Quotes of the Day for May 7, 2021 – Thoughts on the healing nature of service, love, and compassion

“Indeed, Peter and John place no faith in their own abilities [Acts 3:1-8]. They trust wholly in Christ’s authority. They give what they know: the compassion of Jesus. They trust in Him that everyone should be healed and brought to the knowledge of the living God. They expect Christ, their Risen Lord, to act. Full of faith, they take the lame man by the hand and lift him up (Acts 3:7). To all who come attentively to the Church, the Lord extends His hand for our healing.” (Dynamis 5/7/2021)

“People who are recovering from severe injuries must cooperate with their physicians and therapists in order to become well. They have to take their medicine, exercise, and accept other inconvenient and painful disciplines in order to regain good health and function. In order to grow in our ability to receive the Savior at His birth and to manifest His compassionate love to our neighbors, we must approach the Christian life with even greater dedication.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)

“Despite the fact that it is often assumed (or claimed) that the neighbor in this story is the wounded traveler, this is not what Luke is reporting. Rather, he lets us know that the Samaritan has made himself a neighbor to the wounded man...This is no small difference…if the wounded traveler is the neighbor, he has become so by the Samaritan’s unilateral action and remains a passive recipient of the Samaritan’s kindness. But…if by his gesture of kindness and compassion the Samaritan has declared himself the neighbor of the wounded traveler, then a dynamic dimension is added to the equation. The Samaritan acts as a neighbor. He has made a clear gesture to establish a bond of friendship with a Jew, whose people are traditional enemies of the Samaritan people. The parable of the Good Samaritan should be seen not as concerned with disinterested love alone but also as indicating a path that may lead to friendship, neighborly relations, and even reconciliation between enemies.” (Vigen Guroian)

“Are we willing to serve unconditionally? When we do something for others, do we do without the expectation that the recipient of our deed is obligated to respond with great appreciation and gratitude? Are we like the good Samaritan who not only helped his enemy, but did so without expectations? It is not only what we do that is important, but also how we choose to serve that matters. Christ oftentimes performed great miracles of healing and only asked of those who were healed that they not tell others of his mercy and compassion.” (Fr. Andrew Demotses) 

“St. Gregory sees mercy "as the opposite of cruelty." To practice mercy, individuals must be softened in soul. Psychologists would consider this understanding to be related to empathy. Empathy is the ability to think and feel what the other is thinking and feeling…It is only when fostering this ability that mankind can apply mercy, that is to say, attempt to heal the ills of others. Spiritually, mercy is related to compassion…Compassion is the deep awareness of the suffering of others coupled with the desire to relieve it…Compassion is a precursor of love (agape). Love is what we do for the good and welfare of others. How can we love, how can we work for the good and welfare of others, if we are not aware of their suffering nor have a desire to relieve it? We love others only if we can first sense their needs…God's love is called ‘agape.’ The basic understanding of love as agape is that it is an attitude, a heartfelt intention and a set of actions that are aimed at the good and welfare of the other.” (Fr. George Morelli, St. Gregory of Nyssa)

#Dynamis #FrPhilipLeMasters #VigenGuroian #FrAndrewDemotses #StGregoryofNyssa