The Good Samaritan, Romsey Abbey, Hampshire

The familiar parable of the Good Samaritan given us by the Lord in today’s gospel is an illustration of the equally familiar words, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” In Saint Luke’s account of this episode these words are uttered by a lawyer who, seeking to justify himself – that is, to show himself in a good light before others – goes on to ask to ask the Lord, “And who is my neighbour?” In both Saint Mark and Saint Matthew’s account of the same scene, it is the Lord who pronounces these familiar words in response to the lawyers’ enquiry as to the most important commandment in the law. What then can we learn from Saint Luke’s unique presentation? In essence it is this: that the lawyer or scribe, a master of the Mosaic law either way, understood the words of the law, but not their true meaning and application. And that, secondly, Christ truly comes (as he says elsewhere in the scriptures) not to abolish the law, but to fulfil it (Mt. 5:17).

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Cathedral of Mary, Our Queen, Baltimore, MD

God is in his holy habitation; it is he that maketh brethren to be of one mind in an house: he will give the dominion and preeminence unto his people. 

These words from the Introit come from Psalm 67. But what is the Lord’s “holy habitation” and what does it mean for those who dwell in it “to be of one mind”? First, the holy habitation is the household of God. Under the old covenant the Israelites were gathered together into the people of God. Through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross the new covenant extends the mercy of God to all who choose to share in his life. Thus through the gift of baptism all are invited into a personal-passionate relationship with the Lord. Those who respond are joined to the very person of Christ; caught up in the life of the fullness of God, and thus called “no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir” (Gal. 4:7).

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Saint Mary, Boyton, Wilts

Every time we come to the Mass, the Lord in His divine providence nourishes us not just with the awesome gift of His Most Holy Body and Blood, but also with His sacred word. The texts of the Mass, the readings and prayers, speak not only to the mystery we celebrate in general terms, but to the particular celebration in its context. Today’s Mass is no exception. Let us begin with a question: Why have Catholics been so frustrated at not being able to attend Mass during the present health crisis? The answer is, I think, found in liturgy today. First, we recall that the Mass is not a thing. It is not just the best form of prayer (though it is); an activity or something we do. It is not the way Catholics ‘do church,’ in contradistinction to other Christians. Rather, the Mass is the Christian life. It is more than a ritual or ceremony or service; it is the action of God in which we, through baptism, are invited to participate. It does not begin with the Sign of the Cross and end with the Blessing; it is the life of the Most Holy Trinity which, through our incorporation into Christ in baptism, is our life also. So for Catholics the Mass is fundamental; essential. In the present crisis food stores and hospitals have rightly been considered essential by the civil authorities. In a very real sense the Most Holy Eucharist is our food and our health, our salvation.

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