BEADS OF JOY 07-02-16
“Question About Fasting”
©2016 James Dacey, Jr. OFS
My Friends,
Today’s
Gospel: Matt 9:14-17 (The Question About Fasting)
“Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to 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. And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."
“Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to 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. And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."
Reflection:
Are you eager and excited and ready to grow Spiritually? In today’s Gospel Jesus opens our minds to the thought of “new wine skins” so that we to maybe open and ready to receive the Holy Spirit. So which came first the Fasting of the Feast? LOL.. I know that has chicken/egg tone to it, sorry. It just sounded funny, so I thought I’d say it. There was no reason to Fast while they were walking with Jesus. Isn’t that obvious, the disciples experienced a certain overwhelming, overflowing Joy… a living Blissfulness that words can’t describe. There was only a time to celebrate, learn and grow.
Are you eager and excited and ready to grow Spiritually? In today’s Gospel Jesus opens our minds to the thought of “new wine skins” so that we to maybe open and ready to receive the Holy Spirit. So which came first the Fasting of the Feast? LOL.. I know that has chicken/egg tone to it, sorry. It just sounded funny, so I thought I’d say it. There was no reason to Fast while they were walking with Jesus. Isn’t that obvious, the disciples experienced a certain overwhelming, overflowing Joy… a living Blissfulness that words can’t describe. There was only a time to celebrate, learn and grow.
Let us go beyond the thoughts of
just today’s gospel. In today’s gospel it was the disciples of John The Baptist
(The end of the Old Testament) kinda sorta like the old wine skin… speaking to Jesus
(The beginning of the New Testament) kinda sorta like the new wine skin… Old wine skins cannot expand or grow anymore,
neither can you patch an old wine skin. In order to grow you MUST have new wine
skins. That way as the wine ferments and excretes gases and expands the wine
skins can grow and expand when necessary and be open to the experience of new
growth.
Our Spiritual lives are the same
we must be like new wine skins ready to expand and grow and be open to the new
experiences of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Throughout our own journey we will
experience times of fasting and feasting. Those times of fasting may include
confession or suffering with an illness or even suffering with someone close to
us who is suffering. It is through those times that we must draw our hearts
ever so close to Jesus in prayer and trust.
It is our clinging to Him and
loving Him with all our hearts; asking for His guidance and His love as we
journey through some of these difficult moments in our lives that He will give
us the strength and wisdom to move forward. But we must keep in mind that these
times of fasting will be followed by times of feasting and celebrating. God’s
Plan for us is unlike anything we can ever possibly image...
Trust
In Jesus
and everything will fall into place for you in your life. In His Time, which by
the way is always the Perfect Time.
LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!
Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS
