Gospel (Mk 2,18-22) - At that time, John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. They came to Jesus and said to him: "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?". Jesus said to them: «Can the wedding guests fast when the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the groom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them: then in that day they will fast. »No one sews a piece of raw fabric onto an old dress; otherwise the new patch takes something away from the old fabric and the tear becomes worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins, and the wine and wineskins are lost. But new wine in new wineskins!

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The evangelist speaks of the disciples of the Baptist and the Pharisees who, as always happens to those who consider themselves righteous, felt authorized to turn to Jesus to ask him why his disciples did not practice fasting which, although not obligatory, was considered a sign of particular elevation of the spirit. Their criticism, in truth, was directed more at the master than at the disciples. Jesus, with parabolic language, responds that it is not external practices that make the heart pure and the life of men clear. He who welcomes the Messiah, God's messenger, is pure, as one welcomes the groom, therefore with a festive atmosphere. Jesus, obviously, wanted to imply that he was the bridegroom who had come. And when the groom arrives, the friends cannot start fasting. It would be inappropriate for the groom she is expecting, in fact. I dream of friends partying and participating in the wedding banquet. Jesus, however, warns that difficult moments will also come for the friends of the groom, especially when the groom is taken away from them. And then the time of fasting will come. From now on, Jesus predicts, albeit veiledly, his passion and his death. It is then that the moments of suffering will come. This is actually what happened: from the beginning of Christianity to the present day, countless believers, men and women, have suffered persecution for their faith and have resisted to the point of shedding blood. Jesus then, with two images, clarifies that the disciple must renew his entire life. The Gospel is the new wine that makes the hearts of those who drink it new - that is, festive to the point of excess. The heart of those who are full of themselves is like an old wineskin, incapable of welcoming the evangelical novelty. And the new cloth that Jesus speaks of is the cloak woven from the threads of love which has nothing to do with the old and worn rag of one's own egocentrism.