Twenty-Second Friday of Ordinary Time

"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."

If we truly want to be Disciples of Christ, then we can't hold onto our old sinful selves. Sin leaves us weak and unable to hold the love and mercy we are all called to be filled with. God may try to pour Himself into us, but if our hearts aren't contrite, then they burst, God's graces spill out of us ineffectually, and our opportunities to do good are ruined. In order to hold God's graces properly, we need to have a conversion of our hearts. He need to line them with contrition and acceptance of the sacrifices God is asking of us. If we do that, then our hearts will be made anew and whole and able to be filled with God's Love and Mercy. Then, when God pours us out in thought, word, and work, our lives will refresh the spirits of others and give glory to Him.

What sins must we overcome in order to renew our hearts? What can we do to prepare ourselves to be filled with the heavenly wine of God's Love and Mercy? How can we become better vessels of God's Will?

O Lord, make us fresh wineskins, continually pouring out your graces.

Amen.