Dear friends in Christ
As we go through life we come across many cases of people who have been injured and left destitute and half-dead in body and soul. For Jesus, our neighbour is anyone who is close to us and has need of help. In the parable at Mass this weekend, the Good Samaritan gives a foreshadowing of the new commandment that Jesus would teach the night before He died. It was a beautiful teaching about the all encompassing mercy and kindness of God for those who have found themselves fallen on hard times. This can be through their own fault, or through suffering of mind, body or spirit, or as a result of harm inflicted by others. Everyday we meet people like this and we either walk by on the other side of the road or we can stop and minister to such people. The compassion of the Samaritan was not a purely theoretical and ineffective one. On the contrary, he managed to offer the man practical assistance. What he did was not perhaps heroic in itself but it was what the circumstances called for. God places our neighbour, and his needs, along the road of our life. Love is always ready to do whatever the immediate situation demands. It may not be anything dramatic or difficult but is simply a response to someone’s need. Jesus ends His parable by telling us: Go and do the same.
This weekend we welcome to the Parish Fr John Garry who will make an Appeal on behalf of St Patrick’s Missionary Society (Kiltegan Fathers). The Society was founded to support the missionary work of proclaiming the Good News in Nigeria and they now have missionaries in Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, South Sudan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Brazil & Grenada. They concentrate on building up the local church through the establishment of small Christian communities. Please be generous to our brothers and sisters in these poorer countries.
I thank all those who participated in the Annual Parish Meeting last Sunday and especially those who prepared the food and drink for the Garden Party. It was good to have been able to thank the Parish for your continued work and support in that way. May God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale