FIRST READING
“The Lord will disclose the purposes of the heart.”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:1 -5)
Brethren: This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges rue. Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 37:3-4.5-6.27-26.39-40 (R. 39a)
R/. From the Lord comes the salvation of the just.
Trust in the Lord and do good;
then you will dwell in the land
and safely pasture.
Find your delight in the Lord,
who grants your heart’s desire. R/.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act,
and make your uprightness shine like the light,
the justice of your cause like the noon-day sun. R/.
R/. From the Lord comes the salvation of the just.
Then turn away from evil and do good,
and you may abide forever; / for indeed,
the Lord loves justice,
and will never forsake his faithful.
The unjust shall be wiped out forever,
and the descendants of the wicked destroyed. R/.
But from the Lord comes the salvation of the just,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and rescues them,
rescues and saves them from the wicked:
because they take refuge in hint. R/.
ALLELUIA John 8:12
Alleluia. I am the light of the world, says the Lord; he who follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“Menthe bridegroom is taken from them, then they will fast.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 5 :33-39)
At that time: The Pharisees and the scribes said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “Can you make 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 in those days.” He told them a parable also: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment; if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new; for he says, ‘The old is good. ”’
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
Too often, we are very religious in our observances but not spiritual in our outlook we do all the fasting possible, say all the prayers available, but to what end? Fasting is preparation, marriage is fulfilment. Jesus is shown to be the bridegroom. In him is the fullness of joy and life that we all long for. In the case of Jesus, fasting takes on a new meaning; we fast when we recall his death and prepare for the joy of resurrection. The life he offers is a new garment and those who come to him cannot fit with old ways or old customs and they require new ways of thinking.