make Him present.
“But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion.” The wounded man was an Israelite, and the priest and the Levite who passed by him were his neighbours by race or blood, but the Samaritan, who was a despised enemy and distant through race, was near through mercy. That Samaritan who came down the road represents Our Lord Jesus Christ who came down from heaven (John 3:13), because Samaritan means custodian or guardian.
“And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine..” The bandaging of wounds represents the repression of sinners. Wine is the rigour of His justice and oil is the softness of His mercy. Or according to another interpretation, to forgive our sins, Christ poured out on our wounded souls the wine (the blood of His passion), and to sanctify us he poured out the oil of His Sacraments.
“..and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Christ takes our sins upon Himself and suffers for us (Isaiah 53). The Church is the inn on the way of life, which welcomes all those who come to it tired of the journey, and where, leaving the burden of many sins through the sacrament of Penance, the weary traveller rests and then gains strength with the nourishment of Eucharistic communion.
“And the next day he took out two pence and gave to the host and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee.” Christ, like the Samaritan, could not remain on earth for long. He had to return to the place from which he had come down. The two pence are the two precepts of charity (love of God and love of neighbour) that the apostles received (St. Augustine). St. Ambrose says that blessed is the innkeeper who can heal the wounds of another and to whom Jesus says: “whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee”, which means, on the day of judgment.
Having said all this, Our Lord asks the lawyer: “Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbour to him that fell among the robbers? But he said: He that shewed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.” So, our neighbour is he to whom we should give help and mercy, whoever he may be. It follows then that the one from whom we are to receive help and mercy is also our neighbour; for the word neighbour indicates a relationship: no one is a neighbour by himself, it takes two to be either near to or far from. No one should be denied charity, for Our Lord said: “do good to them that hate you” (Matthew 5:44) (St. Augustine), and “Go, and do thou in like manner”. If you see someone who is bruised or fallen, in error, far from the truth, a great sinner, far from God, explains St. John Chrysostom, do not say, 'he is a fool'. Instead, if he needs help, do not waver and bypass him at a distance. He has a right to your help, whatever the harm that has come upon him.
Let us go and do in like manner, dear faithful. Let us act as children of God and not as children of Cain and the devil. When God asked him where Abel was, Cain answered: “I know not: am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). Christ came to teach us that, truly, we are all guardians, protectors and Samaritans, each of us for one another, and Christ for us all. The Church is that Samaritan with respect to all men, because we are all born half dead. And we traditionalists are that Samaritan with respect to all our brothers who have been deceived, robbed and wounded by those wolves in sheep's clothing who are modernist heretics.
Allow me a parenthesis here. Beware of the “modernist” qualifier. Let us not look with contempt upon the rest of Catholics, whom we often call modernists, because most of them they are victims of robbers who stripped them of their true faith. Beware, because those people more often than not are just that: victims, and not perpetrators. They are not the robbers mentioned in the parable, but the the victim that was robbed. Consider for example the immense spiritual good in these old "modernist" women, who are truly devoted to the Rosary, and unwavering in their parishes and in their great simplicity, with their fervent prayers. Let us think of those "modernist" cloistered nuns who, despite the New Mass and the bad sermons, live entirely crucified because of their ardent charity. Let us think of those Priests and lay people who sincerely strive for holiness, despite having to breathe every day the liberal smoke that has entered the temple through the crack dug from within by a Hierarchy of traitors. “I thank you, Lord, that I am not like other people, nor like those stupid and ignorant modernists of these Parishes”. Beware, worse than being a material modernist and material heretic is being a proud traditionalist, for God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble (1 Pt 5:5). Beware of pride. Pharisaic pride is the great temptation of traditionalists. The Pharisees were the descendants of the Hasideans, those martyrs and traditionalist heroes who fought under the orders of the Maccabees. Beware of pride, and of those who seem to live on harsh criticism and arguments. We should ask them what is more important: to be right or to have charity? If we traditionalists have the truth, it is a gift, a grace from God. But the light of true faith is to enlighten men for eternal salvation, not to dazzle them with knowledge, nor to crush them.
Dear faithful, may God make us charitable and humble. Certainly, we traditionalists must be the Good Samaritan especially to all the poor sheep assaulted and wounded by those devilish ministers who give them liberal and modernist poison to drink. Those are the men that behave like the robbers in the parable, although in a much more criminal way than the Priest and the Levite, who sinned only by omission. These robbers are the liberal Hierarchy that objectively deprives and murders souls from that true ambush that was Vatican II. And with these soul-poisoners there is no need to seek cooperation or concord, let alone accept the possibility of one day submitting to their destructive power. If the Samaritan had sought to place himself at the command of the robbers, he would not have performed an act of charity, but the greatest foolishness imaginable. And he would have ended up a robber himself or the one robbed and half dead. The first charity is the truth. In the case of traditionalists, the first charity is to preserve the healthy food of souls, the divine treasure of the Catholic faith, the Truth, that Truth which will one day shine forth again in the Church because the gates of Hell will not prevail (Mt 16:18).
May God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, grant us humble fraternal charity.
“..and fell among robbers, who also stripped him and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead.” These thieves are the demons, in whose hands man would not have fallen if he had not turned away from God’s commandments (St. Ambrose). They stripped man of his innocence and wounded him, causing him to be unable to make a proper use of his free will. And we are even more wounded because in addition to the original sin we are born with, we add many personal sins (St. Augustine).
“..and having wounded him..” (in other words, having tempted him to sin), they left him half dead, and he lay there because he did not have the strength to rise up by himself, but he needed a doctor to heal him, which is, [he needed] Christ (St. Augustine).
