13 Jul 2013

14th July 2013 - 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Update from Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre

On this weeks programme John and Lorraine are joined by Noirin Lynch from Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre (LDPC) to give us an update on some things happening around the diocese. We have our regular reflection on this weeks gospel and other liturgical odds and ends.

You can listen to the full programme podcast HERE.

Update from LDPC and reflection on church as community


Noirin gives us an update on life around the diocese over the last six months. She also gives us a reflection about the need to build a community of community of faiths where we have space to allow people to ask questions and together explore our journey in faith especially in this Year of Faith.

Limerick diocese website
Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre
Weekly newsletter from LDPC

You can listen to Noirin's interview excerpted from the programme HERE.

Gospel - Luke 10:25-37 


'Love your neighbour as yourself' the Gospel says (Matthew 22:38). But who is my neighbour? We often respond to that question by saying: 'My neighbours are all the people I am living with on this earth, especially the sick, the hungry, the dying, and all who are in need.' But this is not what Jesus says.
When Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan (see Luke 10:29-37) to answer the question 'Who is my neighbour?' he ends the by asking: 'Which, ... do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits' hands?'

The neighbour, Jesus makes clear, is not the
poor man laying on the side of the street, stripped, beaten, and half dead, but the Samaritan who crossed the road, 'bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, ... lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an inn and looked after him.' My neighbour is the one who crosses the road for me! -
Henri Nouwen
 
This week we are presented with an extremely familiar gospel passage, Luke's account of the Good Samaritan parable. We encourage you to try and approach the text this week as if you are hearing it for the first time. It poses a challenge to us about how sometimes we can be like the Pharisees putting ceremony before charity.

From Limerick Diocese Newsletter:
 
The actions of the priest and Levite were very reasonable, they were appropriate and proper to the religious and social laws, and everyone in their social group would have perfectly understood the reasons why they did what they did .....

How often do we reduce integrity to reasonableness?
reduce religion to rite?
reduce faith to liturgy?
reduce prayer to requests?

The parable of the Good Samaritan is an invitation to recognise that what seems reasonable, reasoned, and sensible ... may not be Gods will for our lives or the world we live in. Perhaps our reasonableness comes from too small a world view ...

 So how can we see the world through Gods worldview? Perhaps by being close to God - heart to heart, so to speak - loving God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind; and loving our neighbor as ourself." (Luke 10: 25 - 37)

We are not called to be reasonable.

We are called to be love. 
May we be brave and answer the call to love.

Other reflections on this weeks gospel:

Sunday Reflections
English Dominicans
Centre for Liturgy
Blue Eyed Ennis
Word on Fire

Liturgical Odds and Ends

Liturgy of the Hours - Week 3, 15th week in ordinary time

Saints of the Week

July 15th - St Bonaventure
July 16th - Our Lady of Mount Carmel
July 17th - Martyrs of Compiegne (beati)
July 18th - St Edburgh of Bicestor
July 19th - St John Plesington
July 20th - St Apollinarius

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