DAILY HOMILIES #needy

Never think your problems are the biggest. We all are carrying various crosses. We need each other. No one is too poor that he has nothing to give and no one is so rich that he has no need for help. Look beyond your challenges, and listen to the cries all around you. Be a good Samaritan, don’t just pass by. Don’t just point fingers. Help someone.

Go out of your way to help people in very critical situations and then disappear. Take some money, rush to the nearest hospital and pay the bills of someone who has no hope of paying, then, just leave quietly. Your act of kindness can trigger a positive chain reaction leading to even greater deeds of kindness.

Whatever may have caused the priest and the Levite to pass this man by, Jesus did not tell us but Jesus only mentioned that they failed to help the man. When it comes to helping the needy, no excuse is valid. Think of this, that person you see in need of your help today may just be your last chance. He or she may have been sent your way to test you. Do not keep on till tomorrow what you can do today. One thing that tends to prevent us from helping others is bitterness. You may have been hurt in the past, perhaps in your attempt to be kind to others, they repaid your good with evil, and so on. Remember, that person may just be you and you too would expect someone to help you. As Moses tells us in our first reading, we don’t need somebody to go to heaven to bring down God’s commandments, they are right in our hearts. Listen to your heart. Follow your conscience. Help, don’t hinder. Go and do like the Samaritan.