Only heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes, priests and others may disappoint, but God never will!

Only heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes, priests and others may disappoint, but God never will! We are called to turn to the Lord in our need, and we will live! God gave us Jesus as our example and model to follow, we are called to follow, imitate, reflect, and love like Jesus. God wants us to follow His Commandments, He gave them to Moses for us to follow.  While many other rules and statutes were created by man, God gave us 10 to follow. Four that we need to show respect and honor to Him, and the other six to follow in living on this Earth School to get along with our fellow humans. The Ten Commandments are easy to follow, simple and straight forward, yet so many dismiss them, make excuses for sin and being selfish and sinning, not adhering to God's laws. But that is what we are called to do! Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life. The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul; the decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. Church, the Bible, and Jesus can teach us a lot about how to live as we journey on this Earth School, can't you see why God gave us Jesus to follow? In the Gospel, Jesus tells a nice story about how even a priest and a Levite disappoint, but how a good Samaritan was the real one to show mercy, love, and compassion, not the priest. I know my spouse and I had a bad experience rom a priest like this too, he just crosses over to the other side and looks the other way, can you imagine, a Catholic priest doing this in the 2020"s? But they do, even after this Bible verse written over 2000 years ago. How sad! We are called to love, to show mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and be like a good Samaritan at all times, every single day.   Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life! Remember Jesus tells us to be like good Samaritans, and go and do likewise! It is all about love! 

 Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1
Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Moses said to the people:
"If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God,
and keep his commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul.
"For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
'Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'
No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out."

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
R. (cf. 33)  Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
I pray to you, O LORD,
 for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
 with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness:
 in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
I am afflicted and in pain;
 let your saving help, O God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
 and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
 you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
 and his own who are in bonds he spurns not."
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
For God will save Zion
 and rebuild the cities of Judah.
The descendants of his servants shall inherit it,
 and those who love his name shall inhabit it.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

or

Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R.(9a) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
 refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
 giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
 rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
 enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
 enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
 all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
They are more precious than gold,
 than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
 or honey from the comb.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Reading 2
Colossians 1:15-20
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

Alleluia
Cf. John 6:63c, 68c
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Luke 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law?
How do you read it?"
He said in reply,
"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."
He replied to him, "You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live."
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
"And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied,
"A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
'Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."