“Good Isn’t Good Enough”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
July 13-14, 2019
Scripture: Luke 10:25-37
I meet a lot of people in my travels and, sometimes, I think my Roman collar intimidates them. They make sure to tell me that they are good Catholics who go to Mass every Sunday and keep the Commandments. I don’t have the heart to ask them if they also go to Mass on holy days of obligation. Although they don’t rob and kill, is that the standard God gave us? No!. We are not only called to be good, but to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Being good is merely baby steps to salvation. Now, some people become overly pious by praying so much that they don’t have time for their families. Likewise, there have been people who beat themselves as a penance to show remorse for sin. The Church has said that we are not to do that. Also, if someone tells me they went to confession and the priest gave them as their penance to say 21 Hail Mary’s, I will call foul. The maximum allowed to be given is ten. That’s a written rule in black and white.
Going to confession once a year and tithing are the minimum and fulfill the law. However, they are only guidelines. Love goes far beyond that. It is giving all to the one you love. On their wedding anniversary, husbands usually give their wives a card. That’s the bare minimum. Do they show their love throughout the year or just on their anniversary? Christ gives us total love – daily – in the Mass and the Sacraments. During Lent, we think it’s simply terrible that we have to give up hamburgers and tacos on Fridays. But, when we love someone, we will make any sacrifice for them. And, we don’t think of it as a burden; instead, it’s our gift to them. For example, parents don’t really relish changing diapers or getting spit-up on; but, we love our children, and would do anything for them.
When you read the parable of the Good Samaritan, remember we need to read scripture with the time period in which it was written in mind. In the parable, a man was beaten, robbed, and left for dead. Both a Levite and priest passed the man on the opposite side of the road and did not help him. According to biblical law, they were not required to help the man because they were not on the same side of the road. Our Lord said “No.” We must go above and beyond the law. We must love our neighbor, and love is not doing only what the law requires. Love demands all. We must love totally and without reservation. Often, priests will say they have said their prayers and visited the sick. However, that is their job. What have they done beyond that? The answer is where their love lies.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you show your love by doing more than the bare minimum?