Tag: wineskins

“New wine into fresh wineskins.” | Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Kindness and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and justice shall look down from heaven. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 9:14-17)

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

In the first reading from the prophet Amos, the LORD promises to restore Israel. “I will wall up its breaches,” says the LORD, “raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” In sending his only-begotten Son, God holds true to his promise. The parable that Jesus shares with the disciples of John makes clear that Jesus is the bridegroom, the Messiah, the fulfillment of the LORD’s promise. When the bridegroom is taken away, Jesus tells them, then his disciples will fast. While present, Jesus is the new way, his presence among them a cause for feasting and celebrating. Just as new wine can’t be contained in old wineskins without bursting them, Jesus as the means of grace, love, and forgiveness requires a new way of thinking and living.

God, just as Jesus taught the disciples through parables, help me understand as I am best able to understand his message and your purpose in sending him. Your grace is superabundant, and nothing is lost in it, as you speak in Amos as the one who will wall up breaches and raise up ruins. To the disciples of John and the Pharisees, Jesus’ mission was radical and revolutionary. At its root is your mercy in the person of Jesus. Grant me the gifts of wisdom and understanding to be able to receive Jesus, to be transformed in receiving your mercy. And let your love be so abundant as to overflow through me into the lives of everyone I encounter today. Saint Maria Goretti, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Then they will fast on that day.” | Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

Photo by Vignesh Moorthy on Unsplash

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 2:18-22)

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

Jesus goes on to compare his time on earth as the bridegroom, present among the disciples, with other examples. He compares his teachings to new cloth sewn onto old clothing and new wine poured into old wineskins. The new cloth will shrink and tear an old garment, and new wine will burst old wineskins. Instead, Jesus says, new cloth should be sewn onto new garments, and new wine should be poured into new wineskins. Jesus brings about a newness through his presence and teachings that requires a change of customs and practices. He calls people to step away from adherence to brittle old religious practices and into supple, heartfelt praise that gives God due glory.

God, in this new year, help me recognize the areas within me that are brittle and serve no genuine purpose. Give me the grace to understand that fear overcome frees me to find you anew in desiring to remain in your word, wherever that leads. Every day, new obstacles to long-term goals emerge that seem to be insurmountable. They seem at times to eclipse you. Help me see beyond that—that the earthly goal is subject to your will. In obedience to your will, help me see past obstacles and go straight to you, to listen to your word and give you praise. You are God and I am not—all glory to you, Lord.

From the Gospel acclamation: “The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 9:14-17)

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Jesus addresses the disciples of John as they ask him about why they fast but Jesus’ disciples do not. Jesus compares himself to a bridegroom, suggesting that fasting would be inappropriate for his disciples while he, the bridegroom, is present with them. But a time will come, Jesus tells them, when the joy of his physical presence is no longer a reality. Then they will fast. Jesus also uses the analogy of a new patch on an old garment. The newness of Jesus’ message requires a fresh approach, not merely patching the old ways of doing things. Jesus’ comparison of new wine and old wineskins suggests that the newness and vitality of Jesus’ teaching can’t be contained within the rigid framework of fasting and rituals.

God, in your Son’s words there is a message of mercy that I want to fully understand. Jesus, the bridegroom, is no longer visibly present but is truly present in the Eucharist. Yet, among John’s disciples, there was repentance and fasting. In the same way, I recognize the need for that when I sin by placing love of anything or any person above you. The psalmist expresses this about you by saying, “For I know that our LORD is great; our LORD is greater than all gods. All that the LORD wills he does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the deeps.” Lord, give me the grace to recognize and receive your mercy through the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist.

Stay with me today, Lord. Help me call you to mind throughout the day, remembering your mercy.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.