"People do not pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined." (Mt. 9: 16-17)

Jesus is speaking to the followers of St. John the Baptist in using these examples... and teaching and beginning something completely new and distinct from all that was established heretofore -- especially in regard to the Jewish customs and laws.

He was not simply "patching" on the Law of Moses, nor was He rejecting the Law as the fundamental basis for His own teaching, rather: "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill (the Law and the prophets)." (Mt. 5:17) He teaches and interprets the eternal Law of God.

"You have heard the commandment imposed on your forefathers.... What I say to you is...." (Mt. 5:21-43)

In the worship of God, in the Jewish rituals and customs, there is a premium placed on external ceremonies: fasting, purification by water, animal sacrifice and offerings.

Jesus came to reestablish a sense of friendship and love, intimacy and personal relationship with God in a more profound way. "Go to you room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private." (Mt. 6:5)

"An hour is coming, and is already here, when authentic worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth." (Jn. 4:23)

Psalm 25: "Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way."

St. Anthony Zaccaria, d. 1539 at Cremona at age 36; doctor turned priest; founded the Barnabites for the reform of society; sought collaboration between clergy and laity.