THE GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Sunday - July 10, 2022

Sunday - July 10, 2022

Lord what wilt Thou have me do? Behold the true sign of a totally perfect soul: when one has reached the point of giving up his will so completely that he no longer seeks, expects or desires to do ought but that which God wills.

--St. Bernard

July 10, 2022

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 105

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    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.

 

Reading II    

                                                                                    Col1:15-20

 

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.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          Cf. Jn 6:63c, 68c

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           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."

 

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ENOUGH LOVE TO HEAL THE WORLD

The opposite of love is not hate. It's apathy: ignoring a need, not caring, and doing nothing when there is something we can do to relieve suffering. In this Sunday's Gospel reading, Jesus gives us the Parable of the Good Samaritan to explain that if we love God with our whole heart, our whole being, our whole strength, and our whole mind, we naturally care about other people, even those who are strangers, even those whom we're "not supposed to" like, and even when it costs us something personally.

 

Many of the problems that exist in our world today are allowed to continue because too many of us Christians -- we who through Christ have the power to change the world -- do not care enough to sacrifice our time and personal agendas to get involved. Much of the suffering that's endured in our families and workplaces and parishes would be stopped or relieved if enough Christians loved God enough to care about others enough to risk the cost of intervening.

 

How much do you love God? The answer lies in how much you're willing to sacrifice for the sake of loving others, which is the definition of love that Jesus taught us with this parable and with his life.

 

None of us love God perfectly yet. Purgatory will be a time of painfully regretting our lack of love, while eagerly improving our love for others so we can enter into the fullness of God's love in heaven. Until then, we have daily opportunities, here and now, to purify our lives less painfully. Daily we're given tests to improve how well we love others.

 

So daily ask the Holy Spirit, your teacher, your empowerer, your source of holiness, to help you become more like Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you love all others as Christ loves them.

 

By doing this spiritual exercise consistently, you will receive a new joy and an enlivened passion in dealing with others. You will feel greater love for God and you will experience his love for you much more intimately.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Forgive me, Father, for the apathy I showed in so many suffering situations. I repent of this and I commit myself to seek strength in Your love and mercy and to get involved wherever I see pain and need. Amen. 

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”