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JOYFUL REST

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Gospel Reading for September 05, 2026 – Luke 6: 1-5

JOYFUL REST

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”

Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

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The Pharisees were always on the watch for what Jesus would do on a Sabbath because they had imposed a complex system of oral traditions and legalistic restrictions, with 39 main categories of forbidden work. Reaping and gathering were considered forbidden work. Hence, they complained when they saw His disciples picking heads of grain and eating them. Healing the sick was also considered forbidden work, and as we all know, Jesus was a healer. They were certain He would heal on a Sabbath.

Catholics did not continue the Jewish practice of observing the Sabbath, which the Jews considered their day of rest. Instead, Catholics celebrate Sunday as the Lord’s Day, giving emphasis to Christ’s victory over sin through His Resurrection and to the descent of the Holy Spirit, both of which happened on a Sunday.

For us, the Lord’s Day is meant to be a day of JOYFUL REST, not a day of burden. It is a day to celebrate God’s love and compassion for His people. That is why, universally, Sunday is considered Family Day, when family members take a break from work and school, allowing everyone to gather, rest, and reconnect before a new week begins.

But for us Christians, that is not the only reason. Most importantly, Sunday is a day to thank God for the week of blessings He has bestowed on our family.

Lord Jesus, may everything we do each day be our offering of love to You, so that every Sunday may truly be a day of JOYFUL REST and a day of gratitude for all the blessings we have received throughout the week. Amen.

TIME TO FILL

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Gospel Reading for September 04, 2026 – Luke 5: 33-39

TIME TO FILL

The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

And he also told them a parable. “No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one. Otherwise, he will tear the new and the piece from it will not match the old cloak. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined. Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins. And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

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Fasting is made an obligation by the Catholic Church only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as an act of penance, self-discipline, and spiritual preparation to honor Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. It is a form of spiritual discipline of the body that can also be practiced anytime.

For the Pharisees, fasting was done every Monday and Thursday, even though there was only one mandatory fast day commanded by the Law of Moses for the entire year—the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Mondays and Thursdays also worked well for them because they were the primary market days in the towns, where they could show off their piety.

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6: 16–18:

“When you fast, don’t make yourselves look sad like the hypocrites. They put a look of suffering on their faces so that people will see they are fasting. The truth is, that’s all the reward they will get. So when you fast, wash your face and make yourself look nice. Then no one will know you are fasting, except your Father, who is with you even in private. He can see what is done in private, and He will reward you.”

Unless our fasting is a sincere act of penance and spiritual discipline, it becomes just another ritual that has become habitual.

There was no need for the disciples to fast while Jesus was with them. It was a TIME TO FILL themselves with all the teachings and all the love of Jesus. When Jesus was taken away from them, then it became the time to fast in atonement for the sins that brought him to the Cross.

Lord Jesus, may our acts of sacrifice bring us closer to you and make us more aware of our Christian duty to help the needy. Amen.