Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 2, 18-22
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast.
People came to Jesus and objected,
“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them,
“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.
But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast on that day.
No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak.
If he does, its fullness pulls away,
the new from the old, and the tear gets worse.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins,
and both the wine and the skins are ruined.
Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”
The old and the new
1) Fasting. It is the action of not having something that pleases you, in the sense of mortification. This sacrifice helps the soul grow so that you are able to put a check on selfish or vain ways. Many times, we believe we need certain things when deep down we know that they are not necessary. Fasting helps us realize that we don’t need to hold onto things that don’t lead us to God. The mortification of fasting aims to seek Jesus and to grow closer to Him. When the disciples had Jesus with them, they needed nothing else. Goal achieved! Now, have you achieved that goal? Do you already have Jesus with you? If you don’t, then perhaps it’s necessary to fast. Fasting does not refer solely to food; you have to learn to clear out your life of things that don’t lead you to God. Perhaps, you can fast by limiting the use of your cell phone, your computer or tablet, among other things. The aim of fasting is to control yourself and put your life in order so that you may be closer to Jesus.
2) The old and the new. Whoever meets Jesus and is with Jesus takes on a new life. There is a change, but it requires that you wipe the slate clean in your mind and heart; it implies initiating a change and following a set path. Don’t let the past take over and don’t allow the past to prevent you from planning your future. Seek a new life with Jesus.
3) The ‘balloon syndrome’. There are people who suffer from this syndrome, in which, while having the possibility of flying high, of growing and moving towards Heaven, there is something that binds them to earth and to the past. Check what’s tying you down, the thing or person that does not allow you to fly high. You are full of the Holy Spirit which lifts you up towards God. You are bigger than whatever has you tied down, but yet there is still something or someone that keeps you down and doesn’t let you fly or grow. Can you identify it? Do you suffer from this ‘balloon syndrome’? Let go and fly high!
Don’t forget that something good is on the way! God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
