Silence and Charity: Lessons from the Good Samaritan for Traditional Catholics
Summary of Headings
- First Friday and Saturday Devotions
- The Parable of the Good Samaritan
- Charity and the Spirit of the Law
- Silence and Contemplation
- Conclusion
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
The epistle for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost is taken from St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 3. Brethren, such confidence. We have through Christ towards God. Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also hath made us fit ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the Spirit quickeneth. Now if the ministration of death, engraven with letters upon stones, was glorious so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance, which is made void, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit, be rather in glory? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more the ministration of justice aboundeth in glory.
And the Gospel? Taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, Chapter 10. At that time Jesus said to his disciples, Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying, Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? But he said to him, What is written in the law? How readest thou? He answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said to him, Thou hast answered rightly, this too, and thou shalt have life. But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answering, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell upon robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him, went away, leaving him half dead. And it chanced that a certain priest went down the same way, seeing him pass by. And like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place, and saw him, passed by. But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him, and seeing him, was moved with compassion, and going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 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. Which of these three, in thine opinion, was neighbor to him that fell upon robbers? But he said, He that showed mercy. And Jesus said to him, Go, and do thou in like manner. Thus for the Gospel, please be seated.
Charity and the Spirit of the Law
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. We have a beautiful gospel. Of course, everybody knows the parable of the Good Samaritan. Everybody knows the story, and everybody knows the moral of the story. It's something that is one of the most common, popular, and important parables that our Lord preached. What I'd like to look at instead is the inspiration. Why our Lord preached this particular parable to this particular man. And we can say that the lawyer stood up and asked a question of our Lord. Now, as we know that there are many ways to ask questions. Somebody can ask a question because they just genuinely do not understand. They don't understand a question, and they want to know. But then there's other people who ask a question just to annoy, which happens all too frequently. And we can all think of little kids. Kids following their parents around asking, why? All day long. To everything. Do this. Why? Do that. Why? Please don't do that. Why? That's just because they don't want to accept the will of their fathers, their parents. And so, therefore, they rebel. They reject. And by asking questions. But then there's also a way to ask questions, which is more to lay a snare. And this could be for any number of motives. But this is how. The lawyer is asking a question to our Lord. He is trying to trap him. He's trying to trick him. Which is a very common tactic that the Pharisees and scribes used to try to catch our Lord. And to prove that he is actually a weak person. That he is flawed in his understanding of the scriptures. That he is not what he claims to be. He is not a teacher or a master. But, of course, he is not just a master. He is the. Master. From whom all knowledge comes.
But our Lord does something very interesting. He turns the question right around on the person. So the lawyer says, what must I do to possess eternal life? And our Lord says, well, what is written? What is written for you to do? And he proceeds to very well sum up the entirety of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole mind, with thy whole soul, with all thy strength. And love thy neighbor as thyself. That is, the entirety of the Ten Commandments summed up in two phrases. And our Lord said, very simply, there you have it. So he asked the question already knowing the answer. So our Lord exposed that he was not asking to learn. He was asking for some other purpose. And the man seems slightly chagrined about the fact that our Lord managed to turn it around on him like that. But then turns around and asks another question and says, and who is my neighbor? But he says, I don't know. He doesn't do so for the right purposes again. Someone who does want to understand how he can be charitable with those around him. Who his neighbor is that he can give the love of God to that person. But rather it is to hold himself justified. To present himself as having been justified. I am a good person and so therefore, look, I have been good to people. But just in a way, he's asked the question in a way that he will be proved to be a good person.
But again, our Lord does not fall for the bait. Obviously, he knows what the man is thinking. So instead, he tells him the parable of the Good Samaritan. And specifically, he uses the examples of the priest and the Levite walking past the wounded man. Something which unfortunately would be all too common back then, but also now. Where those who are more spiritually gifted, who are closer to God in so many ways, in material ways, sometimes are also the ones who are more spiritually gifted. And also, it was a rebuke to this young man because he was part of that class. As a lawyer, he was a student of Mosaic Law. He was a scribe. So he was part of the group that worked with the priests and the Pharisees. And so it was a rebuke to him. That those are the kinds of people who will not be charitable. Not because of the priest. Not because of who they are. But because of the mindset that they have. Not all of them. But it's a story. It's a parable. And it's also a warning to this young man. That that is not how he's supposed to have charity. Not just by the materialism of the law. Which goes back to the epistle, by the way. Where the matter of the law killeth, but the spirit quickeneth. This is a question that is constant in the battle of our Lord against the Pharisees. That they have to learn to live the law and not just simply live by the law. Not just materially conform to it, but to actually live it internally.
