The compassion of the Samaritan: loving bearing the pain of the other

February 10, 2022

The XXXIV World Day of the Sick will be solemnly celebrated in Chiclayo, Peru, on February 11, 2026. For this reason, I wanted to propose again the image of the good Samaritan, always current and necessary to rediscover the beauty of charity and the social dimension of compassion, to focus attention on the needy and those who suffer, such as the sick.

We have all heard and read this moving text from Saint Luke (cf. MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS 10,25-37). To a doctor of the law who asks who is the neighbor he should love, Jesus responds by telling a story: a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was attacked by thieves and left almost dead; A priest and a Levite passed by, but a Samaritan took pity on him, bandaged his wounds, took him to an inn, and paid for his care. I wanted to propose the reflection of this biblical passage with the hermeneutic key of the Encyclical All brothers, from my dear predecessor the Pope Francisco, where compassion and mercy towards those in need are not reduced to a mere individual effort, but are realized in the relationship: with the brother in need, with those who care for him and, fundamentally, with God who gives us his love.

1. The gift of encounter: the joy of giving closeness and presence

We live immersed in the culture of the fast, the immediate, the rush, as well as the discard and indifference, which prevents us from approaching and stopping along the way to look at the needs and sufferings around us. The parable narrates that the Samaritan, upon seeing the wounded man, did not “pass by”, but rather had an open and attentive look for him, the look of Jesus, which led him to a human and supportive closeness. The Samaritan "stopped, gave him closeness, healed him with his own hands, also put money out of his pocket and took care of him. Above all […] he gave it his time. February 10, 2022 Jesus does not teach who is the neighbor, but as become neighbor, that is, how to become close. 4.23). We can ask ourselves: why this particular attention of Jesus towards the sick, to such an extent that it also becomes the main work of the mission of the apostles, sent by the Master to announce the Gospel and to heal the sick? (cf. In this regard, we can affirm with Saint Augustine that the Lord did not want to teach who was that man's neighbor, but rather to whom he should become a neighbor. For no one is a neighbor to another except when he voluntarily approaches him. Thus, he who showed mercy became a neighbor. [3]

Love is not passive, it goes to meet the other; Being a neighbor does not depend on physical or social closeness, but on the decision to love. Therefore, the Christian becomes a neighbor to the one who suffers, following the example of Christ, the true Divine Samaritan who approached wounded humanity. They are not mere gestures of philanthropy, but signs in which one can perceive that personal participation in the sufferings of others implies giving of oneself, it involves going beyond covering needs, to make our person part of the gift. Let us bless the Lord for the progress that medical science has made, especially in recent times. New technologies have made it possible to develop treatments that are very beneficial for sick people; research continues to make its valuable contribution to eradicating old and new diseases; Rehabilitation medicine has significantly developed its knowledge and skills. All this, however, should not make us forget the uniqueness of each sick person, with their dignity and their frailties. This charity is necessarily nourished by the encounter with Christ, who out of love gave himself for us. Saint Francis explained it very well when, speaking of his encounter with the lepers, he said: "The Lord took me to them." In this context, I wish to reaffirm the importance of Catholic health institutions: they are a precious treasure that must be guarded and sustained; his presence has characterized the history of the Church for his closeness to the poorest sick and the most forgotten situations because through them he had discovered the sweet joy of loving.

The gift of encounter is born from the bond with Jesus Christ, whom we identify as the good Samaritan who has brought us eternal health, and whom we make present when we bow before our wounded brother. Saint Ambrose said: «Since no one is so truly our neighbor as the one who has healed our wounds, let us love him seeing our Lord in him, and let us love him as our neighbor; for there is nothing so close to the members as the head. And let us also love him who is an imitator of Christ, and everyone who is associated with the suffering of the needy for the unity of the body. 5. Pastoral mercy: presence and closeness To be one in the One, in closeness, in presence, in the love received and shared, and enjoy, like Saint Francis, the sweetness of having found it.

