Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

Know Before You Go

The Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Remote video URL

Join Fr. James Marchionda, OP in this Know Before You Go video for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In our first reading from Deuteronomy, we learn that God's Law is already inside us. We don't need to go looking for it.

In the second reading from Paul's Letter to the Colossians, we hear of how Christ is the center of all things.

For a Gospel, we have the classic parable of the Good Samaritan, and are confronted with the question of who is our neighbor today? If it is the one in front of us in need, it seems as if the answer in the United States is the recent immigrant. What should we do about that as faithful Christians?

Timeline:

00:00 - Introduction: Welcome and overview of the readings
00:30 - This Sunday’s Readings: Deuteronomy, Colossians, and Luke
01:00 - Deuteronomy: The Law is within you—listen with urgency
02:12 - Colossians: Christ at the center of all creation
03:23 - Luke’s Gospel: The parable of the Good Samaritan
04:27 - Jesus' dialogue with the lawyer: Love God and neighbor
05:00 - The story retold: Priest, Levite, and Samaritan
06:00 - Who was the true neighbor? The one who showed mercy
06:26 - Urgency today: Being first to show mercy in a divided world
07:07 - The Gospel asks more: Beyond the minimum of the law
08:03 - Deuteronomy and Pope Francis: Acting from the heart
09:00 - Wrestling with the Gospel: Immigrants as modern-day Samaritans
10:08 - A challenge: Rethink our attitude toward immigrants
11:41 - Final invitation: Research, pray, and act from your heart
12:15 - Blessing: May God help us be instruments of mercy

Know Before You Go is a ministry of the provincial office to help people prepare to hear the readings and preaching of the approaching Sunday's Mass. We welcome any feedback you have at know@opcentral.org . You can see them all below, or you can see other preaching by a particular person by clicking on his name.

Sign up

You can receive an email each morning with the daily Word of Hope and Know Before You Go once a week:

* indicates required

Email Format

  • The Third Sunday of Lent

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP provides background information about the Gospel Reading for the Third Sunday of Lent, the story of Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well, explaining the relationship between the Samaritans and the Jews and the sorts of encounters that happen between men and women around wells in the Bible.
  • The Second Sunday of Lent

    Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Lent, including the Transfiguration, pointing out the many ways God speaks to us and wondering if we will listen and experience the fullness of the Resurrection come Easter.
  • The First Sunday of Lent

    Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom, OP, breaks open the readings for the First Sunday of Lent about the temptations of Jesus, asks us to consider if God is at the center of our life, or have we fallen victim to the Father of Lies?
  • The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Brian Walker, OP breaks open the readings for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, wrestling with the huge task of trying to "be holy, as God is holy." One way we do this is by opening ourselves to others, recognizing that the holiness that resides in us resides in them as well, since we are all made in the image of God.
  • The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, including a long Gospel passage on the teachings of Jesus, which could sound like a lot of do's and don'ts, but are really an invitation to live out our faith more fully in a variety of ways.
  • The Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

    Fr. Donald Goergen, OP, citing the prophet Isaiah, asks us to look at our life and see if we are truly motivated by core principles of our faith such as caring for the poor and the homeless, and feeding the hungry.
  • The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering background information about Gideon and the Battle of Midian, the lands of Zebulun and Naphtali, and on the beginnings of Jesus' ministry.
  • The Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

    Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, challenging us to see more deeply the many layers of meaning in scripture, and how we constantly need to struggle to reinterpret our faith through Christ. As examples of the struggle to understand, he asks how it is that Israel is to be a light to all the nations (from Isaiah); how it is that Christ is light to all the nations (from John), and how it is that John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, claims that he does not know Jesus (from Mark)?
  • Epiphany

    Fr. Brian Walker, OP celebrates the Epiphany, when Christ was made known to all the nations. Let us extend that peace to all, no matter their origin, color, political party, or any other difference that might divide us.
  • Christmas Day

    For Christmas, Fr. Don Goergen, OP speaks of the three-fold coming of Christ—in Bethlehem, at the end of time, and in our heart every day.
  • The Third Sunday of Advent

    by Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP
    On Gaudete Sunday, we remember the promise that the lame will run and the blind will see, knowing that this promise was fulfilled in Jesus, but also cautioned to wait for it to come in its fulness, as a farmer waits for his crops to grow.
  • The First Sunday of Advent

    Fr. Brendan Curran, OP calls us to WAKE UP to the injustice in our world, to be a light of peace in our world, especially this month shining a light on the horror unfolding in Myanmar.