Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 4, 2026
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.”
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. The full readings of the day from the Lectionary are available here.
I desperately needed the quiet seriousness of Lent this year. My family was freshly mourning the death of our baby, Joy Francis, in miscarriage. I clung to Scripture that spoke of the Lord’s closeness to my grief: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Ps 34:18) I would have struggled with Jesus’ beautiful example of the guests at the wedding feast in today’s gospel during that season; I simply could not pull myself out of my grief to rejoice.
As the Easter Triduum drew near, I felt apprehensive. I embraced the passion narratives of Holy Week; I willingly approached the Garden of Gethsemane, the foot of the cross, and the cold stillness of the tomb. But I didn’t know how to get myself to Easter. I pictured myself surrounded by happy people singing “Alleluia!” at Easter Mass, unable to bring the words of praise to my mouth. I feared a feeling of separation from the Lord during a season full of so much joy, when all I could feel was sorrow.
But as the Exultet was proclaimed in the dark church during the Easter Vigil liturgy, I once again found myself loved and embraced, right where I was: “The sanctifying power of this night…restores…joy to mourners.” Jesus’ resurrection means our joy and our hope are restored. I knew I needed Lent during my season of grief, but I needed Easter even more.
Jesus’ wedding feast example in today’s gospel is not a condemnation of mourners, but rather an invitation to those who are stuck in our own heads, clinging to our ways of doing things instead of embracing reality as it is: the Savior of the world is here with us. He has given his life for us and defeated death. He would rather we cling to him, bringing our whole, broken, contradictory selves there, than grasp onto anything else.
Baby Joy, pray for us.
Prayer
You want us to celebrate your presence, Lord, in all the manifestations you share with us. Influence our hearts each time we encounter you. Free us to joyously celebrate all the times you are with us. May we fully partake in the supper of the Lamb, who takes away all separation. We ask this in your name, Christ the joy-filled one. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Pier Giorgio Frassati was an extraordinary, Catholic young man who immersed himself in the struggle for human dignity that defined the 20th century. When he died at the age of 24, the streets were flooded with people who mourned his early death, and it was the poor people whom he served who took up the cause of his canonization.
He was born in 1901 in Turin, Italy, to a wealthy and prestigious family who owned a newspaper; his father was named Italian ambassador to Germany. Pier was an average student and an excellent athlete. His passions included mountain climbing and playing practical jokes—his many friends called him "the Terror.”
As a young man, he threw himself into social action on behalf of the Catholic faith: he served the poor, prayed, and built community. Pier gave his efforts to a number of groups who worked for justice and spread Eucharistic piety and Marian devotion. Pier would give away any spending money he had—he would even offer his fare for the train to a poor person and would walk home instead.
He started a newspaper that took seriously the principles in Pope Leo XIII’s famous encyclical about the dignity of human labor and the rights of workers, Rerum Novarum. “Charity is not enough,” he would say. “We need social reform.”
When Church leaders organized a demonstration in Rome against fascism, he helped lead the crowd. Police began to suppress the protest with violence and knocked the lead banner from someone’s hands. Pier grabbed the banner and, holding it higher, used the pole to fend off other attacks. He and other demonstrators were arrested. He could have received special treatment because of his father’s position, but he refused and stayed with his friends in jail.
One night after his release, fascist supporters broke into his family’s house and tried to attack Pier and his father, but Pier repelled them and chased them out into the street with his bare hands.
He died on this date in 1925 after contracting an illness from his efforts serving the poor and sick. When his tomb was moved to the cathedral in Turin in 1981, it was discovered that no decay had corrupted his body.
Pope St. John Paul II beatified Pier Giorgio Frassati in 1990, and called him "the Man of Eight Beatitudes." “By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ's Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is ‘blessed,’ and that only the person who becomes a man or woman of the Beatitudes can succeed in communicating love and peace to others,” the pope said at his beatification Mass. “He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people.”
Pope Leo XIV canonized Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati together on September 7, 2025.
Pier’s story and image are used by high school students who come to campus for a summer conference with the Notre Dame Vision program.
St. Pier Giorgio Frassati, you were the young man who fought fascism and poverty with your bare hands—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati is an illustration by Julie Lonneman, who holds exclusive rights to the further distribution and publication of her art. Used with permission.