Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sea Sunday to honor the lives and work of seafarers

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 32 The Tools and Goods of the Monastery

Mass: Dt 30:10-14; Resp Ps 69; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37

I will glorify Him with thanksgiving.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, STAR OF THE SEA,

PRAY FOR US.

Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation ...

He is the beginning, the firstborn of the dead, that in all things He Himself might be preeminent.

(Col 1:15, 18)

Welcome to the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, a time, as our former Jesuit chaplain of happy memory used to say, that is anything but ordinary. How right he was. 

It just so happens that I am re-reading a little book by Rowan Williams, emeritus Archbishop of Canterbury, entitled Being Disciples: Essentials of Christian Life (London: SPCK, 2016). I took note of something the other day that I thought might provide a commentary on Saint Benedict's Chapter 4, The Tools for Good Works, namely, the first tool. Saint Benedict begins the chapter in this way: "First of all, love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (RB 4:1-2). And then I read the Gospel for today, where Jesus answers a scholar of the law who asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Lk 10:25). Jesus' reply is the source of our first tool for good works, that is, 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 (Mt 10:27). This tool is the foundation for all the other tools for good works that we strive to put into use each and every day, the tool that identifies us as Christians, people who are loving, charitable, merciful, forgiving, and compassionate. All the tools are based in our love of God, our love of neighbor, and the love we have for ourselves. "So faith, hope, and love remain," writes Saint Paul, "these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13:13). And what does Rowan Williams have to say? "Being with the Master", he writes, "is recognizing that who you are is finally going to be determined by your relationship with Him ... love God less and you love everyone and everything else less" (Kindle, loc. 193). Enough said. Heart of Jesus, full of goodness, love, and compassion, have mercy on us.

The command is something very near to you, already in your mouths and your hearts; all you have to do is carry it out.

(Dt. 30:14)

Today's photo: From a dear friend and faithful reader, recently on a family camping/hiking trip to Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, along the Smith River, Crescent City, CA. See, you lowly ones, and be glad. 

© Gertrude Feick 2022