From the Gospel of John    45 
    God wants true worship in spirit and truth. In the course of His ministry, 
Jesus praised some Samaritans for their faith and good works. When Jesus 
healed the ten lepers (Luke 17:11 19), the only one who returned to give 
thanks was a Samaritan. Jesus praised the Samaritan for his faith and held 
him up as an example for Christians everywhere. The other nine who were 
healed were presumably Jews. And so, this passage is also a criticism of 
those Catholics who are lacking in faith and in thanksgiving to God. 
    Again, in the well known story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29 37), 
Jesus praises a Samaritan for his work of mercy. Jesus is referring 
symbolically to Protestants, who do not believe all that the Church teaches, 
but who nevertheless do good works for God. Notice that a priest and a 
Levite both see the man who was robbed and beaten, yet they refuse to help 
him. The priest and Levite represent those members of the clergy and the 
religious life who refrain from doing works of mercy, who ignore those in 
need. 
    Here too, is a lesson for Catholic Christians. It is not enough to believe all 
that the Church teaches, you must also live that teaching. Jesus praises the 
Samaritan for his good work even though the Samaritan followed a different 
version of the Jewish faith than Jesus Himself followed. Though the 
Samaritan was wrong in some of his religious beliefs, Jesus still holds up his 
work of mercy as a good example for Christians of every age. Faith and 
good works are found among Protestants as well as Catholics. 
    Jesus has a conversation  with the Samaritan woman about her five 
husbands and the man who is not her husband (John 4:16 19). This 
conversation refers symbolically to the failure of some of the Protestant 
Churches to fully observe God's commandments on chastity and marriage. 
    Notice that the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman 
takes place at a certain time:  It was about the sixth hour.  (John 4:6). Later 
in this same Gospel, during the account of Jesus' Crucifixion, Holy 
Scripture repeats these same words:  it was about the sixth hour.  (John 
19:14). Clearly, this phrase is meant to connect the story of the Samaritan 
woman with the Crucifixion. 
    What is the connection? It is a commentary on the divisions within the 
Church, discussed symbolically by Jesus and the Samaritan woman, which 
will exist at the time of the Church's Crucifixion (Zechariah 11:13 14). 
Jesus,  wearied as he was with his journey,  (John 4:6) refers to the Church 
wearied by its journey through time. It also means that the unification of 
Christians in one Church occurs during a time of suffering for the Church. 






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