The parable of the Good Samaritan is about seeing, said Pope Leo XIV in his homily delivered on July 13 in the parish of St. Thomas Villanova in Castel Gandolfo. "How we look at others is what counts, because it shows what is in our hearts."
The Pope noted how in this parable, we are told that "a priest and a Levite 'saw him and passed by' (v. 32). Of the Samaritan, however, the Gospel says, 'he saw him and had compassion on him' (v. 33)."
We, too, the Pope said, "can look and walk by, or we can look and be moved with compassion."
There is a kind of seeing that is superficial, distracted and hasty, a way of seeing while pretending not to see. We can see without being touched or challenged by the sight. Then too, there is seeing with the eyes of the heart, looking more closely, empathizing with the other, sharing his or her experience, letting ourselves be touched and challenged. This way of seeing calls into question the way we live our life and the responsibility we feel towards others."
In fact, the parable is about how God sees us, the Pope explained, "so that we in turn can learn how to see situations and people with his eyes, so full of love and compassion."
In his homily, the Pope quoted St. Augustine, as well as Pope Francis, and Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth series.
"The Good Samaritan is really a figure of Jesus," the Holy Father said, "the eternal Son whom the Father sent into our history precisely because he regarded humanity with compassion and did not walk by."
What do we do? Do we look and walk by, or do we open our hearts to others, like the Samaritan? Are we content at times merely to do our duty, or to regard as our neighbor only those who are part of our group, who think like us, who share our same nationality or religion?
Jesus overturns this way of thinking by presenting us with a Samaritan, a foreigner or heretic, who acts as a neighbor to that wounded man. And he asks us to do the same.
And that is why this is such a challenging parable, the Pope acknowledged.
If Christ shows us the face of a compassionate God, then to believe in him and to be his disciples means allowing ourselves to be changed and to take on his same feelings. It means learning to have a heart that is moved, eyes that see and do not look away, hands that help others and soothe their wounds, shoulders that bear the burden of those in need.
The papal parish of Castel Gandolfo
The parish of St. Thomas Villanova in Castel Gandolfo is located a few meters from the Apostolic Palace, in a collegiate church built in the 17th century by Bernini. It is named after a 16th-century Spanish Augustinian religious, archbishop of Valencia.
This saint gives his name to Villanova University, the Pennsylvania university run by the Order of St. Augustine that Robert Francis Prevost attended in the 1970s.
In the same way that the two pontifical parishes of St. Peter's Basilica and St. Anne's Church in the Vatican are responsible for pastoral care in Vatican City, the pontifical parish of St. Thomas is responsible for pastoral care within the papal villas of Castel Gandolfo. Located in an extraterritorial area, it depends on the vicariate general of Vatican City, whose current vicar is Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who is also archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica.
Gifts from the locals
At the end of Mass, the parishioners of Castel Gandolfo presented him with several gifts. The pontiff, a great tennis fan, received a white cap embroidered with his motto (In Illo Uno Unum), which he will be able to wear when playing the sport — the papal villas in Castel Gandolfo have a tennis court.
He was also given a ball, T-shirts, and two baskets of pastries.
The Pope, for his part, presented the parish priest with a chalice.
At noon Leo XIV led the Angelus prayer for the inhabitants of Castel Gandolfo, who, despite the rain, had already gathered in large numbers in the morning in the Piazza della Libertà, in front of the apostolic palace.
The last official address by a pope to the people of Castel Gandolfo was on February 28, 2013, the last day of Benedict XVI's pontificate.
Pope Leo is staying in Castel Gandolfo for two weeks to rest, but also to pray and reflect in preparation for the start of the new year. He is staying in Villa Barberini, one of the papal villas, and not in the Apostolic Palace, which Pope Francis has converted into a museum.
Next Sunday, he will travel to Albano, to the cathedral of the diocese where Castel Gandolfo is located. This cathedral was also his titular parish as cardinal for a few months before his election; upon his election as pope, he transferred the title to Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle.
Read the entire homily here.
