Journal of Sacred Work

[The following meditation was written by Cathy Self, Sr. V.P. of the Baptist Healing Trust]

The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers… – Saint Therese de Lisieux (left, 1873-1897)

   Religious tradition suggests the Good Samaritan had the
capacity to feel compassion. It seems however that today we are more likely to
act from self-interest. How many times do we, like the travelers in the story
of the Good Samaritan, cross to the other side of the road (albeit sometimes
only figuratively) to avoid the risk or inconvenience of offering our help? Or
do we sometimes reach out to another but still from self-interest in needing to
feel or look good?
   The Good Samaritan parable is part of our healing
story not, perhaps, because we are consistently courageous but because our
hearts want to always act out of love
and compassion….

   My personal experience is that I too often over-think the
circumstances, calculating risks and opportunities sometimes to the point of
immobility. I’ve wondered how I would react today as the first one to arrive on
the scene of an accident – would my instinct and inner heart move me to act
regardless of personal risk or would my head remind me of the “rules” related
to open wounds. When there are risks, courage is called for, but not a courage
that acts from bravado or machismo. Rather we seek a quiet courage that is
evident every day among those who overcome their fears and live the unprotected
life of service in every American city.

   Fr. Thomas Keating wrote of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (left), a
courageous woman who served in every day life. “Thérèse’s idea of God was God
extending his love to everybody. In the last few months of her life she wrote:
‘Love fulfills every vocation.’” According to Keating, we do not have to do
this or that good work, but we do have to do something – that is, respond to what
is at hand and what we can do. “Think then of the enormous potential of this
humble, hidden, but persevering love that consists not in sentiment but in
showing love to those who need it. In the circumstances of daily life, in the
family, at work or wherever just keep showing love. We walk down the street,
talk with people, work, and play. Why not do everything as a way of manifesting
Love? When we go to the movies or to church, or are in a big crowd, why not
open our hearts to everybody and surround them with Love. Or ask ourselves how
we might be reconciled with the members of our family, forgive our enemies, or practice
the various works of mercy. In Thérèse’s view, love is all that counts.”
   You may have heard of an experiment conducted at Princeton University in 1973. A group of trainee
priests were asked to give a talk to other students in another building. On
their way there, one by one, the trainee priests came across a man slumped in a
doorway. Some of them stopped to help, and some didn’t.
   While half the trainee priests in the experiment had been
asked to talk about the Good Samaritan parable, the other half were asked to
talk about something completely different. They had varying moral ideas and
attitudes to their religion which suggested that some would be more likely to
help the stranger, and do what they thought was morally right, than others.
Before the priests came across the stranger in the doorway,
some had been told that they were late for their talk and should hurry. Others
were told they had just enough time, and some were told they had plenty of time
to get there.
   The researchers found that it made absolutely no difference
that some of the trainee priests had been asked to talk about the Good
Samaritan. Nor did the priests’ moral or spiritual outlook affect the results.
The only thing that made a difference was how much of a hurry the trainee
priests were in. 

Of those who had plenty of time, 63 per cent stopped
Of those who were in a moderate hurry, 45 per cent stopped
Of those who were in a great hurry, 10 per cent stopped.

   Many of the trainee priests who didn’t stop to help the man
in the doorway felt shaken up and worried when they arrived at the lecture hall
to give their talk. They felt torn between wanting to help the man and being on
time. The researchers concluded that this inner conflict – and not
heartlessness – might explain why some trainee priests didn’t stop.

Spiritual Exercises: Imagine you’re one of the trainee priests who didn’t stop.
Write a letter to the man in the doorway explaining your reasons for not
stopping and expressing how you feel about it. Do you regret not stopping?
Would you behave differently if something similar happened?
   Imagine you’re the person slumped in the doorway. Write an
inner monologue with your thoughts. How does it feel to be in need of help? How
does it feel when people pass you by without asking if you’re OK? Are you
surprised by how many do? Why do you think they aren’t stopping? Describe how
it feels when a stranger does stop and help.
   If Thérèse is right, Love fulfills every vocation, so we
should have much to share with each other in response. I look forward to
hearing from you.