Posted on 07/13/2013 8:08:33 PM PDT by Salvation
July 14, 2013
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Dt 30:10-14
Moses said to the people:
“If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God,
and keep his commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul.
“For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
R. (cf. 33) Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness:
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
I am afflicted and in pain;
let your saving help, O God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
The descendants of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall inhabit it.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
R.(9a) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
Reading 2 Col 1:15-20
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
Gospel Lk 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him 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.”
If we are not careful, the Gospel today could easily be reduced to a a kind of moralism which says, in effect, Help people in trouble .be kind to strangers etc. While these are certainly good thoughts, this gospel, I would argue, is about far deeper things than mere human kindness or ethics. This is a gospel about the transformative power of Gods love and of our need to receive it.It is not a gospel that can be understood as a demand of the flesh, it is a Gospel that describes the transformative power of Gods love.
Lets look at the Gospel in three stages.
I. The Radical Requirements of Love - As the Gospel opens there is a discussion between Jesus and a scholar of the Law as to a basic summation of the Law. The text says, There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him 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.
The Shema, a summary of the Law, known to every Jew is quoted by the lawyer here. And it will be noted how often the word all occurs. There is a radicality to the call of love that cannot be avoided. When it comes to love there is no mere call to give what is reasonable, to give, a little, perhaps even a tithe. No, the call is to give God ALL our heart, mind, being and strength. And we are to love our neighbor as though thy were our very self.
Now as we shall see in a minute, our flesh recoils at this sort of open demand and wants immediately to qualify and quantify it somehow.The flesh seeks refuge in law and says, What is the minimum, what is the bottom line, what is the least I can do to meet the requirements and qualify?
But love is, by its nature open-ended and generous. Love is extravagant and wants to do more. Love seeks the beloved and wants to please, wants to care. A young man who loves his fiance does not say, What is the cheapest gift I can get you for your birthday? Rather no, he will see an opportunity to show his love and may even spend too much. Love does not think, What is the least I can do? Love says, What more can I do? Love is expansive and extravagant.
And thus the great Shema speaks to the open-ended and extravagant quality of love.
But as we have already noted, the flesh, that fallen and sin soaked part of our nature recoils at such expansive talk and, as we shall now see, brings the stingy lawyer out in us that negotiates for lesser terms.
II. The Reductionism that Resists Love - Having given the beautiful answer of love our lawyer (and there is a lawyer in all of us) now reverts to form and speaks out of his flesh. The text says, But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
In other words, Look, if I have to love my neighbor, lets get this category as small and manageable as possible.
Note how quickly he has retreated into a kind of fearful reaction to the broad expanse of love. His fear is likely rooted in the fact that he has reduced the Shema into a moralism, as if he, out of his own flesh power had to pull the whole thing off. And thus he recoils and demands terms of surrender. Since he thinks he has to do, he need to get its scope into the range of something HE can do. And thus perhaps he is willing to consider the people on his block to be his neighbor. But two or three blocks away, well that is just too much.
So the fearful lawyer in him has started negotiating a kind of debt relief where he seeks to define down the category neighbor. As we shall see, the Lord is not buying it, and will expand it even farther than the Jewish notions of his day.
Now, to be fair to the lawyer in this passage, there is a lawyer in all of us suing for terms of settlement. And while it is not wrong for us to ask for guidance in specifying the law a bit, we all know that the lawyer in all of us is really seeking more to evade the demands, than fulfill them.
In a way we are all like the typical teenager. Every teenager, without having gone to law school is a natural lawyer. Give a teenager a rule, and they will parse every nuance of it to seek to avoid its demands, or to water it down in some sense.
Some years ago I was teaching 7th grade religion in our Catholic school. I told the kids, Do your work, and no talking. Within moments a young lady started singing. Interestingly her name was Carmen (which means song in Latin). When I rebuked her for breaking the no-talking rule she replied, I wasnt talking, I was singing and you didnt say anything about singing. Yes, a natural born lawyer.
