Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

September 4, 2026

No one who has been drinking old wine desires new, for he says, “The old is good.”

This statement concludes the gospel reading for Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time. At first reading, it doesn’t look very inspirational. While it might be very true about wine, when we ask how it applies to us today, the answer is somewhat somber. We can see it applied, for example, to those who wish to die on the altar of the Latin Mass. It reflects those who reject change in the church or society by saying, “We’ve always done it that [other] way.” And that debate about the relationship between the old and the new is at the heart of this gospel reading. What can we learn from it?

The context of this parable from Jesus is that the Pharisees criticized him after he attended a dinner with Levi, the tax collector. They were unhappy that Jesus, as a religious leader, was spending time with someone who was such a hated figure, someone who was on the margins of their society. And so, they were trying to find a way to catch him out. Their accusation implies that Jesus’ followers weren’t as spiritual as the followers of other religious leaders of the time. The critique is somehow that to be a follower of Jesus is lazy spirituality, pick ‘n’ mix spirituality.

From the parable, we are left to ponder two issues for ourselves today — the first concerns our relationship, as a church, to tradition. And the second concerns our personal relationship with God in the context of our daily lives.

How do I strive to follow Jesus more closely in all my actions?

Let Us Pray:

O Jesus, give me the insight to know how best to follow you in all that I do.