September 3
Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Monthly Mass League
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
Colossians 1:15-20
Brothers and sisters: Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the Body, the Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the Blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2b) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
John 8:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 5:33-39
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.’”
“Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.”
Reflection
One of the things people always seem to say when they are angry with God is that the people they see don’t seem to measure up to their assessment of what God’s followers ought to be. They don’t live faithfully enough. They don’t pray enough. They don’t fast enough. This is the case with the scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel reading. They know that they and the disciples of John the Baptist do a lot of fasting, declining food for religious reasons, and they wonder why the disciples of Jesus don’t do it too much. This is a good question. Why is it that these men who claim to be followers of Jesus continue to eat as if there is no tomorrow?
The thing is, there is in fact, no tomorrow with people who live with Jesus. As Jesus tells it, they are continuing the party with the bridegroom and there is no need to fast. One day, the bridegroom will be taken away from them and then the need to fast will be all too clear and present in their lives.
We who await the kingdom of God are in the same boat as those Apostles. We are waiting for the bridegroom to come and get the party started. We know that Jesus has promised to come and spend eternity with us, and we are looking forward to that time in the same way that a bride looks toward her wedding day. What a time it will be! What joy we will experience! Let us live our lives in the joyful hope of the coming of the Lord. We can fast now, but when that day comes—let’s party!
God bless,
Deacon Dare
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