I remember too my thoughts in high school that I couldnt break the 6th commandment (forbidding adultery) since I wasnt married and certainly wouldnt be intimate with a married woman since they were all old. Yes, the lawyer at work in me, but answered by Jesus in Matt 5:27-30.
And this is how we are in our rebellious, fearful and resentful flesh. Hearing a law, we go to work at once and seek to hyper-specify it, parse every word, seek every nuance and try to evade its vision in every way possible. If we are going to follow it at all, we seek the minimum possible outlay of effort.
So often Catholics and other Christians talk more like lawyers than lovers: Do I have to go to confession? How often? Do I have to pray, how long!? Do I have to give to the poor? How much? How come I cant do something? Its not so bad everyone else is doing it ..
Sometimes too we seek to reduce holiness to perfunctory religious observance. Look, I go to Mass, I put something in the collection, I said my prayers .what more do you want? Perhaps we think, in a way, that if we do certain ritual observances which are good in themselves and required, that we have bought God off and do not need to look at other matters in our life. And thus the thinking is that since I go to Mass and say a few prayers, I have checked off the God-box and dont really need to look at my lack of forgiveness, my harsh tongue, or lack of generosity.
This is reductionism. It is the lawyer at work in all of us seeking to evade the extravagance of love by hiding behind some legal minimalism. It emerges from a kind of fear generated by the notion that I, by my own unaided flesh power, am supposed to pull this whole thing off. No, actually you cant. But God can, and this is why he commands it of us.
Our fleshly notions have to die, and our spirit must come alive with the virtue of hope that relies trustingly on Gods grace to bring a vigorous and loving response alive in us. Law and the flesh say, What are the minimum requirements? Love says, What more can I do?
Here is the gift of a loving heart that we must seek. And of this gift, the lord now paints a picture.
III. The Response that Reflects Love - The Lord then paints a picture of what his love and grace can do in someone. The text says, 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.
Now, there is a very important phrase that must not be missed, for it gives the key to the Samaritan mans actions. The phrase is was moved. Note that the verb was moved is in the passive voice, he WAS moved. That is to say it was not so much he who acted, but that he was acted upon.
More specifically, Love and grace have moved within him and are moving him. The Greek verb here is ἐσπλαγχνίσθη (esplagchnisthe), a third person singular passive verb, meaning to be deeply moved, or to be moved to compassion. The verb is also in the aorist tense signifying something that has happened but also has a kind of on-going action.
Why is this phrase was moved so important? Because it indicates for us the gift of grace. So many of our fears about what God asks, and love demands, are rooted in a notion that we must do them out of our own flesh. No, that is not the gospel. In the New Covenant the keeping of the Law is received, not achieved. The keeping of the Commandments is a work of God in us to which we yield. To keep the commandments and fulfill the Law is the result of love, not the cause of it.
We do not know the Samaritans history, the Lord does not supply it, and since this is only a story, the Samaritan is only a literary figure.
But for us, the teaching must be clear: Our receiving and experiencing of Love is and must be the basis of our keeping of the Law. Having experienced and received Gods love for us equips, empowers and enables us to respond extravagantly as joyful lovers, rather than fearful lawyers.
Love lightens every load. When we love God, and when we love people, we want to do what love requires. And even if there are difficulties involved, love makes us eager to respond anyway.
Many years ago in the 7th grade I found myself quite taken by a pretty girl named Shelly. Yes, I was quite in-love. One day she was in the hall trying to carry a lot of books to the library and I saw my chance! I offered to carry those books at once. Now I was skinny as a rail, no muscles at all in those days, and those books were heavy! But I was glad to do it despite the effort. Love does that, it lightens every load and makes us eager to help, even at great cost.
A silly story perhaps of a dorky teenager (me), but in far more significant ways, love does this! It moves us to be generous, kind, merciful, patient and even extravagant. AND, we dont do what we do because we have to, but because we want to.
