“‘… a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion …. Which of these three … was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?'” … “‘If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep His Commandments and Statutes … already in your mouths and in your hearts ….'” … ” Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live” … “Your Words, Lord, are Spirit and Life” … “Christ Jesus is the image of the Invisible God … all things were created through Him and for Him. … making Peace by the Blood of His Cross ….”
MASS READINGS 7.10.16 – FIRST Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14 – PSALM 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 – PSALM 19:8, 9, 10, 11 – SECOND READING: Colossians 1:15-20 – GOSPEL: Luke 10:25-37
FIND A MASS: MassTimes.org – FIND A MASS: TheCatholicDirectory.com
SUNDAY TV MASS: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
SUNDAY TV MASS: Heart of the Nation (Wisconsin)
LINKS & RESOURCES
- FAITHLINK: “Christ heals wounded humanity” – St. Severus of Antioch/DailyGospel.org
- FAITHLINK: Love Lightens Every Load – A Homily for the 15th Sunday of the Year – Msgr. Charles Pope/Archdiocese of Washington
- FAITHLINK: What We Must Do: Scott Hahn Reflects on the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
- FAITHLINK: Homily for Fifteenth Sunday of the Year, 2013 – Father Joseph, Saint Anselm’s Abbey
- FAITHLINK: Pope reflects on parable of Good Samaritan at Angelus – News.va 7.10.16
FIRST READING
FIRST Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Moses exhorts the Israelites to return to God with their heart and soul by following God’s Commandments, which are accessible to them, which indeed are already in their hearts.
‘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. … not too mysterious and remote … already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.’
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALM 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
or
Your Words, Lord, are Spirit and Life.
SECOND READING
SECOND READING: Colossians 1:15-20
All is Created through Christ, Who is Head of the Body, the Church, Reconciling all through Him, making Peace by the Blood of His Cross.
Christ Jesus is the image of the Invisible God,
* * * all things were created through Him and for Him.
* * * He is the Head of the Body, the Church.
… the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead,
… 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 ….
GOSPEL
The First Commandment and the Parable of the Good Samaritan
Questioned by a scholar of the law, Jesus confirms that we will live, i.e., inherit Eternal Life, if we love God wholeheartedly and love our neighbor as ourselves.
Asked who our neighbor is, Jesus turns the question around by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan and asking who acted as neighbor to the victim.
Jesus said … ‘What is written in the law? …
[The scholar] 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.’
[Jesus] replied … ‘You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
The scholar of the law asks, “who is my neighbor?”
“And who is my neighbor?”
* * *
‘A man fell victim to robbers
* * *
… a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion ….
He …. poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
… he … took him to an inn, and cared for him.
* * *
Which of these three …
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?’
He answered, ‘The one who treated him with mercy.’
Jesus said … ‘Go and do likewise.’
Notice how Jesus takes the question of “who is my neighbor” and turns it around to ask, who acts as a neighbor. The neighbor is not a subcategory of the object of our actions, rather who we are called to be, and how we are called to act.
With parables, Jesus teaches by illustration, by stories. One might observe that with Scripture as a whole, God often teaches by illustration.
Here, Jesus provides two examples, the Priest and the Levite whose actions, or lack thereof, become more important lessons than their supposed status. Their status diminishes in the face of their negative example that we are to avoid. The Samaritan’s status, traditionally a negative one, indeed one of exclusion, is overlooked in favor of the positive example of his actions.
In the process, we see the invitation to all of us, to cooperate in our own Redemption, to rise above our status and our past, to go forward with God to act as instruments of God’s Grave and Mercy.
More Resources
- Find a Mass: MassTimes.org
- Find a Mass: TheCatholicDirectory.com
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Basilica in Washington, D.C.
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Passionists (New York)
- VIDEO: Diocese of Sioux Falls, including Sunday Masses
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – University of Notre Dame
- VIDEO: Daily Mass – Toronto
- VIDEO: Daily Mass – Boston/Catholic TV
[Scripture passages excerpted or adapted from the NABRE, available online from the USCCB, which provides the following rights statement:
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.]
