Countdown to Glory - 22 days

Posted on October 04, 2010 by dustin (The 16-bit Catholic)

With 22 days until The Predicament turns 39, we thought we'd start a countdown of sorts (what happened to our countdown this weekend? I had a very busy weekend since I'm moving to Pennsylvania on Thursday, and the bumper on my car fell off). The goal? Take each day's readings and find a way to apply one of the passages to the life of Lino Rulli. And then, we have something VERY special waiting for Lino on October 26...and no, it won't require a restraining order. Yes, we would have done a 39-day countdown since he'll turn 39, but we're not paid for this, and as such, we show signs of laziness now and then, much to our amusement Lino's annoyance. Enjoy!


Lk 10:25-37








There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

I'm trying to figure out whether this parable that Jesus teaches, or the story of the Prodigal Son, is the most famous parable. We all know the story. A man is beaten and left for dead, ignored by the holy ones, and it ends up being a Samaritan, a despised man, who helps the beaten traveler. The phrase gets tossed around like crazy: any time someone does something nice for another, they're called A Good Samaritan.

Is Lino a Good Samaritan? Would he help someone in need? The answer is an emphatic yes. Lino finds way to incorporate charitable giving on the show, taking suggestions from callers during Christmas on what charities he should donate to. He invites the likes of Fr. Rob and Fr. Jim to appear with him on the radio. And of all the sins Lino mentions that he's guilty of (there's a lot of them!), he never mentions tithing, so he's good there.

In fact, Lino get's his reputation as a Good Samaritan by the way he treated his former producer Maureen McMurray. When Maureen was left for dead by National Public Radio and Martha Stewart Living, Lino, despised as he may be by the Liberal community, was there to help. He took her in, gave her a job producing radio programming. It was through this breath of kindness that The Catholic Guy became what it is known for today: Top quality programming from Lino, Lou, and Maureen.

All thanks to the generosity of Rulli.




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