MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 5 JULY
July 5, 2025
FEAST OF SAINT MARIA GORETTI, VIRGIN AND MARTYR – 6th JULY
July 6, 2025
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
5 JULY, 2025
Matthew 9:14-17
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.”
THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD!
REFLECTION
In this passage, Jesus responds to a question about fasting, revealing a deeper truth about His presence and the newness of life He brings. He compares Himself to a bridegroom, emphasizing that His presence is a time of joy, not mourning. Through the analogies of unshrunk cloth on old garments and new wine in old wineskins, Jesus teaches that the new covenant He brings cannot be confined within old religious forms. His message invites transformation, renewal, and an openness to the fresh work of the Spirit.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank You for the new life You bring. Help me not to cling to old patterns and rigid traditions that cannot hold the fullness of Your grace. Open my heart to be renewed by Your Spirit daily, that I may grow in joy, freedom, and faith. Teach me to embrace the new things You are doing in my life and in the world around me. Amen
