Daily Gospel Reflection
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July 8, 2023
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.”
Reflection
Today is my daughter’s 25th birthday. She carries on the name of grandmothers from both sides of the family, honoring cherished traditions. However, of our three children, she has pushed us the most to examine why we do what we do, say what we say, even think what we think.
While we attend Mass weekly, give to the church monetarily, and even fast during Lent, our daughter has encouraged us to examine why we practice our faith in these particular ways. Is it more important to adhere to old doctrines out of habit, or do we need to re-examine how we live out the messages of Jesus from time to time?
There have been times in the Church, most recently during the Second Vatican Council where the Church has thoroughly examined and adjusted approaches. Do we ever allow ourselves to be stretched and remember why we do what we do and how the gospel is lived out in our daily lives?
Is Jesus calling us to ponder in a new way how his love exists in our everyday? He is no longer here on earth, in human form, to show us how to put new wine into new wineskins. For example, how do we love those who, in their differences, seem unacceptable? Making these new wineskins for the new wine of God’s love is our task now. That is how we keep the celebration going—by extending the wisdom and mercies Jesus would have shown to all.
May we not ignore the wisdom of the youth because of their age, may we be open to the new wine of Jesus’ good works, and may we experience his love every day so that we might rededicate ourselves not only to the practice of the faith but Christ’s true sacrificial love in our lives.
Prayer
Lord, our God, help us to truly believe that you are always with us, that you are always present because you cannot be absent. Help us to know that you are present at every moment of our existence, independent of the content of the moment. You will never be taken from us. Open our minds and hearts to your presence everywhere, in every one, at all times. Make of us fresh wineskins that you may pour your new wine into us. Help us to have a theology of abundance and generosity. We pray this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day

Priscilla and Aquila were a married couple from the early Church, well-known in Scripture for being “co-workers in Christ” with St. Paul—even allowing their home to be used as a local church.
Associating with Paul, the couple traveled with him throughout the region, living in Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome. Paul used their home as a headquarters during his journeys, and they would open their house as a gathering place for the Church wherever they lived. At one point, Paul says, they “risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles” (Rom 16:4).
Aquila was a tent-maker, a trade he shared with Paul. We do not know if Paul brought them to faith in Christ, or if they were already Christians when they met Paul. It is certain, however, that they were pillars of the early Church. They instructed others in the faith and their hospitality gave early Christians a place to break bread together and remember Jesus’ words and deeds.
The relics of Sts. Priscilla and Aquila rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and their image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
Sts. Priscilla and Aquila, you worked with Paul and gave a home to the early Church—pray for us!