Luke 5:37-38
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.
In today's Gospel, we hear Jesus proclaim those words.
St. Augustine interprets that the old wineskins represent Jesus' disciples, whose old ways of thinking could not receive the new wine which was Jesus' teachings. For Augustine, it was not until becoming new wineskins after having received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that the disciples could receive the fullness of Jesus teachings.
For many of us, our old ways of thinking can hold us back from receiving the truth that God loves each one of us. For me, the thinking that I was unlovable and could not be forgiven was washed away while attending a retreat through the Catholic Student Union at Florida State University during my freshman year. It was through encountering God's love, through the Holy Spirit drawing me to the heart of Christ and the embrace of the Father, that my heart and old way of thinking began to gradually change.
Get to know our seminarians! Today's reflection was written by:
Kenny Keenan, Theology I
Home parish: Our Lady of Lourdes, Dunedin
Did you know...
Kenny grew up playing baseball and is an avid Florida State fan having earned both his Bachelors and Masters in Accounting from FSU. Before entering seminary, Kenny worked for close to two years at an accounting firm in Tampa. Nowadays, Kenny's favorite hobby is smoking up BBQ brisket for football season.
Pray with us for the men and women discerning the priesthood and religious life. To pray for our seminarians by name or to find out more about the Diocese of St. Petersburg vocations office, click here.
