S1 Ep. 21: Love, Mercy, and the Innocence Within

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

In this episode, we turn our hearts to one of the most familiar and challenging parables in all of Scripture: the story of the Good Samaritan. Found in Luke’s Gospel, it begins with a question posed to Jesus: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus, as he often does, responds with another question, pointing us not just to law, but to innocence and love.

The parable that follows confronts us with a truth that transcends time: that mercy knows no boundary, and compassion recognizes no category of “other.” It invites us to ask: Who is my neighbor? And even more, am I willing to be a neighbor, especially when it costs me something?

Let’s join Father Mark as he reflects on what it truly means to “go and do likewise.”

“Love, Mercy, and the Innocence Within,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

We know, as we listen to what is revealed to us in sacred scripture, that human beings came into this world in a spirit of innocence; in a spirit of innocence. Prior to that first sin, there was no such thing as shame or guilt or even inhibition. All those things came as a result of sin. And so when God creates us, and indeed when God creates the entire world, he does so infusing it with innocence; innocence.

Now, why is it important to understand that particular concept? Because unless we do, then we really can't figure out how to act in this world as God would want us to act. Let's look at innocence for a moment.

We can say that over the course of time, as human beings have been on this planet, we've seen a loss of innocence. We can certainly conclude that, as we live in our world today, true innocence is even hard to come by. And there are different types of innocence for sure, so losing that innocence not only always is a bad thing, it can be good as well. One type of innocence we can call tangible innocence. And I call tangible innocence the practical innocence we bring to the world. So we learn, as a child, for example, that as we innocently try to touch a hot stove, that we're going to get burned. And so the innocence we brought to that initial act is curtailed because we've learned something about a hot stove that is hurtful to us. So the next time we're going to be less apt to readily extend our hand in that same fashion. Likewise, as we approach a cliff, someone who is purely innocent may not realize that if you do so, you're going to fall if you aren't careful about how you do that. And so as we learn more about ourselves as human beings, that practical innocence is lessened because it's replaced with knowledge, and that knowledge gives us a different sense of self-assurance and possession, which is a good thing.

But then there's another kind of innocence, and we'll call that personal innocence. And personal innocence is that kind of innocence we bring to our relationships. It's rooted ultimately in our ability to trust. And so if a child, for example, will run with self-abandon to an adult eager to extend and receive an embrace without worry about any consequences, and such. A child will innocently play and seemingly waste time savoring the beauty of life, not giving a care to agendas and tasks. And Jesus reminds us that we must become childlike. In other words, we must restore that personal innocence within our heart and soul. Because what happens is that as we journey through life, if we're not careful about this, we can allow our own personal experiences and the ways of the world to cause us to lose our personal innocence. We can find ourselves living life with a much more guarded attitude. We can find ourselves less willing to reach out. We may be very cautious about establishing relationships because we've been hurt so many times. We find ourselves becoming very self-protective, worrying first about our own agendas and less about the agenda of the other. And so this loss of personal innocence can really affect our relationships. But unless we restore it, we're not going to really understand God's commandments because those commandments are written in our hearts, and in our souls, and are rooted in that personal innocence. So if we're going to be able to carry out God's commandments fully, then we need to, in Jesus Christ, restore that lost innocence, and only Jesus Christ can do that for us. We can't do that ourselves.

And this, I think, is the pearl of wisdom, as someone like St. Francis of Assisi stumbled upon, because God's laws are not complicated. They're very practical, they're very reasonable, and they're very wise. And a lot of times, the reason we don't always succeed at doing them is because of this loss of personal interest; it makes it difficult for us to carry them out.

Whereas St. Francis of Assisi was able to get to the heart and soul of the matter, and he realized that this innocence exists in all of creation: in the stars, in the moon, in the flowers, in the souls of people, in the very essence of human life. And he was able to stand in awe of God's creation, not only respecting it, but giving it due reverence.

It allowed St. Francis of Assisi and others who have uncovered this pearl of wisdom to act with love and mercy without condition, without regard for personal needs and convictions. They could see through the error of prejudice. They could see beyond the limitations of self-preservation. They weren't tangled by the tethers of selfishness, and they were able to live lives of mercy and of compassion.

You see, the problem is, is that we're all responsible not only for God's creation, but for one another. And God gives us the ability to live his law; a law that is practical, reasonable, and wise; a law that is rooted in mercy and compassion; a law that allows us to act accordingly. And if we do not do so, without doubt, there are consequences. People will be hurt, people will be rejected, people will be marginalized, and yes, people will even die. God gives us the ability on the road of life as we journey along the way and experience what comes to us along that road, the wisdom through Jesus Christ to act accordingly.

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.