October 5, 2009
Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
This is the word of the LORD that came to Jonah, son of Amittai: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD. Jonah 1:1-3
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. Luke 10:33-34
Piety
Based on Jonah 2:3-10
Lord, help me out of my distress. From the midst of our fast-paced, money-driven world, please answer my call for help, and hear my voice. Sometimes I wanted to cry to you but would not, could not. Now, I can’t hold back my words.
Was it you Lord who cast me into the midst of sinners, into the world of temptation, that closed in around me on all sides? Yet these temptations wooed my attention so when you called, I turned my back on your call.
Despite my abandonment of you, Lord; you did not abandon me. You were there to bring my life out of the depths of despair. Because it was only when I reached the bottom that my penance was complete and my prayer reached you. Never again will I turn my back on you, the source of perfection and mercy. I have heard your call and will answer it because now I know that only through you will I be delivered from evil. Amen.
Study
The word compassion comes from the Latin words “pati” and “cum” which means to suffer with. In popular usage, compassion usually denotes some kinds of positive feelings we have for someone facing hardship. Lately, we may have felt some level of compassion toward the victims of the floods in Georgia, the tsunami in American Samoa or the earthquake in Indonesia. These all evoke our compassion and charities like to capitalize on such emotions by asking us to turn our compassion into contributions. [Note: For example, you can add $1 to your e-Bay transactions for the tsunami victims.]
Although we like to think of compassion as a natural human state, our culture really makes competition the main part of life. Compassion is only called upon when things get out of hand.
Let’s face it. We are conditioned and taught by society to desire is to win, earn, save, survive. Life is more about Darwin (survival of the fittest) than it is about the Golden Rule or the Beatitudes (survival of the least). We even make our reality shows about it. Life is like a game. We win by others losing. We do not want to suffer with the losers. We want to revel with the winners. We want to get the football signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers after the last Super Bowl victory.
Jesus says otherwise. His radical, counter-cultural message is, “Be merciful. Be compassionate. Be perfect as the Father is perfect.” Through compassion, we grow into fully complete and perfect human beings.
The model for this is the Lord himself. Others just try to follow. Jonah is the latest example we have in our readings. Jonah knows and understands fully the message from the Lord. But he CHOOSES to run away. However, what Jonah learns is that no boat, no train, no plane and not even the belly of a whale can take us away from the message and mission that the Lord reveals for us and to us. No hiding place is hidden from the Lord.
The priest and the Levite in the story of the Good Samaritan were like Jonah at the beginning. They CHOSE not to do anything about the needs that were put right in front of them. We can try to rationalize that they did not see but that would just be denying the obvious. They saw and chose not to do anything.
Once again, the Lord portrayed a Samaritan as the model, not a Jew. Perhaps this would be a wake up call to his followers. To the listeners of this parable, it was the unlikely Samaritan whose behavior modeled what the Lord calls us to do.
From the beginning, God did not want to be remote. In the Hebrew Bible, he crafted the garden for Adam and Eve. God invited Abraham to walk with him because God, in turn, wanted to walk with Abraham. When all else failed, Jesus came down to walk among us and invite us on his journey. He shared in the same suffering, injuries, emotions, hungers and hurts that affect every person.
It is only when we makes choices like those of the priest, the Levite and the early Jonah, that we estrange ourselves from the Lord. If we are moved to action based upon our faith and compassion, then we imitate Christ who even while nailed to the cross was moved to compassion for the penitent thief.
Action
Catholic Relief Services and its partners are expanding the emergency response to the horrific series of earthquakes that have left hundreds dead and thousands homeless in Indonesia, while simultaneously continuing our efforts to help victims of flooding in the Philippines and Vietnam, and a devastating tsunami in Samoa.
As the death toll rises in Indonesia and with Typhoon Parma bearing down on the Philippines, CRS is working with church partners and other relief agencies to assess needs and provide immediate assistance.
"We have mobilized, and with our Caritas Catholic church partners, we are providing emergency assistance to the families affected by these disasters," said CRS President Ken Hackett. "These are our brothers and sisters who are in dire need. Our prayers are with them, and we will do all we can to help."
Hackett emphasizes that CRS will still be in these areas working even after the disasters have left the headlines.
"The emergency phase of these disasters will pass quickly," he says. "But the recovery phase will go on for many months."
In addition to the word of CRS, Catholic Charities USA is also helping its sister organization in American Samoa.
The South Pacific region has been devastated by both earthquakes and tsunamis. Caritas Internationalis provides social services in the Pacific Islands, but has no capacity to serve in American Samoa. Catholic Social Services in Pago Pago stands alone in responding to the overwhelming needs of the residents of the U.S. territory of American Samoa.
Catholic Charities USA has reached out to the Bishop of Pago Pago and will support his diocesan efforts to provide humanitarian relief for the victims of this disaster. Please consider supporting this work.
You can donate now to the 2009 Tsunami Fund through Catholic Charities USA or through CRS.
Catholic Charities USA: https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1304
CRS: https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2760&2760.donation=form1
