ENTRANCE ANTIPHON In my justice I shall see your face, O Lord; when your glory appears, my joy will be full. PENITENTIAL RITE In today’s Gospel, through the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus tells us to care for everyone who is in need. How often have we heard this parable! Perhaps it would be good for us to ask if it has made any difference in our lives. In fact there is no teaching of Jesus that more accurately defines a Christian than the image of the good Samaritan going out of his way to help a person in need. Thus, Christ in speaking to the lawyer is speaking to you and me. Let us humbly acknowledge our failures to love and help others, and ask pardon for our sins of omission. (Pause) I confess... Glory to God... OPENING PRAYER God our Father, your light of truth guides us to the way of Christ. May all who follow him reject what is contrary to the Gospel. We ask this... FIRST READING (Moses exhorts the Babylonian exiles to obey God’s Law, not as something imposed from outside, but as something that springs up from within. Only by doing so will they be preserved as the People of God.) A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy    (30:10-14) Moses said to the people, “You will obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; you will turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. “For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.” This is the Word of the Lord PSALM     (68) Response: Seek the Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive. This is my prayer to you, my prayer for your favour. In your great love, answer me, O God, with your help that never fails: Lord, answer, for your love is kind; in your compassion, turn towards me. R./ As for me in my poverty and pain let your help, O God, lift me up. I will praise God’s name with a song; I will glorify him with thanksgiving. R./ The poor when they see it will be glad and God-seeking hearts will revive; for the Lord listens to the needy and does not spurn his servants in their chains. R./ For God will bring help to Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. The sons of his servants shall inherit it; those who love his name shall dwell there. R./ SECOND READING (St Paul describes the Incarnate Word as the true image of God in human form. His absolute pre-eminence and supremacy in all creation and in the Church is stressed.) A reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Colossians     (1:15-20) Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities—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 first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. This is the Word of the Lord   ACCLAMATION      (Jn 10:27) Alleluia, alleluia! My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them and they follow me. Alleluia! GOSPEL (In today’s Gospel parable Jesus tells the lawyer to go and act always like the good Samaritan.) A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Luke     (10:25-37) A lawyer stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” 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 neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 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. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had com-passion, 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. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the inn-keeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” This is the Gospel of the Lord   I believe in God,/the Father Almighty,/ Creator of heaven and earth./ I believe in Jesus Christ,/his only Son, our Lord./ He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit/ and born of the Virgin Mary./He suffered under Pontius Pilate,/was crucified, died, and was buried./He descended to the dead./On the third day he rose again./He ascended into Heaven,/and is seated at the right hand of the Father./He will come again to judge the living and the dead./I believe in the Holy Spirit,/the Holy Catholic Church,/the communion of saints,/the forgiveness of sins,/the resurrection of the body,/and the life everlasting./ Amen.   PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL Cel: Beloved in Christ, our God is a compassionate Father. Our Christian vocation is to love and serve. Let us pray in faith that God may keep us rooted in love and make us more sensitive to the needs of others. Response: Lord of mercy and compassion, hear our prayer. 