“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? … the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast … Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. … Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.’”
Mass Readings 1.19.15 – HEB 5:1-10 – PS 110:1, 2, 3, 4 – MK 2:18-22 – Find a Mass: MassTimes.org – Find a Mass: TheCatholicDirectory.com – Readings excerpts and brief reflections or annotations follow below
GOSPEL
Jesus is asked why His Disciples are not fasting like those of John the Baptist or those of the Pharisees.
He indicates that, in the unfolding of God’s Plan, there is a time and context for fasting, and that, for His Disciples, that time will come when He is taken from them, not while His Presence gives them cause for rejoicing rather than fasting.
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 … ‘Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? … the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast … Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.’
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
You are a Priest for ever, in the Line of Melchizedek.
FIRST READING
Past high priests offered sacrifices for sins, including their own.
God the Father Glorified Christ as a High Priest, declaring Him to be His Son.
Christ offered prayers and supplications to the Father, heard because of His Reverence, and the Father Saved Him from death.
Jesus displayed obedience to the Father, enduring suffering, and became the Source of Eternal Salvation for all who follow Him.
… it was not Christ who Glorified Himself in becoming High Priest, but rather the One who said to Him: ‘You are My Son: this day I have Begotten You’ … He says in another place, ‘You are a Priest forever according to the Order of Melchizedek’. … He offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to Save Him from death … heard because of His Reverence. … He learned obedience from what He Suffered … when He was made Perfect, He became the Source of Eternal Salvation for all who obey Him.
LINKS & RESOURCES
