Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
06th July 2024 (Saturday)
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Amos 9:11-15
Thus says the Lord: “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the Lord your God.
Psalm 85:9, 11-12, 13-14
R/. The Lord speaks of peace for his people.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; and I know them, and they follow me.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 9:14-17
At that time: The disciples of John came to Jesus, 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. 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.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Saturday – Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: A person does not become holy and righteous just because he is faithful to practice some religious duties. It is only faithfulness to the Lord
1. Jesus addresses the question of fasting. He clarifies the need, the motive, and the effect of it. He answers the disciples of John who ask him why his disciples do not fast while they and those of the Pharisees fast. He indicates that he is the bridegroom and his disciples are the wedding guests. His presence is an occasion to celebrate, but they would fast in his absence.
2. Does it mean that his disciples need not fast as long as he is with them? Is fasting only an act of mourning and penance over his absence? Here the point is not just the issue of fasting, about the when and why of it. In no way, the value of fasting is compromised or minimized.
3. The Lord wants to teach us clearly about the whole purpose, motive, and direction of all our religious activities and observances. It is not just to fulfil a religious obligation. Rather, all our devotional practices must be oriented to the experience of the bridegroom. They should arouse in us a feeling of mourning and penance over our missing his presence.
4. Despite some disciplinary and restrictive character, every religious practice is essentially a positive experience. It is a celebration of the Lord’s presence. They help us to grow in closeness to him. They also lead us to a thorough change of life. This change is profound and holistic.
5. It is not shallow or superficial that has only some external and temporary effects. Our acts of devotion should not be like new patches on an old cloth or new wine into old wine-skins. We should throw away the old cloth and old wine-skins of sin and evil.
6. This is the perfect “changeover” that we see in the promise of God in the first reading. A truly renewed person would “repair the breaches of his booth”, “raise up and rebuild the ruined city (life) from its ruins”, and “plant and reap the crops in abundance”. Thus it is all a matter of “restoration”.
Practice: All our enthusiasm to practice devotions and sacrifices must be directed ultimately to a change of heart and life. They should make us experience and enjoy the Lord’s intimacy and be renewed with new cloth and wine-skin
