Gospel: Matthew 9:14‐15
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.”
Reflection
In this passage, the Pharisees question God on why they are told to fast but his disciples do not have to. Jesus explains that there will be days for fasting later, once the bridegroom is taken. The way I interpret this is that Jesus was telling the Pharisees that He, God the Savior was sent to require mercy, not sacrifice from his followers. He wants them to be with, follow and feast with Him while He is on the earth. Then, once He is gone, they can fast.
I read this passage about a dozen times and then it hit me like a brick wall. I read this as Jesus telling us to treasure, love and spend all the time that we can with Him and our family. He does not want us to fall for the rumors that the ending of time will come sooner than He decides. He does not want us to focus on mourning those we have lost, but to celebrate their lives and all the good that they accomplished. He wants us to do everything in our power to spread His word to those who have lost their way and turned to evil ways. There is already so much hate and destruction in the world that we need to counteract with positivity and light in any way that we can. We need to tell those who are doubting that Jesus will come to save us and take us home, but we need to show him how we are not taking our time here for granted.
Kirsten Schwarz, 20, Young Adult Coordinator
St. Thomas More Catholic Community, Henderson, NV
- Being Viatorian is important to me because… Along with the fact that I now speak of myself as Viatorian and tell about Father Querbes whenever I can, I also have an extra support group to keep me in check when I fall away from the path. The friendships that are created on Viatorian Youth Congress are not the kind that end quickly. As young adult leaders, we made a pact to one another to keep in contact and always be there to listen, no matter the situation. These are the friendships that we will have forever and for that, I treasure them.
- One thing I am doing to grow closer to God in this Lenten Season is… To adamantly make sure that I am spending this season celebrating the coming of Our Lord. Busy schedules and stress can easily pull our mind away into other directions and I am guilty of focusing on making sure that I have purchased all the correct gifts… I think that it is crucial that we constantly remind ourselves through this time to spend any extra moments with our loved ones that we can and speak of the real reason why this season is so very special to us.