The Samaritan in this story, was moved with and by love to overcome race and nation, fear and danger. He generously gave his time and money to save a brother and fellow traveler.
And so too for us, Let love lift you. Let it empower you, equip you and enable you! Go to the Lord and pray for a deeper experience of His love. Open the door of your heart and let the Love of God in. Go to the foot of the cross and remember what the Lord has done for you. Let what he has done be so present in your mind and heart that you are grateful and different. Let Gods love come alive in you.
And I promise you, as a witness, that love lightens every load and makes us eager to keep the commandments, to help others, to forgive, to show mercy, to be patient, and kind, and to courageously speak the truth in love to others. Yes, I am a witness that love can and does change us. Im not what I want to be, but I am not what I used to me. Love has lifted me and lightened every load.
Todays gospel is not a moralism, as if to say: be kind to strangers, and help the down and out. Fine though such thoughts are, that is not the main point here. The main point here is, let the Lords love in your heart and you will do what love does; and you will do it extravagantly, not because you have to, but because you want to.
The grace of Love lightens every load and equips for every good work.
This song says, More of his saving fulness see, more of his love who died for me.
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Dt 30:10-14 II: Col 1:15-20
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"
27 And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
28 And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,
34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"
37 He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Jesus uses this parable to send His powerful message: love all and serve anyone who is in need. This action should not exclude those we are not normally associated with, it may appear to be against the law and we might be blamed for instead of being praised.
Sunday, July 14, 2013 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time |
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Just A Minute (Listen) Some of EWTN's most popular hosts and guests in a collection of one minute inspirational messages. A different message each time you click. |
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
[In the Diocese of the United States]
Memorial
July 14th
">
oil painting on canvas 41 x 37"
by Father Chauchetière 1682-1693
(1656-1680) The daughter of a Mohawk warrior, Kateri was born near what is now Auriesville, New York, and was orphaned by an epidemic of smallpox which left her with impaired eyesight and a disfigured face. When she was baptized at the age of twenty she incurred hostility from her tribe; but she remained faithful and moved to the new Christian colony of Indians in Canada where she dedicated the rest of her life to prayer, penitential practices, and the care of the sick and the aged. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to Jesus Crucified, and was known as the "Lily of the Mohawks". Canonized October 21, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
O God, who desired the Virgin Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
to flower among Native Americans
in a life of innocence,
grant, through her intercession,
that when all are gathered into your Church
from every nation, tribe and tongue,
they may magnify you
in a single canticle of praise.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
Readings from the Commons of Virgins
Two New American Saints, Three Notable Firsts, Bl. Marianne Cope & Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha
Declared Miracle by Catholic Ch, Jake Finkbonner Takes in Stride His Role in Kateris Sainthood
NY Catholics Set for Blessed Kateri's Canonization
"Lily of the Mohawks" to be named a saint, Yakima Catholics "rejoicing" {Catholic/Orthodox caucus}
Pope advances sainthood causes of Marianne Cope, Kateri Tekakwitha (Catholic Caucus)
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks
BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA, "STAR OF THE NATIVES"
Kateri Sainthood Could Take a Miracle
Information: St. Kateri Tekakwitha
Feast Day: July 14
Born: 1656, Ossernenon, Iroquois Confederacy (Modern Auriesville, New York)
Died: 17 April 1680 at Caughnawaga, Canada
Canonized: 21 Oct. 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI
Major Shrine: St Francis Xavier Church, Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada
Patron of: Ecology
Information: St. Camillus de Lellis
Feast Day: July 14
Born: 1550 at Bocchiavico, Abruzzi, kingdom of Naples, Italy
Died: 14 July 1614 at Genoa, Italy
Canonized: 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV
Major Shrine: Church of Mary Magdalene, Rome, Italy
Patron of: against illness, hospitals, hospital workers, nurses, sick people
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Feast Day: July 14
Born: 1656 :: Died: 1680
Kateri (Katherine) Tekakwitha was born in Osserneon, which today is called Auriesville in New York. Her mother was a Christian who had been captured and her father was a non-Christian Mohawk (Red Indian) chief. When Kateri was fourteen, her parents died of smallpox and a Mohawk uncle raised her.
