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Gospel Reading for July 05, 2025 – Matthew 9: 14-17
ALL THAT MATTERS
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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The Pharisees fasted twice a week purportedly to express humility, repentance and to be closer to God. Being with Jesus, Son of God was the closest they could get to God, but their rejection of him made them lose that opportunity and instead got lost in religious practices that were meant for show. The Pharisees were called hypocrites by Jesus because when they fast, they look somber to disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting (Matthew 6: 16-18).
Fasting is a form of sacrifice and as such is meant to be kept private. Our Father in heaven sees our intentions and that is ALL THAT MATTERS. It would be very good for our spiritual and physical well-being to fast as sacrifice even outside the Lenten Season, and offer it for various intentions of our family, friends, our country and the world.
Lord, may we learn to do only the things that matter to our heavenly Father!
