15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C, Year I)
Community Word: The Lord empowers the modern day disciples to spread His word.
Theme: As modern day disciples, we spread His word when we love our neighbor as ourselves.
Promise: “For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” (Ps 69:34)
Reflections:
“And who is my neighbor?” A scholar of the law asks Jesus after he was told that to inherit eternal life he should love his neighbor as himself. As obedient followers of Jesus, we should be asking ourselves the same question. Who, indeed, is our neighbor?
There is only one requirement to be considered a ‘neighbor’ in the eyes of our Lord. A neighbor is anyone in need of mercy or help. Using this definition, we live in a world full of neighbors, who could be members of our own family, or of BLD, or friends and relations, and even strangers, but above all, those closest to the heart of Jesus ‘the least, the lost and the last.’
The man who was found half dead on the roadside in the parable of the Good Samaritan best exemplifies this definition of ‘neighbor’. He was in dire need of help, but was conveniently ignored by a passing priest and a Levite, both of whom were closely identified with temple worship. In contrast, a Samaritan whom Jews considered as an enemy, moved with compassion and pity for a complete stranger, stopped to minister to the unfortunate victim, giving of his personal resources and time to help him, binding up his wounds, pouring oil and wine, settling him on the horse, and taking him to a place of rest where he could be cared for until his return. How many wounded and needy persons have we passed by on the street of life and given succor to?
St. Paul reminds us of this: “He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” The commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ (CCC 2196). This is our theme for the week: As modern day disciples, we spread His word when we love our neighbor as ourselves.
As members of the Bukas Loob Sa Diyos Covenant Community, we grapple with the constant question of whether we’ve done or are doing enough. Being in the renewal movement does not automatically qualify us for eternal life. We attain that by God’s grace, and by keeping faith with the two most important commandments – to love God above all things, and our neighbor as ourselves. We cannot love our neighbor without loving God and conversely, we cannot love God without loving our neighbor. “Whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Mt 25:40). This is what should motivate us into being Good Samaritans to those in need regardless of race, creed or stature.
As modern day disciples, one way of sharing our love and compassion is by performing works of mercy, both spiritual and corporal. The BLD Community provides opportunities for members to do works of mercy in concrete and specific terms. There are seven spiritual works namely: to convert the sinner, to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to comfort the sorrowful, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive injuries; and lastly, to pray for the living and the dead. Similarly, there are seven corporal works, namely: to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, to visit the sick, to visit the imprisoned, and to bury the dead.
These give a whole new meaning to the different apostolate work that we regularly undertake in community. Whenever we find ourselves overly preoccupied with activities in fulfillment of the BLD vision and mission, it is good to remember that when we help those who are in need, like the Good Samaritan, we are in position to inherit eternal life. As we remain faithful to reaching out to those in need and to loving our neighbor as ourselves, we are assured of the Lord’s promise, “For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” (Ps 69:34)
Prayer:
Lord, how difficult it is to love our neighbor, especially those whom we don’t know, and more so, those we don’t like. But it is Your command, the second of Your two Great Commandments. Loving You is loving our neighbor and loving our neighbor is loving You. Give me the grace to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy to express my compassion for my brothers and sisters in need. I want to be Your instrument for the conversion of sinners. Use me to instruct the ignorant in the way I live. Help me to counsel the doubtful and comfort the sorrowful. I want to bear wrongs more patiently, to be more forgiving of others, and to be prayer warrior for you. Give me greater opportunities to feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty. Let me share my blessings with the naked and the homeless because as I give unselfishly and unconditionally, I know that You will bless me a thousand fold. I want to visit the sick and the imprisoned and bury the dead, but help me to discern when such a visit could expose the sick to greater health risks. Left alone, I am powerless but I can do all things by the power of the Holy Spirit. All these I do out of love for You, and that I may someday inherit eternal life in Your divine presence. In Jesus mighty name I pray, Amen.
Reflection Questions:
1. Of the 7 spiritual works of mercy, how many have you done this week?
2. Of the 7 corporal works of mercy, how many do you plan to perform in the coming week?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
July 14, 2013 (Sun) Dt 30:10-14/Ps 69:14,17,30,31,33,34,36,37/Col 1:15-20/Lk 10:25-37
July 15, 2013 (Mon) Ex 1:8-14.22/Ps 124:1-8/Mt 10:34-11:1
July 16, 2013 (Tues) Ex 2:1-15/Ps 69:3,14,30,31,33,34/Mt 11:20-24
July 17, 2013 (Wed) Ex 3:1-6,9-12/Ps 103:1-4,6,7/Mt 11:25-27
July 18, 2013 (Thur) Ex 3:13-20/Ps 105:1,5,8,9,24-27/Mt 11:28-30
July 19, 2013 (Fri) Ex 11:10-12:14/Ps 116:12,13,15-18/Mt 12:1-8
July 20, 2013 (Sat) Ex 12:27-42/Ps 136:1,23,24,10-15/Mt 12:14-21
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