St. Isaac Jogues and other missionaries that came from France were killed, while preaching the gospel to the Native American Indians. They were called the North American martyrs. Ten years after the death of St. Isaac Jogues, Kateri was born in the same village where he had died.
One day her uncle had three Jesuit missionaries as his guests. These priests prayed openly in the small chapel there. Kateri was fascinated and had many questions for them, which they patiently answered. Slowly the seed of faith began to grow within her and her heart was touched by the Holy Spirit. She let this faith in Jesus grow to full maturity and when she was eighteen, she was baptized on Easter Sunday.
Kateri knew her life would now become difficult as she was the only Christian in her village. Besides, she wanted to give her life to Jesus and refused to marry. Her uncle was angry and some people in the village were upset that she did not work on Sunday. But Kateri held her ground. She prayed her Rosary every day, even when others made fun of her. She practiced patience and suffered quietly. Kateri's life grew harder each day as some people were very cruel and insulted her.
She finally fled to a Christian village near Montreal one night. There on Christmas Day, 1677, she received her First Communion. It was a wonderful day. Father Pierre Cholonec, a Jesuit priest, guided her spiritual life for the next three years. She and an older Iroquois woman named Anastasia lived as joyful, generous Christians.
Then Kateri fell ill and almost lost her eyesight completely because of the small pox she had suffered as a child. But she continued praying and giving glory to God as she was very grateful for the opportunity to practice her faith. She was just twenty-four when she died at Caughnawaga in Canada, on April 17, 1680. Many miracles have been reported at her grave. Exactly three hundred years later, on June 22, 1980, Kateri Tekakwitha was declared "blessed" by Pope John Paul II.
Reflection: Let us pray today for those who experience difficulty at the hands of others in their desire to live their Christian vocation more fully.
Luke | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Luke 10 |
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25. | And behold a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him, and saying, Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? | Et ecce quidam legisperitus surrexit tentans illum, et dicens : Magister, quid faciendo vitam æternam possidebo ? | και ιδου νομικος τις ανεστη εκπειραζων αυτον και λεγων διδασκαλε τι ποιησας ζωην αιωνιον κληρονομησω |
26. | But he said to him: What is written in the law? how readest thou? | At ille dixit ad eum : In lege quid scriptum est ? quomodo legis ? | ο δε ειπεν προς αυτον εν τω νομω τι γεγραπται πως αναγινωσκεις |
27. | He answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as thyself. | Ille respondens dixit : Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus virtutibus tuis, et ex omni mente tua : et proximum tuum sicut teipsum. | ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αγαπησεις κυριον τον θεον σου εξ ολης της καρδιας σου και εξ ολης της ψυχης σου και εξ ολης της ισχυος σου και εξ ολης της διανοιας σου και τον πλησιον σου ως σεαυτον |
28. | And he said to him: Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. | Dixitque illi : Recte respondisti : hoc fac, et vives. | ειπεν δε αυτω ορθως απεκριθης τουτο ποιει και ζηση |
29. | But he willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is my neighbour? | Ille autem volens justificare seipsum, dixit ad Jesum : Et quis est meus proximus ? | ο δε θελων δικαιουν εαυτον ειπεν προς τον ιησουν και τις εστιν μου πλησιον |
30. | And Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him, and having wounded him went away, leaving him half dead. | Suscipiens autem Jesus, dixit : Homo quidam descendebat ab Jerusalem in Jericho, et incidit in latrones, qui etiam despoliaverunt eum : et plagis impositis abierunt semivivo relicto. | υπολαβων δε ο ιησους ειπεν ανθρωπος τις κατεβαινεν απο ιερουσαλημ εις ιεριχω και λησταις περιεπεσεν οι και εκδυσαντες αυτον και πληγας επιθεντες απηλθον αφεντες ημιθανη τυγχανοντα |
