A reading from the Letter to the Colossians
Col 1:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
From the Gospel according to Luke
5:33-39
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days."
And he also told them a parable.
"No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
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.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’"
The question about one’s destiny is very alive in the heart of man. It is a great, difficult question, yet decisive: “What will happen to me tomorrow?” There is a risk that wrong answers can lead to forms of fatalism, despair, or even proud and blind certainty. […] In the Letter to the Colossians, we find that the truth of “predestination” in Christ is closely connected to the truth of “creation in Christ.” “He is the image of the invisible God,” writes the apostle,” the firstborn of all creation; for by Him all things were created…” (Col 1:15-16). Thus, the world, created in Christ, the eternal Son, from the beginning carries within itself, as the first gift of Providence, the call, indeed the pledge of predestination in Christ, which is joined to the fulfillment of the definitive eschatological salvation, and first and foremost of man, the purpose of the world. […] We thus understand another fundamental aspect of divine Providence: its saving purpose. God indeed “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). In this perspective, it is necessary to expand a certain naturalistic view of Providence, limited to the good governance of physical nature or even natural moral behavior. In reality, divine Providence is expressed in the achievement of the purposes that correspond to the eternal plan of salvation. (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 28 May 1986)
Gospel and Word of the Day – 05 September 2025 –
A reading from the Letter to the Colossians
Col 1:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
From the Gospel according to Luke
5:33-39
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days."
And he also told them a parable.
"No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
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.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’"
The question about one’s destiny is very alive in the heart of man. It is a great, difficult question, yet decisive: “What will happen to me tomorrow?” There is a risk that wrong answers can lead to forms of fatalism, despair, or even proud and blind certainty. […] In the Letter to the Colossians, we find that the truth of “predestination” in Christ is closely connected to the truth of “creation in Christ.” “He is the image of the invisible God,” writes the apostle,” the firstborn of all creation; for by Him all things were created…” (Col 1:15-16). Thus, the world, created in Christ, the eternal Son, from the beginning carries within itself, as the first gift of Providence, the call, indeed the pledge of predestination in Christ, which is joined to the fulfillment of the definitive eschatological salvation, and first and foremost of man, the purpose of the world. […] We thus understand another fundamental aspect of divine Providence: its saving purpose. God indeed “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). In this perspective, it is necessary to expand a certain naturalistic view of Providence, limited to the good governance of physical nature or even natural moral behavior. In reality, divine Providence is expressed in the achievement of the purposes that correspond to the eternal plan of salvation. (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 28 May 1986)
A reading from the Letter to the Colossians
Col 1:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
From the Gospel according to Luke
5:33-39
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days."
And he also told them a parable.
"No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
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.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’"
The question about one’s destiny is very alive in the heart of man. It is a great, difficult question, yet decisive: “What will happen to me tomorrow?” There is a risk that wrong answers can lead to forms of fatalism, despair, or even proud and blind certainty. […] In the Letter to the Colossians, we find that the truth of “predestination” in Christ is closely connected to the truth of “creation in Christ.” “He is the image of the invisible God,” writes the apostle,” the firstborn of all creation; for by Him all things were created…” (Col 1:15-16). Thus, the world, created in Christ, the eternal Son, from the beginning carries within itself, as the first gift of Providence, the call, indeed the pledge of predestination in Christ, which is joined to the fulfillment of the definitive eschatological salvation, and first and foremost of man, the purpose of the world. […] We thus understand another fundamental aspect of divine Providence: its saving purpose. God indeed “wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). In this perspective, it is necessary to expand a certain naturalistic view of Providence, limited to the good governance of physical nature or even natural moral behavior. In reality, divine Providence is expressed in the achievement of the purposes that correspond to the eternal plan of salvation. (St. John Paul II, General Audience, 28 May 1986)