14 JULY (Lk 10,25-37)

You cannot love your neighbor if you do not have the eternal principle of charity. This principle teaches that God is love. God covers all with his love, his charity, compassion, mercy, piety, support, providence, truth, justice and loyalty. Being the man in the image and likeness of God, if he wants to be a true man he must love. If he does not love, he is not a true man. Who says he is a true man and does not love, he deceives himself and the whole world.

Who divides men and separates them from each other, he does not love, because love unites people and never divides them. Christ Jesus really loves us, because He has come to make of all men one family. This eternal principle of love applies also to politics. The Christian politician is for the good of the entire man – spirit, soul and body – and of all men. Love is the total gift of the self for the total good of the other. This is the teaching that Christ the Lord has left us.

For man there must not be friends and enemies, near and far, neighbour and stranger. For man there must only be the man. It is man who must be loved, supported, helped, sustained and forgiven. It is for man that one has to give life, all his life, without asking anything in return. For man all activities, even the most sacred and holy must cease, for the Lord interrupts his heavenly liturgy and comes to the rescue of us that ran into bandits and are left on the edge of eternity, without any possibility of being able to advance towards the kingdom of heaven.

Who wants eternal life now knows what to do. Imitating Christ the Lord that interrupts his eternal joy, comes onto our way, comes down from his heavenly beast, bends over us, for us he pays all debts of justice, he puts us back in spiritual and physical health, he gives himself to us as food and drink of eternal life. He does all this for us that we were ungodly, sinners, his avowed enemies. Never might who does not imitate Jesus hope to enter into his kingdom of love. We have to turn into love, if we want to enjoy his divine and eternal love. Love feeds on love, is nurtured on love.

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. 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. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Today, Jesus puts love of neighbor the supreme occupations of men. No other occupation is as high as this. All other occupations are aimed at loving man in his actual historical condition. Before Jesus the supreme occupation was worship in the holy temple of God. Jesus left the heavenly holy temple in order to rescue the battered man in his soul, in his spirit and in his body. If Jesus did this, even the priest might leave it. He might delay the sacred offering. This truth is not yet part of our Christian mentality. We shut ourselves up in the temple, in many temples, while outside man lies on the road with no one to put him back on the path toward the fulfillment of his journey, whose destination is eternity.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints teach us this truth.