31. | And it chanced, that a certain priest went down the same way: and seeing him, passed by. | Accidit autem ut sacerdos quidam descenderet eadem via : et viso illo præterivit. | κατα συγκυριαν δε ιερευς τις κατεβαινεν εν τη οδω εκεινη και ιδων αυτον αντιπαρηλθεν |
32. | In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place and saw him, passed by. | Similiter et Levita, cum esset secus locum, et videret eum, pertransiit. | ομοιως δε και λευιτης γενομενος κατα τον τοπον ελθων και ιδων αντιπαρηλθεν |
33. | But a certain Samaritan being on his journey, came near him; and seeing him, was moved with compassion. | Samaritanus autem quidam iter faciens, venit secus eum : et videns eum, misericordia motus est. | σαμαρειτης δε τις οδευων ηλθεν κατ αυτον και ιδων αυτον εσπλαγχνισθη |
34. | And going up to him, bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. | Et appropians alligavit vulnera ejus, infundens oleum et vinum : et imponens illum in jumentum suum, duxit in stabulum, et curam ejus egit. | και προσελθων κατεδησεν τα τραυματα αυτου επιχεων ελαιον και οινον επιβιβασας δε αυτον επι το ιδιον κτηνος ηγαγεν αυτον εις πανδοχειον και επεμεληθη αυτου |
35. | And the next day he took out two pence, and gave to the host, and said: Take care of him; and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, at my return, will repay thee. | Et altera die protulit duos denarios, et dedit stabulario, et ait : Curam illius habe : et quodcumque supererogaveris, ego cum rediero reddam tibi. | και επι την αυριον εξελθων εκβαλων δυο δηναρια εδωκεν τω πανδοχει και ειπεν αυτω επιμεληθητι αυτου και ο τι αν προσδαπανησης εγω εν τω επανερχεσθαι με αποδωσω σοι |
36. | Which of these three, in thy opinion, was neighbour to him that fell among the robbers? | Quis horum trium videtur tibi proximus fuisse illi, qui incidit in latrones ? | τις ουν τουτων των τριων πλησιον δοκει σοι γεγονεναι του εμπεσοντος εις τους ληστας |
37. | But he said: He that shewed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him: Go, and do thou in like manner. | At ille dixit : Qui fecit misericordiam in illum. Et ait illi Jesus : Vade, et tu fac similiter. | ο δε ειπεν ο ποιησας το ελεος μετ αυτου ειπεν ουν αυτω ο ιησους πορευου και συ ποιει ομοιως |
Thank you friend in Christ. Peace be with you.
And with your spirit......guess you are a Bishop. That’s what he says instead of “The Lord be with you,”
Sunday, July 14
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of Pope
St. Callistus I (martyred 222 AD). As
pope he condemned the heresies of his
time, but welcomed repentant heretics
back to the Church.
July 14, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o The Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
PRAYERS
o Blessing of Bees on the Feast of St. Benedict
o Blessing of the Medal of St. Benedict
o Childlike Recommendation to the Patronage of St. Benedict
Ordinary Time: July 14th
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
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 (Luke 10:33-34).
Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the book of Deuteronomy 30:10-14 and is the final discourse of Moses, just prior to the selection of Joshua to lead the people into the promised land. It is the conclusion of the covenant making ceremony.
The second reading is from the letter of Paul to the Colossians 1:15-20 in which he uses the occasion to instruct the Colossians and to restate for them the truth about the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ, as beginning and end of all creation. He was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote this letter but had learned about dangerous doctrines which had recently made their way into the church, threatening both faith and morals. False teachers were introducing a series of outdated Mosaic practices and an exaggerated emphasis on the role of angels as intermediaries between God and men, which threatened to undermine the true doctrine of Christ as the only mediator.
