Reflection Date: July 04, 2026 | Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Readings: Amos 9:11-15; Matthew 9:14-17
Children of God:
Saint Padre Pio became known for his deep prayer life, sacrifices, and love for the Eucharist.
He often practiced fasting and encouraged people to offer small sacrifices with sincerity and humility.
Many who visited him noticed how disciplined he was with food and comforts.
Yet Padre Pio never treated fasting as a performance meant to impress others.
One story told about a wealthy man who proudly informed Padre Pio about his strict fasting and sacrifices.
The man expected praise for his discipline and religious devotion.
Instead, Padre Pio quietly asked him, “Do your sacrifices make you kinder to your family?”
The question shocked the man because he realized his fasting made him irritable, impatient, and judgmental.
Padre Pio reminded him that sacrifice without love could easily become empty pride.
For Padre Pio, fasting only became meaningful when it opened the heart to God and made a person more compassionate toward others.
In the gospel of Matthew, the disciples of John questioned Jesus about fasting because His disciples did not follow the same practices as others.
Jesus answered them by speaking about wedding guests rejoicing while the bridegroom remained with them.
He then used the images of unshrunk cloth and new wine in fresh wineskins to explain that something new was happening through His presence.
Jesus did not reject fasting because He also fasted and taught about sacrifice.
Instead, He challenged people to understand the deeper purpose behind religious practices.
What are our inspirations for today?
First, faith is empty if it doesn’t have love.
The people questioning Jesus focused heavily on external practices and comparisons.
They wondered why His disciples acted differently from others.
Sometimes people today also measure holiness only by visible religious activities.
They count prayers, sacrifices, fasting days, and church attendance while forgetting compassion, patience, and kindness.
Religion then becomes more about appearance than transformation.
Jesus reminded them that His presence changed the situation completely.
“Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” (Matthew 9:15).
A wedding celebration symbolized joy, relationship, and communion.
Jesus wanted people to understand that faith was not merely about following rules mechanically.
Faith means encountering the living God personally and allowing that encounter to renew the heart.
Many people today continue religious routines but feel spiritually dry and emotionally distant.
Some pray but remain angry and unforgiving.
Others attend church faithfully but speak harshly to family members or coworkers.
The gospel invited us to examine whether our spiritual practices truly help us love better.
Faith is empty if it doesn’t have love.
Second, God invites us to grow instead of staying spiritually stuck.
Jesus spoke about new wine needing fresh wineskins because old wineskins could not stretch anymore.
He used this image to teach people about openness to change and renewal.
Some religious leaders became trapped in rigid thinking and resisted what God was doing through Jesus.
They preferred familiar systems over spiritual growth.
People today also struggle with spiritual stubbornness.
Some refuse to forgive because they cling to old hurts.
Others stop growing because they think they already know enough about faith.
Some remain chained to unhealthy habits, bitterness, or pride.
Yet God continually invited people toward deeper conversion and renewal.
The gospel reminded us that faith is alive and dynamic.
God worked in new ways through Jesus, and people needed open hearts to receive Him.
A heart open to God never stops learning, changing, and becoming more loving.
God invites us to grow instead of staying spiritually stuck.
As we reflect today, do our religious practices make us more patient, compassionate, and understanding toward others?
Do we become too attached to routines and traditions while forgetting the deeper meaning behind them? Do we allow God to renew our hearts, or do we resist the changes He wants to accomplish within us?
Children of God:
God does not ask us merely to preserve old habits without reflection.
He invites us into a living relationship that continues transforming our lives.
Every day is an opportunity to become fresh wineskins capable of receiving God’s grace more deeply.
When our hearts remain open, faith becomes joyful instead of burdensome.
May we never reduce religion to routine but allow Christ to renew us continually with His presence and love.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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