Sunday 10 July

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sea Sunday – Day of Prayer for Seafarers

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Ps 69; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

See God in each person you serve

The instruction seems simple – if you want to go to heaven you must love your neighbour. Treat them as you would yourself. This command can result in joy from start to finish – a beloved friend, an enchanting child, a lovely family, friendly colleagues, an agreeable community. On the other hand, it can be a trial. The domineering driver, the grumpy boss, rude children, sour service, the boring, the ugly, the smelly … how can we love all these too?

Let us offer God our difficulties in obeying Christ’s commandment in the words of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta who asked God to “bear with my faults, looking only to my intention, which is to love and serve you in the person of each of your sick …” Add your own list of irritations.