Today our Lord certainly is not condemning the practice of fasting.
He's simply pointing out to the Pharisees and scribes
that their fast really was serving them for nothing
and that the fast that the apostles would eventually take up
would be a worthy fast because it would be done in the name of Christ
and for the kingdom of Christ.
But first the bridegroom would have to prepare them
for the reception of those graces by which they would truly become new wineskins.
And so our Lord is trying to instruct the Pharisees and the scribes
that they must change.
Amen.
In their lives, repent, become new wineskins.
And ultimately we know this really transpires in the sacrament of baptism.
And so our Lord here is referring to the changing of the old covenant
into the new covenant, that the old covenant is fulfilled in him
and that from henceforth he will establish the eternal covenant until the end of time.
That is his kingdom, the Holy Roman Catholic Church,
in which all men from all nations and all times
will be transformed into new wineskins
in order that they may receive the wine that is the wine of grace.
And so our Lord is referring here to something greater
that all the fast, all the sacrifices of the old covenant
would pale in comparison to those fast and sacrifices made in the new covenant
because all in the old pointed to the fulfillment
and today,
today stands before the Pharisees and scribes
the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament pointed to
and it is all summed up in Christ
and he and he alone will establish himself as the ruler of all peoples
and all nations.
And so he has come to reign through the love of his sacred heart
over all peoples and at all times.
And so we have this time for scripture tells us
it is appointed once for man to live and then to die.
And so we,
we strive and we are resolved to do all that Christ has taught us
because as the king of all nations,
we know one day he will come also as the judge of all nations.
That day in the last judgment,
when all nations in all lands will stand before the Lord,
there will be no disparity between the kings
and the potentates of this world and the poorest of this world,
but rather all will be judged in accord to how they have responded.
To the love of the sacred heart of Jesus
and the sacramental system that he has established
for the salvation of mankind until the end of time.
And so let us resolve this day that when he comes as the final judge,
that he come when he comes in his glory with all the angels of heaven,
that he will find us worthy wineskins,
that is truly transformed new wineskins who have received the grace of God,
not lightly,
but have received the grace of God in a spirit of reverence,
and in a spirit of humility and have strived our whole lives to serve him
and to do all things well because we have striven to do all things for him.
And we know full well that we do things for him when we do,
as Our Lady instructed us at the wedding feast of Cana,
when we do whatever he tells us.
And so let us truly marvel at this mystery that we have been incorporated into.
Let us truly marvel that as some of the saints,
pointed out,
the angels wait in awe to see how mankind will respond to the grace of God.
And so let us always be found edifying our guardian angels and all the angels
by constantly responding to the grace of God
so that we establish in our nation and in all nations
that love that cannot be surpassed in this life.
That is the love of the sacred heart of Jesus
because it is a love that cannot be surpassed in eternal life.
Because it is an eternal love.
And so it is not merely human love and human desires that we strive to conform to,
but it is the very love of the Son of God.
And hence it is the love of the Blessed Trinity that we are entering into.
And so our incorporation into the mystical body of Christ
is truly the day we received our life
because we are incorporated into that life of the most divine Trinity.
And our Lord points out that his disciples will truly go forth
and show the works of charity, that is the works of love.
Their fast will be not like the fast of the Pharisees and scribes.
Their fast will have more meaning simply by the fact
that they are incorporated into the mystical body of Christ.
That incorporation elevates each and every one of our activities
because it unites us to Jesus Christ crucified
and it involves us in union with him
in the salvation of the world.
And so we must always be aware of this great dignity
and we must always temper it by the reality
that one day all men, the great potentates of this world
and the most seemingly of insignificant souls,
and on that day some of the insignificant souls
will surpass the potentates of this world
and some of the potentates of this world
will pass the insignificant souls of this world
simply because
they have done well what the Lord had asked them to do.
They fulfilled their state in life
and they did it in accord with the will and the teachings of Jesus Christ
and have been nurtured on the sacramental life.
And so we truly have nothing to fear on that terrible day of judgment
if we stay close to him in this life
in order to enjoy him forever in the life to come.
In the name of Jesus Christ, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.