And so he challenges this person with this story where it's actually a Samaritan. Who is a heretic and not of Jewish bloodline. Who is supposed to be the charitable one here. Who is the charitable one here. Not the priest and not the law. Not the Levite. And this young man answers honestly that the one who is a true neighbor. Who behaved like a true neighbor was the Samaritan. And our Lord commanded him instead of trying to figure out who your neighbor is so you could be good to them. Just be good to whoever you see needs help. That is the lesson there. How the man took the lesson, we don't know. We never hear from him again. But the fact of the matter is what was our Lord rebuking him for? It was not for the Lord. It was not for asking questions. But it was the spirit behind the questions. Far too often we let ourselves fall into this trap of learning things or knowing things or asking things not for the right purposes. And it all comes from the same place. The noise that comes from our own ego. And again, whether it's represented by just the simplistic ego. Of a child who asks why to everything from their parents. Or whether it's a much more convoluted thing of someone who is a scholar like this man. Who is trying to challenge and trying to justify himself before everybody else. Who is trying to challenge the teacher. Who is trying to challenge our Lord Jesus Christ himself. And trying to show to everybody else around that he is justified. That is the problem. Because he can be perfect in the letter of the law. But if he does not have the spirit of the law. And if he is not truly pursuing truth. Genuinely and completely. Then he is still losing the battle. He is still dying inside. As the priest in Levi and the example in the gospel. But also as so many others. As the many times our Lord decried to the Pharisees for being like whited sepulchers. Beautiful on the outside but full of dead men's bones inside. Because they did not have the spirit of the law. They were not enlivened by the charity of God.
So he is cautioning this young man. How this young man took it. We will see. But right now all we know is that we need to be careful to not fall into the same trap. This is a very common thing. Especially shall we say for traditional Catholics. Because we are somewhat set apart. We are different and we have a different understanding of the faith. We know the faith. According to tradition. We have a lot of clarifications which the modern church tends to obfuscate. We have a lot. We have the purity of the doctrine of the church. And of the law of the church. And as a result. We can tend to start to think that that is enough. And it is not. Because what is the purpose of that if it is not enlivened by charity. What is the purpose of that if it is not enlivened by the spirit of God. And how many times do we start conversations with friends and family. Who may be no sort of Catholics. Or they may be Protestants or whatever else. For the purpose of just finding that gotcha question. Where we can actually trap them or whatever else. That is not necessarily charity. How many times do we have discussions with people. Where a lot of the conversation seems to rotate about us showing how intelligent we are. Or well-read we are. Or talented we are. Or whatever else. That is not charity either. How many times do we. Listen to people ranting on the internet. And social media. And whatever else. For the purpose of either looking down on somebody. Because of their opinions. Or to shore up our own opinions by validation. Because somebody else is saying the same thing that we already think. How many times do we fall into that trap? Probably more commonly than we might think. And this is one. One of the biggest issues that we have. In our modern world. Because it comes down to noise. Everybody is always talking. And nobody is ever listening. The reason that everything has just gotten louder. Over the last decade or so. Is because there is all the more voices. People yelling at each other constantly. And nobody is listening. So people start to yell louder. To be able to. Over. To be able to be heard by somebody else. Why are there so many people online doing. Anything but actually something productive. Why are so many people teaching. Everybody else around them. But nobody is actually learning anything. This is a trap. That is easy to fall into. Because we feel like we are doing something good. When we share something. Or when we. When we share something. Or we hear something. That. Can help us to appreciate. Or understand a particular perspective. Or can prove something wrong. Or can strengthen our resolve. In something that is right. That is not what we are supposed to be doing though. That is not the spirit behind it. But it is easy to feel self-justified. Just as this man looked for justification. Before everybody else. By asking the question of who his neighbor is. We also look for the same validation. Within ourselves. We cannot participate in all this noise. We have to teach ourselves to start being quiet. We have to teach ourselves to not get so involved. In the controversies and problems all around us. That are constantly swirling all around us. Because that is the spirit of God. It is one of charity. And also because that way. It is far more difficult for us. To actually fall into. A misguided. Or misguided. Erroneous way of going about. And asking questions. And finding knowledge. Which is very easy to fall into.
