SOCL, 15C

Sunday July 13, 2025

See

The question raised in today’s Gospel is never out of date or out of season. It is perfectly natural to think of our neighbours as literally the people nextdoor, people “like us” as we say. But, that is to stay well within our comfort zone and, as Jesus puts it sharply elsewhere, “even the Gentiles love those who love them.” Far more is demanded, especially in today’s context of spiralling migration, with all its challenges of finance, housing, income, education of the young, work for the able and so forth. While bearing in mind the practical and social consequences, the whole thrust of the Gospel passage is to see my neighbour as any fellow human being in need.

Listen

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Ps 69 (68); Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

Reflect

(Luke 10:25-37)

Today’s gospel brings us right to the heart of what a Christian life involves: love of God and of neighbour. Jesus tells us that having life both now and in the future is the fruit of living in a spirit of love. How have you experienced the power of love given and received to be a source of life and vitality?

With media today we are brought face to face with suffering, poverty and hunger so vast that it can engender a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. What the parable challenges us about is how we react when we come face to face with a person in need. We may sometimes try to avoid getting involved. Recall when you overcame this reaction and reached out to help. What did that do for you, and for the other person?

Bring to mind the people who have been an inspiration to you by the care and attention they have given to others.

Pray

In Christ you draw near to us, God of mercy and compassion, lifting us out of death, binding up our wounds, and nursing our spirits back to health. Let such a tenderness as yours compel us to go and do likewise. Grant this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Word today, 15C

July 14 - July 19, 2025

Monday 14 July

St Camillus of Lellis, priest

Exodus 1:8-14, 22 For the next three weeks almost, the lectionary offers readings from Exodus, including such passages as the Ten Commandments. We start today with the story of the oppression Israelites in Egypt—a common human story of aggression towards the immigrant—not unknown in our Irish experience!

Matthew 10:34-11:1 This passage can surprise and even offend. The sword, however, is not the sword of judgment but the sword of decision, as the following verses show.

Tuesday 15 July

St Bonaventure, bishop and doctor

Exodus 2:1-15 The story of Moses’ birth is told with delicious irony—the daughter of the Pharaoh appoints the child’s own mother as wet nurse. Moving quickly on, the adult Moses commits a crime and has to run away.

Matthew 11:20-24 In these difficult days, it is good to be aware that even Jesus himself met with refusal and rejection. His reaction may seem harsh, but it is in the line of prophetic invective, a kind of last chance call to repentance.

Wednesday 16 July

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12 Genuine encounters with the divine can never be “told” in ordinary words and so it is that Moses’ encounter with the mysterium tremendum et fascinans must be given in symbol. Fire—both material and somehow immaterial or spiritual—is both attractive and awesome, inviting and dangerous. Tomorrow we hear the second part of the burning bush.

Matthew 11:25-27 The importance of this reading could hardly be exaggerated. It belongs with the baptism and the transfiguration, revealing something of the inner life of Jesus. At the same time, it is an invitation to us all, to be open to God’s self-disclosure in Jesus, in all simplicity and trust.

Thursday 17 July

Exodus 3:13-20 We are about to hear an extra-ordinary passage, a passage of signal importance of the Jewish people and of great import for the Christian tradition. The name of God—I AM WHO I AM or YHWH— comes from the verb to be. In Jewish tradition, this holy name is never spoken out loud. In Christian tradition, we speak of God as “holy Being who lets be” (John Macquarrie). It is all, of course, deeply mysterious, yet liberating and even practical.

Matthew 11:28-30 In Jewish tradition, the Torah or the Law was regarded as a (very) welcome yoke, that is, guidance which you help the faithful plough a straight furrow in life. Jesus’ yoke or burden is, in addition, easy and light.

Friday 18 July

Exodus 11:10-12:14 Our reading from Exodus has moved quickly on and today we hear the instructions for the Passover. This memorial celebration kept alive in all subsequent generations not just the memory of the Exodus but the actual experience of it.

Matthew 12:1-8 Reading this passage, one could be naughty and ask what were the Pharisees doing in cornfield on the Sabbath!! This is Matthew’s version of a familiar story from Mark. He brings out the meaning even more strongly with this addition: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.

Saturday 19 July

Exodus 12:37-42 Our image today is that of a people on the move. A pilgrim people, liberated from oppression, travels while the Lord himself keeps vigil over them.

Matthew 12:14-21 The historical Jesus did, of course, encounter opposition. (He could hardly have said what he said and done what he did and escape severe criticism.) The historical Jesus may very well have grasped his destiny of suffering in the light of the prophets, and in particular in the light of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah, as in our reading.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025bj, July 13). Fifteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071325.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings

One another, 15C

July 13, 2025

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Ps 69 (68); Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

Friends in Christ, God invites us to hold the needs of our sisters and brothers as dear to us as our own needs. Loving our neighbors as ourselves, we offer our thanksgivings and our petitions on behalf of the church and the world:

For the Church: that we may follow Christ, the head of the Church, more closely and continue his mission of reconciling others to both God and one another: let us pray to the Lord.

For this community of faith: that our deeds of compassion and loving service may be signs of God’s presence and action in the world: let us pray to the Lord.

For openness of heart: that we may allow the pain and suffering of others to move our hearts and spirits to a loving response: let us pray to the Lord.

For insight: that God will help us recognize our neighbor in the refugee, the homeless person, and the marginalized of society, and inspire our response to their needs today: let us pray to the Lord.

For conversion of our spirit: that God will teach us how to love with our whole heart and guide us in moving our religious ideals from ideas to action: let us pray to the Lord.

For freedom of spirit: that God will free us from fear, attachments, and wounds so that we may fully respond to all that God asks of us: let us pray to the Lord.

For a new encounter with the Lord: that through prayer and reflection on the scriptures, we may enter into a deeper relationship with Christ, the firstborn of creation and the first risen from the dead: let us pray to the Lord.

For all who have been the victims of crime: that God will restore their loss, heal their wounds, and help them to trust others again: let us pray to the Lord.

For all who care for those in need: that those working in outreach ministries,  housing assistance, healthcare, pregnancy centers, or refugee services may continue to bring God’s love and compassion to those whom they serve: let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are ill or recovering from surgery: that they may know the tender touch of God through the prayer and care of this community: let us pray to the Lord.

For healing of racism: that we may be instruments of reconciliation, working for justice, and promoting the advancement of all who have suffered prejudice or discrimination: let us pray to the Lord.

For growth in respect in civic dialogue: that political leaders may listen to opposing views, respect the dignity of those with different ideas, and strive to find a path that will promote the welfare of all: let us pray to the Lord.

For better stewardship of God’s creation: that being aware that all creation came through Christ, we may work to honor and protect it as a sign of God’s love for all people: let us pray to the Lord.

For all who are in transition: that God will guide those in parishes that are being reorganized and ministry leaders who are beginning new roles to find effective ways to listen and to cooperate in bringing forth the reign of God today: let us pray to the Lord.

For peace: that we may turn to Christ, whose death and resurrection offers the only peace that endures, to bring an end to violence and bloodshed and give us a new vision for cooperation and justice: let us pray to the Lord.

Hear our prayers, God of power, and through the ministry of your Son free us from the grip of the tomb, that we may desire you as the fullness of lifeand proclaim your saving deeds to all the world. Amen.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025bj, July 13). Fifteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071325.cfm

-Cormier, J. (1995). Lord, Hear Our Prayer: Prayer of the Faithful for Sundays, Holy Days, and Ritual Masses.