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Showing posts with the label The Good Samaritan

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 10, 2022, Year C

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Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Of all of the teachings of Jesus the parable of the Good Samaritan is undoubtedly the most famous, known to Christians and non-Christians alike. His parable is, of course, about responsibility, about caring for others no matter whom or what they may be. Today, however, I want to pay attention to some other responsibilities we have. Responsibility and caring for our neighbors is not enough even though the definition of “neighbor” is boundless. So what might be those other responsibilities? Strange as it may seem at first glance, we ought to take a look at how we can be responsible for ourselves. I say strange because we hear so much about our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and selfish consumerism that is gobbling up our world’s resources and damaging our environment. We must remember, however, that Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So it is important to realize that how we treat o

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 14, 2019, Year C

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Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Of all of the teachings of Jesus the parable of the Good Samaritan is undoubtedly the most famous, known to Christians and non-Christians alike. His parable is, of course, about responsibility, about caring for others no matter whom or what they may be. Today, however, I want to pay attention to some other responsibilities we have. Responsibility and caring for our neighbors is not enough even though the definition of “neighbor” is boundless. So what might be those other responsibilities? Strange as it may seem at first glance we ought to take a look at how we can be responsible for ourselves. I say strange because we hear so much about our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and selfish consumerism that is gobbling up our world’s resources and damaging our environment. We must remember, however, that Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So it is important to realize th

Children As ‘Neighbor’: Children Are To Be Loved, Not Used or Sentimentalized

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By Father Thomas Mattison  Charles Dickens did a world of good by bringing the plight of Victorian children to the forefront of everyone’s consciousness; Tiny Tim, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and Pip were real-life characters somewhere in that world. There they were seen and treated as tools and opportunities for unscrupulous and grasping grownups. But the swing of the pendulum went a degree or two too far – children suddenly became sentimentalized. When people like Churchill and W.C. Fields and Cardinal Newman had slighting things to say about the beauty, cuteness and innocence of children (respectively) they were pretty well tut-tutted as curmudgeons and misanthropes. This sentimentalizing of children is at the root of such things as the currently popular “right to a child” at any cost. You would think that a child was a new car or a better phone, to which one might also have a right, especially the thousands of frozen embryos whose ownership is often the sticking point

Fr. Butler's Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 10, 2016, Year C

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Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) In reflecting on today’s gospel, I spent way too much time reading about Torti v. Van Horn. This was a California court case, in which a “Good Samaritan” was sued for injuries she allegedly caused when pulling a friend from a car after an accident. The friend later wanted to sue her, a lower court said no, but the California Supreme Court said the suit could be allowed. The decision began with these words: “Under well-established common law principles, a person has no duty to come to the aid of another.” In the light of that principle, the priest and the Levite in today’s parable did nothing wrong. In the light of Torti v. Van Horn, they actually did the sensible thing. In any case, now I know why the scholar of the law asked the questions he did. It’s what lawyers did in those days. It’s what lawyers still do today. The

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 10, 2016, Year C

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Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Of all of the teachings of Jesus the parable of the Good Samaritan is undoubtedly the most famous, known to Christians and non-Christians alike. His parable is, of course, about responsibility, about caring for others no matter whom or what they may be. Today, however, I want to pay attention to some other responsibilities we have. Responsibility and caring for our neighbors is not enough even though the definition of “neighbor” is boundless. So what might be those other responsibilities? Strange as it may seem at first glance we ought to take a look at how we can be responsible for ourselves. I say strange because we hear so much about our selfishness, our self-centeredness, and selfish consumerism that is gobbling up our world’s resources and damaging our environment. We must remember, however, that Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. So it is important to realize th

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

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Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) In reflecting on today’s gospel, I spent way too much time reading about Torti v. Van Horn. This was a California court case, in which a “Good Samaritan” was sued for injuries she allegedly caused when pulling a friend from a car after an accident. The friend later wanted to sue her, a lower court said no, but the California Supreme Court said the suit could be allowed. The decision began with these words: “Under well-established common law principles, a person has no duty to come to the aid of another.” In the light of that principle, the priest and the Levite in today’s parable did nothing wrong. In the light of Torti v. Van Horn, they actually did the sensible thing. In any case, now I know why the scholar of the law asked the questions he did. It’s what lawyers did in those days. It’s what lawyers still do today. They test each other. I