Silence and Contemplation
To give an example. When I was stationed in Mexico. We had to start a youth group. For our young people. Because in Guadalajara. The young people. Inspired by a series of sermons. By one of the priests. Not me. I was never in Guadalajara. But they got inspired by a series of sermons. And they decided. The Novus Ordo is so bad. The traditional mass is so good. We are going to go fight the Archbishop himself. Of Guadalajara. To be able to bring the old mass back. We are going to convince him. So. For those who don't know. Guadalajara is in the state of Jalisco. The Jaliscenses are known as being just warriors. They fight anybody. Anytime. For any reason. They just fight. That's what they do. They are the Irish of Mexico. But. But he. This group of young people. Actually got an appointment with the Archbishop of Guadalajara. And they sat down with him. And they started telling him all the horrible things. About the new mass. And all the good things about the old mass. And why it was necessary for him. For the sake of the souls. Under his care. To actually reinstitute the traditional mass. And the new mass. As the principal. And dominant. And only right. In the diocese of Guadalajara. And the Archbishop to his credit. Listened to them. Not a little on. And let them speak their piece. And then he said. Okay. I will take this under advisement. If. One of you can give me the definition of what the mass is. According to your catechism. And not one of them could. They spent all this time learning about the good. Of the traditional mass. And the bad of the new mass. That they lost entirely perspective. Of why the mass. Of what the mass is. They lost entirely the perspective. Of what it is. We are doing at the mass. They learned so much about the mass. Without actually knowing anything about it. And that's the danger we can fall into. So often. And so easily. We can miss the forest for the trees. As they say. We can get lost in the details. And in things that are extraneous. And extra. And miss the point of the essential. If we don't appreciate and understand. The sacrifice of the mass. And the sacrificial aspect of the mass. It's. All the arguments in the world. About the new mass versus the old mass. Don't actually make a lick of difference. It's all about what the mass is. That is essential. And then. Yes. Of course. We should go into. The why's. Why the traditional mass. As opposed to the new mass. Etc. But you have to have a strong foundation first.
It's the same thing. Fighting the outside world. Participating in the noise. That everybody else is making. The polemics. The politics. The socioeconomic situation. Everything else. All of these things. That we can become. Google experts on. So easily. What is the purpose of all of those things? At the end of the day. It's all going to boil down to. Vanity. The same thing that this man was performing. When he was talking to our Lord. Rather. Rather than. Getting involved in all of these things. Here's a little suggestion. Let's work on silence. Instead. Let's work on instead of. Studying. Minute truths. All across the board. Let's learn from truth itself. Instead of reading every book under the sun. Let's like St. Thomas Aquinas. Learn more from the. Cefix. Then from every book he ever read. Instead of asking. The world for questions. We're asking the world for answers. Trying to trip them up. Trying to be the masters of the world. Or the teachers of the world. How about we. Listen to. Our teacher first. There's an old saying. That before you ask. Before you. Answer one question. Ask ten. This is the so-called Socratic method. Socrates didn't start any of those conversations. by trying to convince somebody of his opinion or the truth. He listened to them first, and then he slowly guided them to the point, through questions, of being able to understand why their position was wrong, and to actually start to listen and come to the conclusions through his questions, the proper conclusions.
Our Lord doesn't just rip into this lawyer and tell him how wrong he is. He asks him questions, and he tells him a story, and the man understands. How much he understands, how much it's going to impact his life, we don't know that. But at the very least, it was not about the noise our Lord made. He instructed, but he instructed in a more innocuous way than we tend to now.
