Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Go and do likewise
My dear friends in Christ,
While many of you have been suffering in the heat this week, farmers are glad to see several warm days in a row combined with rain. The crops that were planted are now growing well in this heat. For Fr. Melwin and me, this weather feels like the weather back home in India!
In the Gospel this week, Jesus tells the very familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Jesus then asked the scholar who was questioning him, “Which of the three was the neighbor to the injured man?”
It is interesting in this story that the ethnicity of the priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan are all named, but the victim who was robbed, stripped naked, and beaten so badly, was probably not easily identifiable. The Samaritan had no way of knowing if this man was a friend or foe, rich or poor. To Jesus, it was more important that the scholar should see that the members of his own group, the priest and the Levite, chose to pass by the injured man; while a Samaritan – a member of an ethnic group reviled by Jews for centuries – would care for the victim far better than what would be expected of even the most devout Jew. This week, when we encounter our struggling neighbors, let us see each one with compassion, and treat them with the mercy of the Good Samaritan. We should not reach out only to others who are like us, but we should strip away the self-centered attitudes of society and reach out in mercy to all those in need. As Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
Congratulations to Lian Andrew McCarthy, son of Sean and Mar y (Zsigr ay) McCar thy, who was baptized last Sunday in our parish. Welcome to the newest member of our Epiphany of the Lord parish family!
Our first Mega Moola Mania drawing of 2019-2020 took place on Friday, July 7. The first winners were Cindy Cahill of the $250 prize and Barbara Bachar of $50 for selling the winning ticket.
Totus Tuus, is coming up July 21-26 to pr ovide a week of fun spir itual lear ning for the childr en and youth of our parish. We also welcome participants from other parishes. Are your children or grandchildren signed up yet for this faith-filled summer program? Please do so right away.
Volunteers are needed for the Birmingham Ethnic Festival. We want to expand the pr esence of Epiphany of the Lord parish with an information booth, St. Stephen Church Tours, and more besides our traditional dinner and pastry booths. We need you to make it happen. Keep reading this bulletin for more details about upcoming activities!
Fr. Melwin and I will be leaving after the Masses this weekend for our annual retreat. We will return on Thursday. This week please keep us in your prayers in a special way.
Rev. Gilbert Mascarenhas SAC