The Gospel is from St. Luke 10:25-37 and tells the parable of the good Samaritan. This passage is two-pronged. While providing a powerful lesson about mercy toward those in need, it also proclaims that non-Jews can observe the Law and thus enter into eternal life. Following other Fathers, St Augustine (De verbis Domini sermones, 37) identifies the good Samaritan with our Lord, and the waylaid man with Adam, the source and symbol of all fallen mankind. Moved by compassion and piety, he comes down to earth to cure man's wounds, making them his own (Is 53:4; Mt 8:17; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 3:5). In fact, we often see Jesus being moved by man's suffering (cf. Mt 9:36; Mk 1:41; Lk 7:13). And St John says: "in this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 Jn 4:9-11).
This parable leaves no doubt about who our neighbor is — anyone (without distinction of race or relationship) who needs our help; nor about how we should love him — by taking pity on him, being compassionate towards his spiritual or corporal needs; and it is not just a matter of having the right feelings towards him: we must do something, we must generously serve him.
Christians, who should be disciples of Christ, should share his love and compassion, never distancing themselves from others' needs. One way to express love for one's neighbor is to perform the "works of mercy," which get their name from the fact that they are not duties in justice. There are fourteen such works, seven spiritual and seven corporal. The spiritual are: To convert the sinner; To instruct the ignorant; To counsel the doubtful; To comfort the sorrowful; To bear wrongs patiently; To forgive injuries; To pray for the living and the dead. The corporal works are: To feed the hungry; To give drink to the thirsty; To clothe the naked; To shelter the homeless; To visit the sick; To visit the imprisoned; To bury the dead.
Excerpted from The Navarre Bible - St. Luke
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:37)
In a series of TV advertisements, a US insurance company touted the benefits of using their website by saying it was “so easy a caveman can do it.” The implication was that anyone with half a brain could figure it out. Well, today’s Gospel reading has a similar moral: The call to care for the needy is so obvious that “even a Samaritan” would do it.
Jesus told this parable because a “scholar of the law” asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25, 29). According to Luke, the question was really a trap. But knowing what was in the man’s heart, Jesus turned the tables on him. By telling a story about a Samaritan who did the right thing when other experts in the Law like this lawyer didn’t, Jesus made it clear that it doesn’t take years of study to know how to love God and love our neighbor. It just takes the courage and the humility to do what is right.
What person in his or her right mind would walk right past a man who had nearly been beaten to death? Anyone confronted with this situation would feel a sense of obligation, an inner conviction to help save the man’s life. But in the parable, it took a Samaritan, someone considered uncouth and outside of God’s covenant grace, to do the right thing. What’s more, this man goes beyond the bounds of everyday kindness. He pays for the wounded man’s treatment and even promises to return and pick up the tab for any other expenses the man may incur. Such extreme generosity—even from a Samaritan—would win the admiration of anyone who knew about it!
Jesus tells us the same thing he told the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). It’s that simple. It’s that clear. It’s so easy, in fact, that a Samaritan can do it. So go and do likewise. Listen to that inner urge to reach out and help. Act quickly to do what is right. Who knows how many lives you may save?
“Jesus, teach me to love my neighbor as you love me—immediately, generously, and extravagantly.”
Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37; Colossians 1:15-20
1. In the first reading, Moses tells the people the command they are to fulfill is already “something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.” Jesus summarizes this command for us in the Gospel reading: love God and love your neighbors. How would you characterize how you are fulfilling this command? What small step may God be asking you to take to better love Him and your neighbors?
2. The responsorial psalm is a cry for help by the psalmist who is “afflicted and in pain.” Why is he able to respond to this affliction and pain with these words: “I will praise the name of the Lord in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving?”
3. In second reading from the letter to the Colossians, St. Paul’s ancient hymn says that in Christ all things are reconciled. What areas of your life may still require a deeper reconciliation with God or with your neighbor?
4. In the Gospel reading, in response to the man who wanted “to justify” himself, Jesus tells the beautiful story of the Good Samaritan. Which of the characters in the parable do you relate to the most? Why?