2. The shared mission in caring for the sick

Saint Luke continues by saying that the Samaritan “was moved.” Having compassion implies a deep emotion, which moves us to action. It is a feeling that springs from within and leads to commitment to the suffering of others. In this parable, compassion is the distinguishing feature of active love. It is not theoretical or sentimental, it is translated into concrete gestures; the samaritan with about, treatment, takes charge Y take care. But be careful, he does not do it alone, individually, "the Samaritan looked for an innkeeper who could take care of that man, just as we are called to invite and gather together in a "we" that is stronger than the sum of small individualities." [7] I myself have seen, in my experience as a missionary and bishop in Peru, how many people share mercy and compassion in the style of the Samaritan and the innkeeper. Family members, neighbors, health workers, health pastoral agents and many others who stop, approach, heal, carry, accompany and offer of their own, give compassion a social dimension. This experience, which takes place in a network of relationships, goes beyond mere individual commitment. In this way, in the Apostolic Exhortation I loved you I have not only referred to the care of the sick as an “important part” of the Church's mission, but as an authentic “ecclesial action” (n. 49). In it he cited Saint Cyprian to see how in that dimension we can verify the health of our society: "This epidemic that seems so horrible and disastrous tests the justice of each person and examines the spirit of men, verifying if the healthy serve the sick, if relatives sincerely love each other, if the masters have mercy on the sick servants, if the doctors do not abandon the sick who implore." [8]

Being one in the One means feeling truly members of a body in which we carry, according to our own vocation, the compassion of the Lord for the suffering of all men. [9] What's more, the pain that moves us is not someone else's pain, it is the pain of a member of our own body to which our Head tells us to go for the good of all. In that sense it is identified with the pain of Christ and, offered in a Christian way, accelerates the fulfillment of the Savior's own prayer for the unity of all. [10]

3. Always moved by the love of God, to find ourselves and our brother

In the double commandment: «You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself" ( MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS 10:27), we can recognize the primacy of love for God and its direct consequence with man's way of loving and relating in all its dimensions. «Love of neighbor represents tangible proof of the authenticity of love for God, as the apostle John asserts: “No one has ever seen God: if we love one another, God remains in us and the love of God has reached its fullness in us. […] God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” ( 1 Jn 4,12.16)». [11] Although the object of that love is different: God, one's neighbor and oneself, and, in that sense, we can understand them as different loves, they are always inseparable. [12] The primacy of divine love means that man's action is carried out without personal interest or reward, but as a manifestation of a love that transcends ritual norms and is translated into authentic worship: serving one's neighbor is loving God in practice. [13]

This dimension also allows us to contrast what it means to love oneself. It means moving away from us the interest of basing our self-esteem or sense of our own dignity on stereotypes of success, career, position or lineage. [14] and recover our own position before God and before our brother. He said Benedict XVI that «the human creature, as a spiritual nature, is realized in interpersonal relationships. The more you live them authentically, the more you also mature in your own personal identity. "Man values ​​himself not by isolating himself but by putting himself in relationship with others and with God." [15]

Dear brothers and sisters, "the true remedy for humanity's wounds is a lifestyle based on brotherly love, which is rooted in the love of God." [16] I strongly hope that this fraternal, “Samaritan” dimension, inclusive, courageous, committed and supportive, which has its most intimate roots in our union with God, in faith in Jesus Christ, is never missing from our Christian lifestyle. Ignited by that divine love, we will be able to truly give ourselves to all who suffer, especially our sick, elderly and afflicted brothers.

Let us raise our prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick; Let us ask for your help for all those who suffer, those in need of compassion, listening and comfort, and let us beg your intercession with this ancient prayer, which was prayed as a family for those who live in illness and pain:

Sweet Mother, don't go away,
Don't take your eyes off me.
come with me everywhere
and never just leave me.
Since you protect me so much
like a true mother,
May the Father bless me,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I wholeheartedly impart my apostolic blessing to all the sick, to their families and to those who care for them, to health workers, to health pastoral workers, and especially to those who participate in this World Day of the Sick.

Vatican, January 13, 2026

LE ONE PP. XIV