1. Lord, we pray for our Pope and all the leaders of the Church: that they may always reflect the compassion of Jesus in the exercise of their ministry. R./ 2. Lord, we pray for those who work for the sick and the dying: give them warm hearts and gentle hands, so that through their service those in pain may experience your comfort and healing. R./ 3. Lord, we pray for societies torn apart on the grounds of race, religion, culture or class: grant them the spirit of forgiveness and healing. R./ 4. Lord, we pray for all in public health ministry and in caring professions: that they may show special attention for the weak and vulnerable members of society. R./ 5. Lord, we pray for all Christian communities: grant us compassion to become involved in other people’s needs, especially the weak and the poor. R./ (Pray for local and personal needs) Cel: Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you for all your blessings and graces. Today we ask you to give us eyes that see the wounds of others, ears to hear the cry of others, hearts that feel compassion for the sufferings of others, and a will to respond as best as we can to the needs of others. We ask this… PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS Lord, accept the gifts of your Church. May this Eucharist help us to grow in holiness and faith. We ask this… PREFACE     (29) Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Through his cross and resurrection he freed us from sin and death and called us to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. Everywhere we proclaim your mighty works, for you have called us out of darkness into your own wonderful light. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise: All: Holy, holy, holy… COMMUNION ANTIPHON   The sparrow even finds a home, the swallow finds a nest wherein to place her young, near to your altars, Lord of hosts, my King, my God! How happy they who dwell in your house! For ever they are praising you. PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION Lord, by our sharing in the mystery of this Eucharist, let your saving love grow within us. Grant this…     LITURGY  AND  LIFE   In today’s Gospel we have the beautiful parable of the good Samaritan. We may not like the story, for it tells how people (like you and me) can ignore others, even those in dire need. It says that some “big people” are not so big—and that others, thought to be of little account, are gracious and precious individuals. The roads of life, no matter where we live, have neighbours lying injured by the wayside. They are waiting and hoping that some fellow-man will come to give them a helping hand. We can shut our eyes or turn away, as the priest and Levite did. They showed that they had no interest in their neighbour when he was in need. They did not keep the command that God had given them through Moses. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus paints portraits for us of three different people: a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. First, the priest. He was probably on his way to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple. Apparently he thought the bleeding man by the side of the road was dead. This explains why he walked on by. If a priest touched a dead person, he became ritually unclean and was temporarily banned from the Temple. So the priest chose not to get involved. Second, the Levite. He was someone like a modern deacon. It’s not very clear why he walked on by. Perhaps his reason was the same as the priest’s. Or perhaps he feared the man was only pretending to be hurt, and would attack him as he leaned over to help. So the Levite, too, chose not to get involved. Finally, the Samaritan. Making a Samaritan the hero of his parable would have shocked Jesus’ listeners. They shunned Samaritans as renegades who had compromised their faith. But Jesus knew what he was doing by making a Samaritan the hero of his story. He wanted to teach his Jewish hearers that love knows no boundaries. Love reaches out to anyone in need. It doesn’t walk on by. It stops to help; it gets involved, regardless of who the person is. And so today’s parable invites us to look at our relationships with other people. We are on the road to Jericho daily. What day passes that we don’t meet one who needs a word of comfort, a helping hand, a word of caring? When we come on our wounded fellow travellers our love is tested. There are countless victims along the road. They suffer from ignorance, disease, violence, natural calamities, depression, old age, poverty, etc. A teacher might choose to ignore the ignorant; a doctor could refuse the sick; a salesman can cheat the naïve; the clergy can avoid the sinners; the rich can pretend not to see the poor. Sufferings and needs are opportunities to become the lovers God calls us to be. Since we pass by only once, why not be a good Samaritan along the way? ‘I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now…for I shall not pass this way again’. –Fr Sebastian Kattackal, ssp   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- July  2010        READINGS  OF  THE   WEEK         Psalter Week    3 12 Mon (G)     Is 1:10-17; Ps 49:8-9,16bc-17,21&23; Mt 10:34-11:1   13 Tue (G)     Is 7:1-9; Ps 47:2-3a,3b-4,5-6,7-8; Mt 11:20-24 14 Wed (W)  St Camillus Is 10:5-7,13-16; Ps 93:5-6,7-8,9-10,14-15; Mt 11:25-27 15 Thu (W)   St Bonaventure, mem Is 26:7-9,12,16-19;                       Ps 101:13-14ab&15,16-18,19-21; Mt 11:28-30 16 Fri (W)   Our Lady of Mount Carmel                      Is 38:1-6,21-22,7-8; Ps Is 38:10,11,12abcd,16-17a; Mt 12:1-8 17 Sat (G)   Mic 2:1-5; Ps 9B:1-2,3-4,7-8ab,14; Mt 12:14-21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------