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Gospel Reading for July 04, 2026 – Matthew 9: 14-17
LESSEN OUR ATTACHMENT
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.”
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For the disciples of John, fasting was an act of worship before God—a time set aside to honor him, present special intentions, and devote themselves more fully to prayer. For the Pharisees, fasting was meant to express repentance for sin and the hope for Israel’s redemption. However, Jesus rebuked many of them as hypocrites because, although the Torah required only one annual fast on the Day of Atonement, they had turned fasting into a twice-weekly practice that often became an outward display of religious devotion rather than an expression of sincere conversion. For Catholics, fasting is a spiritual discipline observed especially during Lent in preparation for Easter. It unites us with Jesus’ forty days in the desert and is practiced as an act of penance, self-discipline, humility, and deeper reliance on God.
Although the reasons and practices may differ, they all point to one purpose: to deepen our relationship with God.
At the time of today’s Gospel, however, the Son of God himself was present among his disciples. It was not yet the time to fast. It was the time to rejoice in his presence, listen to his teachings, and follow him wherever he led them. As Jesus said, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” The time for fasting would come when he would be taken away from them—fulfilled most profoundly in his Passion and Death on Calvary.
Fasting is meant to LESSEN OUR ATTACHMENT to worldly pleasures and distractions so that we may focus more fully on God through prayer, sacrifice, and almsgiving. It is not an end in itself, nor is it a means of gaining the admiration of others. Rather, it is a humble expression of our desire to grow closer to God and to conform our hearts more closely to his will.
Lord Jesus, teach us never to use our religious practices to seek the praise of others. May our prayer, fasting, and acts of charity always spring from sincere love for you and lead us to a deeper relationship with you!
