THE FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
July 12 & July 13, 2025
REFLECTION ON TODAY'S READING
Love of Neighbor
It’s Sunday, the Lord’s Day! As you prepare to celebrate the Eucharist with your parish community, take time to meditate on Jesus’ fundamental teaching on love of neighbor.
In today’s Gospel, you are reminded that true charity must go beyond your family and comfort zones, reaching especially toward those who are wounded, abandoned, or marginalized (Lk 10:25–37).
Ask yourself: To what conversions is Christ inviting me today? Pray to be always ready to discern, to freely and courageously choose to reach out to those in need.
Pray the Prayer of Offering, asking that all the faithful in the Church may grow in the grace of discernment.
Under the directive from the Diocese of Honolulu
St. Joseph Church has set up an egiving program to allow parishioners and guests an easier way to give. It will also allow the donors to: 1. Give from anywhere using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. 2. No need to find a check or stop by the ATM. 3. Use your Checking/Savings Account or your Debit/Credit Card. 4. Schedule gifts to occur automatically. Click on the give now link or on your phone using my parish app. “All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 16:17
Online donations may be made at any time from the comfort of your own home or any place with internet access. Online donations are credited to your tax statement for the end of the year (except when made anonymously)and you can change your account preferences and donation amounts at any time.
Saint Joseph Church Makawao - Bulletin






The Gospel Reading, Luke 25-37
The parable of the Good Samaritan
As Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem, he is confronted by a scholar of the law who wants to test him. In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment. Here, in Luke's Gospel, the lawyer asks what we must do to inherit eternal life. In the other two Gospels, Jesus answers the question by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5, on loving God with all your heart, and Leviticus 19:18, on loving your neighbor. Here Jesus asks the expert to answer this question, “What is written in the law?” The man is caught and responds with Deuteronomy 6:5. This verse is one of the most important prayers in Judaism, and it was said twice a day in Jesus' time. Love of God and love of neighbor are what is required for eternal life. Jesus' response is simple, “Do this and you will live.”
Having been shown up by Jesus, the lawyer tries another question: Who is my neighbor whom I must love like myself? In the society of Jesus' time, with its distinctions between Jews and Gentiles, men and women, clean and unclean, this was a trick question. Jesus responds with one of the most beautiful of all the parables, the Good Samaritan. It is found only in Luke's Gospel.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho descends 3,300 feet in just 17 miles. Its narrow passes and rocky terrain made it an easy place for bandits to wait for travelers. The traveler in this parable is identified only as “a certain man.” Luke uses this phrase in many of his parables so that the audience, Jew or Gentile, could identify with the man. After the attack, the man is left for dead, naked and bleeding on the side of the road. A priest comes along, but rather than helping, as one might expect, he moves to the other side of the road. Another religious person comes along, a Levite who assists in the Temple. His reaction is the same as the priest's. Both of them choose to not even find out if the man is alive. A third person comes along. The listeners would probably expect him to be an Israelite. This would make the parable a criticism of the religious leadership. Instead he is a Samaritan, an Israelite's most hated neighbor. Samaritans were descendents of Jews from the northern part of the country, who had intermarried with Gentiles and did not worship in Jerusalem. The Samaritan not only goes over to the injured man but cleans his wounds, puts him on his own animal, takes him to an inn to recover, and promises to pay all his expenses. The hated enemy is the compassionate neighbor in this parable.
Jesus has demolished all boundary expectations. It is not social definitions such as class, religion, gender, or ethnicity that determines who is our neighbor. A neighbor is a person who acts with compassion toward another. The point becomes not who deserves to be loved as I love myself, but that I become a person who treats everyone with compassion.
When Jesus asks the lawyer who was the neighbor in the story, the lawyer can't bring himself to say it was the Samaritan. All he says is that it was “the one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus' response was similar to that of the first discussion: “Go and do likewise.” The lawyer, and we, know what is right. The key is to do it..
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(https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/liturgical-year/sunday-connection )
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A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT
“Who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:15). The question Jesus poses to his disciples in today’s Gospel comes at a critical turning point in his ministry. Jesus truly wants his disciples to know how they understand him. He, in turn, wants to know if they have the courage and commitment to follow in his footsteps on the remainder of his journey to the cross. He also wants to know how they identify themselves as disciples. Good stewards know they are invited to let Jesus and their faith community call forth their deepest identity as followers of Christ Jesus. What is Jesus saying to you about your identity as his follower? Who do you say you are?
—— (https://catholicstewardship.com/)
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
First Thursday of Every Month. Come anytime between 5-6:30 pm.. All are Welcome!
THRIFT SHOP HOURS OF OPERATION
Effective May 2021, the Thrift Store hours of operation became every Tuesday from 8 a.m. - 12 noon, and the 3rd Saturday from 8am to noon.