“And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by.” The priest and the Levite represent two times: the priest represents the time of the law, in which the Jewish priesthood and the sacrifices were instituted, and the Levite represents the time of the prophets. In neither of them could mankind be healed, because the law defined sins but did not forgive them (St. Augustine) and the prophets proclaimed the Redeemer Messiah but did not make Him present.
“But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion.” The wounded man was an Israelite, and the priest and the Levite who passed by him were his neighbours by race or blood, but the Samaritan, who was a despised enemy and distant through race, was near through mercy. That Samaritan who came down the road represents Our Lord Jesus Christ who came down from heaven (John 3:13), because Samaritan means custodian or guardian.
“And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine..” The bandaging of wounds represents the repression of sinners. Wine is the rigour of His justice and oil is the softness of His mercy. Or according to another interpretation, to forgive our sins, Christ poured out on our wounded souls the wine (the blood of His passion), and to sanctify us he poured out the oil of His Sacraments.
“..and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Christ takes our sins upon Himself and suffers for us (Isaiah 53). The Church is the inn on the way of life, which welcomes all those who come to it tired of the journey, and where, leaving the burden of many sins through the sacrament of Penance, the weary traveller rests and then gains strength with the nourishment of Eucharistic communion.
“And the next day he took out two pence and gave to the host and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee.” Christ, like the Samaritan, could not remain on earth for long. He had to return to the place from which he had come down. The two pence are the two precepts of charity (love of God and love of neighbour) that the apostles received (St. Augustine). St. Ambrose says that blessed is the innkeeper who can heal the wounds of another and to whom Jesus says: “whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee”, which means, on the day of judgment.
Having said all this, Our Lord asks the lawyer: “Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbour to him that fell among the robbers? But he said: He that shewed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner.” So, our neighbour is he to whom we should give help and mercy, whoever he may be. It follows then that the one from whom we are to receive help and mercy is also our neighbour; for the word neighbour indicates a relationship: no one is a neighbour by himself, it takes two to be either near to or far from. No one should be denied charity, for Our Lord said: “do good to them that hate you” (Matthew 5:44) (St. Augustine), and “Go, and do thou in like manner”. If you see someone who is bruised or fallen, in error, far from the truth, a great sinner, far from God, explains St. John Chrysostom, do not say, 'he is a fool'. Instead, if he needs help, do not waver and bypass him at a distance. He has a right to your help, whatever the harm that has come upon him.
Let us go and do in like manner, dear faithful. Let us act as children of God and not as children of Cain and the devil. When God asked him where Abel was, Cain answered: “I know not: am I my brother's keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). Christ came to teach us that, truly, we are all guardians, protectors and Samaritans, each of us for one another, and Christ for us all. The Church is that Samaritan with respect to all men, because we are all born half dead. And we traditionalists are that Samaritan with respect to all our brothers who have been deceived, robbed and wounded by those wolves in sheep's clothing who are modernist heretics.
Allow me a parenthesis here. Beware of the “modernist” qualifier. Let us not look with contempt upon the rest of Catholics, whom we often call modernists, because most of them they are victims of robbers who stripped them of their true faith. Beware, because those people more often than not are just that: victims, and not perpetrators. They are not the robbers mentioned in the parable, but the the victim that was robbed. Consider for example the immense spiritual good in these old "modernist" women, who are truly devoted to the Rosary, and unwavering in their parishes and in their great simplicity, with their fervent prayers. Let us think of those "modernist" cloistered nuns who, despite the New Mass and the bad sermons, live entirely crucified because of their ardent charity. Let us think of those Priests and lay people who sincerely strive for holiness, despite having to breathe every day the liberal smoke that has entered the temple through the crack dug from within by a Hierarchy of traitors. “I thank you, Lord, that I am not like other people, nor like those stupid and ignorant modernists of these Parishes”. Beware, worse than being a material modernist and material heretic is being a proud traditionalist, for God resists the proud and gives his grace to the humble (1 Pt 5:5). Beware of pride. Pharisaic pride is the great temptation of traditionalists. The Pharisees were the descendants of the Hasideans, those martyrs and traditionalist heroes who fought under the orders of the Maccabees. Beware of pride, and of those who seem to live on harsh criticism and arguments. We should ask them what is more important: to be right or to have charity? If we traditionalists have the truth, it is a gift, a grace from God. But the light of true faith is to enlighten men for eternal salvation, not to dazzle them with knowledge, nor to crush them.
Dear faithful, may God make us charitable and humble. Certainly, we traditionalists must be the Good Samaritan especially to all the poor sheep assaulted and wounded by those devilish ministers who give them liberal and modernist poison to drink. Those are the men that behave like the robbers in the parable, although in a much more criminal way than the Priest and the Levite, who sinned only by omission. These robbers are the liberal Hierarchy that objectively deprives and murders souls from that true ambush that was Vatican II. And with these soul-poisoners there is no need to seek cooperation or concord, let alone accept the possibility of one day submitting to their destructive power. If the Samaritan had sought to place himself at the command of the robbers, he would not have performed an act of charity, but the greatest foolishness imaginable. And he would have ended up a robber himself or the one robbed and half dead. The first charity is the truth. In the case of traditionalists, the first charity is to preserve the healthy food of souls, the divine treasure of the Catholic faith, the Truth, that Truth which will one day shine forth again in the Church because the gates of Hell will not prevail (Mt 16:18).
May God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, grant us humble fraternal charity.
(Thanks to Tradidi.com for the translation.)
