ICYMI: Good Samaritan, Catholic Bands, Respect Life & Wisdom From the Pope

Did you have a good weekend? I hope your Monday (and week) are off to a great start! The following is a collection of cool news, resources and even some wisdom from the Pope you may or may not have heard about – hence the title – In Case You Missed It.

Is there anything I missed? Or did you hear about something unique and share-worthy? Leave it in the comments at the bottom of this post.

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke is one of the more recognizable passages in the New Testament – the story of the Good Samaritan. The following are the verses that preface the parable of the Good Samaritan:

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.”

– Luke 10: 25-28

Looking for some great Catholic music but don’t know where to start? Catholicbands.com can help! This website offers a low price subscription that gets you at least 8 MP3 downloads from different Catholic artists to your email. It’s promised to showcase bands from all different genres from rock and roll to country who all self-identify as Catholic.

Every October is Respect Life Month and during this month we are reminded of the importance of every human life, especially those who are undervalued in our society for any reason, whether they be elderly, sick, neglected or simply unborn.

Starting tomorrow, Heroic Media will be celebrating its patron saint – St. Gerard Majella. St. Majella is known as the patron saint of children, unborn children, motherhood and expectant mothers. You can sign up on their website to receive each day’s novena prayers to your email inbox.

What another great way to remember participate in Respect Life month!

On October 4th Pope Francis met with young adults and teenagers where he encouraged young people to have the “courage to get married” in a world that touts individual rights and sometimes abandons things when they get difficult instead of sticking them out.

Pope Francis has once again reminded us that Christian marriage is a “real vocation, just like priesthood and religious life are. Two Christians who marry each other have recognized in their love story the Lord’s call, the vocation to form one flesh, one life from the two, male and female.”

And regardless of whether or not our vocation is to marriage, become a part of a religious order to remain single, we must always root the discernment of our vocations through regular prayer. Through this we deepen our familiar relationship with the Lord and keep the window of our life open so that we can hear his voice and what he is calling us towards.

We are special. We, as Christians, are growing and renewing the church everyday. Each and every one of us has a place in the responsibility to evangelize. Pope Francis echoed those sentiments when he said that, “carrying the Gospel with the witness of our lives transforms the world.”

You can read the rest about Pope Francis’ message on the Catholic News Service’ story here.