Homily: Janaury 19, 2026 Monday of the Second week in Ordinary Time (Renewal)

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 “Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about the new and the old. He uses the parallel of an unshrunken cloth being sewn on an old cloak, and of new wine being poured into old wineskin, both of which would cause trouble.

His listeners understood these situations. Everyone wants newness and freshness, so what needs to change?

Jesus is the new. He is the bridegroom heralding a new life, a new relationship, a new phase of life, but if we hold on to old and stubborn attitudes, we will not be able to appreciate His good news.

This newness Jesus speaks of is not about external changes or more programs that do the same old thing in packaged in a new exterior. His newness is about interior renewal, an inside job.

From time to time, I receive invitations to attend conferences or programs that promise quick and total transformation of the parish. Interestingly, none of these programs are free, in fact they cost a lot. I always wonder if the transformation promised is a quick reduction in the parish funds.

I am not against these efforts, and perhaps some might be helpful. But personally, I do think that quick solutions or programs that try to overhaul parish life is not the answer.

True renewal does not begin with a clever and expensive program. It begins with the humble and contrite heart.

Scripture reminds us again and again that renewal is God’s work: “Send forth your Spirit, and they are created, and You renew the face of the earth.”

In Lamentations we also hear: “The Lord’s acts of mercy are not exhausted; His compassion is not spent. They are renewed each morning.”

God is constantly renewing His creation, quietly, faithfully, daily.

What we lack is not new programs, but that we have become stagnant and dull in our spiritual life. When prayer becomes routine and mechanical, when we forget why we do what we do, when we don’t find joy in our being Catholics, we become old wineskins. We become too rigid and unable to receive the newness, the freshness, the ever-lasting life that God wants to pour into us.

Each day calls for a new “yes” to God. A new commitment to prayer. A new openness to grow. A new desire to know Christ more personally and follow Him more faithfully.

If our hearts are renewed, our relationship with Him remains fresh, everything becomes new. We will always recognize the presence of the Bridegroom, every day is a day for rejoicing. Amen.


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