Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 6, 2019
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.”
Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”
He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”
Reflection
I have the opportunity to reflect on this gospel just as I am retiring from the University of Notre Dame after 18 years of service in the Alumni Association. In this role, I supported many programs like FaithND and the Daily Gospel Reflection but I was most directly responsible for collecting prayer intentions submitted through our website and praying them at the Grotto. This was a source of many blessings for me and I will miss it very much.
The date of this reflection turned out to be fortuitous. It comes not only at the time of my retirement, it is also the seven-year anniversary of the passing of my husband of 38 years, Frank, and today I will attend the funeral of one of my very close friends. Jesus’ words resonate in my heart, “the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them.” When I think of the sorrow that I felt in the past and the sorrow I feel now, I understand in my soul the meaning of “they will fast in those days.”
When Jesus tells the Pharisees that new wine cannot go into old wineskins I think he means that the new message he brings cannot be fully compatible with their old way of thinking. This is the like the new reality I had to adapt to after my husband’s passing, the new reality of life without my friend, and the new reality of my retired life. All of these transitions are challenging but I know that Christ is continually calling me to something new. My retirement is a happy occasion and will now afford me more time with my children and grandchildren which will be a great joy. As I move into this new stage in my life, I trust that Christ, who is always new in my heart, will keep me connected to everything in my past: my husband, my friend, and the love and prayers of the Notre Dame community.
Prayer
Jesus, we know that you are always with us, leading and guiding us through your Spirit. At the same time, we long for that time when we will experience the fullness of your presence in the wedding feast of heaven. We ask that you send your Spirit to strengthen us through the difficulties of this life so that we may be prepared even now for life eternal. We ask this in your most holy name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Eleutherius was an abbot who led a monastery in sixth-century Italy, and was known for working miracles.
One story tells of him healing a boy of demonic possession. The boy was brought to his monastery for care and education, and for a long time exhibited no signs of his possession.
Eleutherius said, “Now that the devil has to deal with the servants of God he does not dare come near the child.” As soon as he had said this, the boy was convulsed by the demon. Eleutherius was ashamed for having boasted and commanded the whole community to fast and pray until the boy was healed.
At another time, Eleutherius is said to have raised a dead man back to life.
St. Eleutherius died in 585 in the monastery he led, and his relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
St. Eleutherius, you battled the devil and worked miracles—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Eleutherius is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed April 3, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