The Carthusian order is an order of absolute silence. That is their charism. Absolute silence. They live in hermitages. They live in a community that is almost completely separate. They do almost everything apart, except for pray, and I believe a meal together. That's it. Everything else they do entirely separate and entirely in silence. There are several books published by Carthusian monks. We don't know who they are, because it's always anonymous. Just a Carthusian. And they have some of the most important books. They have some of the most profound and beautiful works on spirituality that you'll ever find. Because it's born out of silence. And they're only allowed to do so when they have mastered silence. They're only allowed to actually publish anything they write when they have mastered their silence. When their superiors accept the fact that they have achieved silence in their spiritual life, and not just lived it in the material fashion.
We who live in the world, we're not supposed to be Carthusians. We're not supposed to. To live that way. But we are supposed to have the same spirit. We are supposed to listen to the master. We are supposed to hear his voice before we share our voice with everybody else. We are supposed to be guided by him. Influenced by him. If we want to learn what charity is, as this young lawyer, then we must learn from charity itself. If we want to know truth, we go to truth itself. If we want wisdom, we go to wisdom. Who is God? That is the only source by which we are going to have true knowledge, true power, true grace, and true charity. For every aspect of our lives.
So while we can't be Carthusians and live our entire lives in silence, how about we work on one very simple thing? Ten minutes a day. God gives you 24 hours in a day. I am sure ten minutes won't break the bank. I am sure you can do that much. Ten minutes of silence. No phones. No distractions. Nobody else around you. Just you and inside God. And your own mind will come up with lots of noise on its own. And you push it down. You silence it. Press mute. Whatever you need to do to shut your own mind up. And you just listen. Put yourselves in the presence of God and listen. Nothing else is needed. This is the core and essence of every prayer. This is how you should be attending Mass, by the by. This is how you should be saying the Rosary. And while not materially silent with vocal prayer, the silence must still be existing in the mind. But as far as just for the purpose of this exercise and this resolution, let's work on just the ten minutes of silent meditation. Each and every one of us, kids included, anybody over seven years old should be able to quiet their mind enough for ten minutes. Hold still long enough for ten minutes. Anybody who has received their first communion should be able to do this. It's an exercise. It's something that needs to be learned and practiced and taught. But until we have the humility to understand that before we can speak grace, we can speak grace. And before we can live charity, and before we can truly be examples of sanctity and Catholicism and truth, we have to receive that from somewhere. As the axiom goes, no one can give what they do not have. And everything we have should be coming from God, not from us.
Conclusion
So if we're going to give charity to a world that is desperate for charity, that is starved of love, if we want to give truth to a world that believes in absolute lies constantly, if we want to be people who give light to the darkness, it's always going to go back to the same result. We have to receive it first. And in order for that to happen, we need to be the ones who shut up and let God do the talking in us. He is there. He lives in us in grace. He lives in us in grace. He lives there within us. And He is always speaking, just as the Eucharist is always present in the church. Even if there's nobody in the pews, even when you're not listening, He is speaking. He is just waiting for you to pay attention. Each and every one of us has that ability to actually have a close and proximate dialogue with God Himself, to hear the words of eternity. But so often, there's so much noise, that we cannot understand what He is saying or perceive His voice. And that needs to be the first thing we work on more than anything else.
So, ten minutes of silence a day. Because if we can become beacons of this silence, we can actually radiate the love and glory of God. And the louder everybody else is in the world, it's so much more essential that we become silent. That we don't add to the noise. The screaming mobs everywhere on YouTube, or even just in our own Facebook feeds or whatever they use anymore. There's just, we need to be producers of silence. The world needs it. We need it. Other souls need it. Because when people see peace, it can bring them calm. And it can help them hear the voice of God themselves. And it can bring them some semblance of joy and happiness as well. Because by doing so, we can actually construct a strong, robust, spiritual life that is influenced by the charity of God. And through that charity, if we truly live it, then we can be imperfect materially. But so long as we live the law of God, then we will have true peace and true joy in this world, and eternal happiness in the next.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.