5. The Good Samaritan is often taken as a model of Jesus’ care for each of us. With this in mind, how do you relate the care to the man who was victimized with how Jesus has cared for you?
6. The meditation ends with these words: “‘Go and do likewise’ (Luke 10:37). It’s that simple. It’s that clear. It’s so easy, in fact, that a Samaritan can do it. So go and do likewise. Listen to that inner urge to reach out and help. Act quickly to do what is right. Who knows how many lives you may save?” What do Jesus words, “Go and do likewise” mean to you when it comes to answering his call to love God and neighbor?
7. Take some time now to pray and ask Jesus for the grace and power to live out the truths of the Gospel, especially to love our neighbor as he has loved us. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN
(A biblical reflection on the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time [Year C] – July 14, 2013)
First Reading: Deut 30:10-14; Psalms: Ps 69:14,17,30-31,33-34,36-37 or Ps 19:8-11; Second Reading: Col 1:15-20; Gospel Reading: Luke 10:25-37
God is love and the only way to come to Him is in love. The time for this love is now. The time for this love is now. And the place for its expression is today’s reality as it meets me on the road and stares me in the face.
This parable is a very good example of the power of story-telling. “You must love your neighbor as yourself …… but who is my neighbor?” Jesus might have answered the questions directly in a short statement. But He was more concerned about responding to the person behind the question. The question revealed the restricted mind of the questioner. A definition of neighbor might have answered the question but it would have done nothing for the questioner. By telling a story Jesus was able to shock him out of his smug self-righteousness before inviting him to explore fresh possibilities about religious observance.
In stories like this the hero invariably is the third character. “Once upon a time there was this priest … and a Levite … and …” All expect the third character to be a Jewish layman, but no, they are jolted by the unexpected. More than a jolt, it is a severe shock when they realize that the hero of the story is a Samaritan – a despised, half-pagan renegade. A fully fledged pagan would have been held in higher regard.
Jesus anticipates that the lawyer’s casuistic mind will set about defending the priest and the Levite on the grounds that they were prudently avoiding the possibility of contact with a dead body, which would have rendered them ritually impure and thereby barred from exercising their religious functions. He disarms the lawyer’s defence by throwing back to him the central question, which is about neighborliness. And having broken through his smugness by the shock in the story, Jesus can now invite him to think afresh about the question.
“Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbor?” The new formulation of the question reflects the fresh approach. The emphasis is shifted from defining the restrictions of neighborly love to exploring the demands of love. “The one who took pity on him,” he answered.
He is still afraid to mouth that despicable name, Samaritan. Yet the story has begun to make its point in the admission that this semi-pagan in his own way of practical love was closer to the central law of religious observance than those who scrupulously observed religious ritual.
The use of a story enabled Jesus to open up an entirely new way of thinking for the lawyer. To use the terminology of modern research, He invited the lawyer to move from a mode of thinking restricted to the left brain into the right brain mode.
Left brain thinking seeks control of things by analysis and definition, by dividing and conquering. The lawyer, trained in casuistry, was an expert in this field. Hence his initial reaction was to seek a definition of a neighbor. But a definition is always restrictive as it sets out the limits beyond which the term does not apply. The left brain is happy with this restricted are which can be controlled. Right brain thinking seeks the possibilities of the subject and its connections with the larger reality. When we move into the right brain mode we are exposed to losing control and we are open to risk.
The lawyer was invited by Jesus to leave the safe, controlled world of casuistry and discover the realm of love where exciting possibilities live side by side with demands, risks and vulnerability. At the end of the exchange the lawyer has reached the position where he can be invited by Jesus: “Go and do the same yourself”.
The stories of Jesus are never only stories. Each story is an invitation to us to enter into it, find our place there and discover our life afresh. Sometimes the discovery is shocking: but always the word offers hope of growth.
Note: Taken from Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFMCap., THE GOOD NEWS OF LUKE’S YEAR, Dublin, Ireland: Cathedral Books/The Columbia Press, Revised Edition, 1991 (1994 reprinting), pages 172-174.
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