#new wine

[thequeerofdelphi]

My beloved altar on this sunny Anthesteria 2025

[holystormfire]

Sometimes it seems that I am at war with myself. There is a conflict within. What’s the outcome of that?

Matthew 12:25

“Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.”

While we must recognize the battle over sin that constantly goes on within us, we must be committed to standing against it. Failing to stand against sin in your own life pits self against self, which is doomed to destroy you. If you allow Satan to command a strategic area of your life, he will defeat you.

Galatians 5:17, 22

The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. . . . But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

When you become a Christian, a new conflict will begin inside you that will be a life-long battle: what you want versus what God wants. Fortunately, you also have the Holy Spirit living in you, and when you allow him, he gives you the tools you need to fight your sinful nature. Over time, this conflict within yourself will lessen (though never go away) as peace, patience, gentleness, self-control and other characteristics of God start to overcome your sinful nature.

[lawrenceop]

HOMILY for 13th Sat per annum (II)

Amos 9:11-15; Ps 84; Matthew 9:14-17

When new wine is made, the grape juice is put into new skins and allowed to ferment. The result of this fermentation process is the conversion of the sugars in the grape juice into alcohol. As the wine ferments, carbon dioxide is produced, and this build up of gas produces considerable pressure on the wineskin. An old wine skin, which has little elasticity would burst; the wine is lost. A new wine skin, however, stretches and is able to contain the wine. 

Jesus likens the Gospel to new wine; an image much favoured by the early Dominicans, as the Irish Dominican Fr Paul Murray OP reminds us in his enjoyable book, 'The New Wine of Dominican Spirituality'. The wine-making process involves the wonderful transformation of grape juice into something new and exhilarating; the natural is enhanced by the vintner to become something, so to speak, super-natural. Hence, the Gospel, our encounter with Jesus Christ, transforms our ordinary natural human lives and makes of them something new, exciting, and rich; transformed by supernatural grace we are destined for a glory that we could never have imagined. But in order to contain all this and not burst, we need to be renewed in heart and mind, to be stretched, and have our hearts and souls enlarged so that we can love as Christ does. So, to be stretched, we need to become like new wineskins.

The sense is that if we hold on to our old habits and ways of thinking and behaving; if we do not let the Spirit stretch us so that we become more magnanimous, generous, and elastic, then we would burst as old wineskins do, and risk losing the new wine of sanctifying grace poured into us at baptism. In St Luke’s version of this discussion, Jesus suggests that some people are too attached to the old vintage, preferring old wine to the new. But old wine - that is, life without sanctifying grace - becomes vinegar, leaving a sour taste in the mouth. So, we're being exhorted to co-operate with grace and so, to move on from our old life, from our sinful bad habits and world views which constrain and limit us. We’re exhorted to imbibe instead the newness and freedom that the Christian life brings.

For ultimately, the new wine whom we're given to drink is Christ himself; it is the Eucharist, and what is poured into our lives is nothing less than God's divine life. Or think of it like champagne, a festive celebratory wine bubbling with the effervescence of the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. This new wine of life in the Holy Trinity should so intoxicate us that we cannot help but be joyful, enthusiastic preachers of the Gospel as we celebrate with Christ the Bridegroom. 

But perhaps, in our time and in this nation, sometimes it seems that the Bridegroom has become elusive; our Christian joy and confidence and faith wavers. So perhaps now is the time to fast and do penance and pray, as we shall do this evening through our first Saturday devotions. We pray and make reparation for sins against Mary’s Immaculate Heart; we pray that nations may rediscover the joy of the new wine of the Gospel; and we pray that the vision of Amos will be accomplished. As the Lord says: “they will plant vineyards and drink their wine.” So, let us in our parishes and in our communities plant vineyards, that is to say, engage in sound catechesis and preaching and a joyful Christian witness, so that people may come and drink the new wine of the Gospel, indeed, the wine of God’s Kingdom who is Jesus Christ himself. 

[glennk56]

Billy Gilbert photos from 1939-1941. Which includes notable films Destry Rides Again, His Girl Friday and Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator. 

[iknowmyworth]

[vhanities]

𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙚   (𝘸𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰).

     𝕤𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤:     this one’s for all the lost stories. for millie who could have been something and for lucas who was almost there. for aaron who didn’t know where to go and for daniel, who didn’t know anything worse than being in love with your best friend. this one’s for all the storytellers. for graham, the lone king; ezra, the mad man; shah, the forgotten; and sana, the queen. and this one’s about death. about alina, a compulsive liar, who has only about a few weeks to convince that she’s not lying this time―that she’s not the only one with four missing classmates and four lost stories, that millie, aaron, daniel and lucas were in their year, lost and wiped from everyone’s minds. and that their professor is killing people.

     𝕤𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤:     the kingsley institute of fashion technology―a place almost lost in time in the outskirts of scotland. a small town bordering the institute and a forest that knows more than it lets on. it’s the era of magic and madness, green leaves and soft whispers; orange autumns and gothic victorian buildings. the roads are paved on cobble, spare for the main ones were traffic is jammed over perfect asphalt. purple orchids hang from buildings and blocks, and willows hiding every secret nook and corner that one can be trapped in. in this town decorated by ash trees, everything lives and breathes, it’s always better to stay ignorant of the eyes that follow you everywhere.

     𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖:     a ya low fantasy / dark academia novel with major lgbt, self harm, murders and suicidal themes. it contains trauma-induced reactions and major new world problems that might be triggering for a few readers. written in third person pov, the narrators shift in between two of the main characters: sana & alina. 

     𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤:    

sana mufti: nineteen. second-year fc student. lives in the school dorm. hates people who make too much noise and hates people disturbing her when she’s avidly doing something.

alina song: eighteen. first-year fd student. lives outside school premises with her cousin and his boyfriend. she is a compulsive liar and lies about the silliest things, which is why no one trusts her. likes annoying other people and chaos.

graham ramirez: nineteen. second-year fd student. lives in the school dorm. is often lost in his own world and like order rather than plain chaos but he’s outgoing and very likeable.

ezra escamilla: ninteen. second-year fd student. lives in a flatshare with shah. works at the local pizza place papa esposito and often contemplates if he’s lost his mind like his mother or if he’s on his way to do the same.

farhan shah: ninteen. second-year fc student. lives in a flatshare with shah. is the most hardworking of the lot and spends most of his time either in his own mind or reading sherlock holmes when he is not studying. honorable, and loyal.

( fc = fashion communication / fd = fashion designing. )

     tagging: @liarede , @nepeinthe , @carumens , @semblanche , @apollchiles , @vandorens , @fartistically , @vviciously

[the-winds-of-destiny-xxx]

"So I yield to you and to your careful hand. When I trust you I don't need to understand."

Hillsong Worship, New Wine

[womanintheword]

“Make me Your vessel Make me an offering Make me whatever You want me to be I came here with nothing But all You have given me Jesus bring new wine out of me”