God had arranged that one of the lepers was a Samaritan. In this manner, He wished to show us that His desire is to unite all people together as one. He has called us all to become one in His Mystical Body — the Church. The Church and God are as husband and wife. If we offend against one, we automatically offend against the other. The idolater who offends the Father is the same as the heretic or schismatic that offends the Church. If we wish to unite with God, we must become united with His Bride, the Church. All who desire to return to God and to spiritual health, must first return to the Church, by showing themselves to the priests.
It is God who does everything, the priests (the Church) only administer His graces as a wife administers the possessions of her husband. The husband could administer his possessions himself, but he has taken a wife whom he loves and trusts, and all that he has, he entrusts to her. The same is true with God and the Church. God can administer His graces without the Church or even outside the Church. However, He loves the Church, and has entrusted all He has to Her care and administration. The husband and wife are one; and God and the Church are One. To love God is to love His Bride — the Church; and to love the Church is to love Her Spouse — God. Therefore, whoever wishes to come to God, He sends first to the Church.
If we consider leprosy as sin, then we are all in need of healing because we are all sinners. Therefore, we must all come to the Church, by showing ourselves to the priests. Once, we have received the healing graces, we must remember that the grace that came to us through the priests (the Church) is not from men or even from the Bride (the Church), but is from God. We must therefore come to the Church, but we must in doing so always give thanks to God. It is He that has supplied the graces, and it is He that has given us the Church. The human priests are but His instruments. We must be careful. The priests are often tempted to attribute the works that God performs through their hands to themselves; and the laity are often tempted to show their appreciation only to the priests, forgetting that all honour and glory belong to God. The Church is not insulted when we receive God's grace from Her hands and then return to give thanks to God. On the contrary, She is honored all the more by this. Nor, is God insulted when we turn to the Church in repentance so that we may be healed — He is honored and pleased that we love and trust His Bride as well as Himself.
St. Augustine also considers the Church as the hen protecting her chicks. When Our Lord wept over Jerusalem He lamented that: He would have gathered them all together and protected them; as a hen would her chicks, but they would not. The Church as the Bride or Mystical Body of Christ is as this hen. It is under the wings of the Church that we will be safe and secure. The unfledged chick that is without a mother hen is in constant danger from all kinds of predators. The person that is outside the Church is in constant spiritual danger from every kind of evil. Under the wings of the hen a chick is safe and protected; inside the Church our souls are safe and protected.
The Pagan is lost because he has rejected God, the heretics and schismatics are lost because they have rejected God's Spouse — Our Holy Mother the Church. The solution is simple: they must both cry out to God for help. In hearing their prayers, God will send them to the Church. In obeying this direction of God's we are healed, but we are not made whole until we return thanks to God. We should thank Him for the healing of our souls and for giving us His Bride as our Holy Mother. We must not forget God when we enter the Church. Our fallen nature often sees the works of God coming to us through the hands of men and we forget that it is God working through them. We are thus tempted to give the praise and honour to men rather than to God and thus become guilty of idolatry. And some have even become so self-absorbed that they never even think of showing any gratitude for the good things they have received. May we all learn from the Samaritan leper in today's Gospel. We must call out to Christ, show ourselves to the priests (enter the Church), and then return to Christ in humble thanksgiving. Always, we must realise that God works through His Church so intimately that They are One, as the husband and wife are one.