The Fifth Sunday of Easter - Year BReading I: Acts 9:26-31
Psalm: 22
Reading II: 1 John 3: 18-24
Gospel: John:15: 1-8
Jesus compares his relationship with us to a vine and its branches. It is through the vine that the life-giving nutrients pass to its branches. As long as the branch is open to receive the water and minerals, it thrives and will ultimately bear fruit. If the branch is cut off from the vine, it dies and no fruit is produced.
Therefore, the Lord invites us to a close relationship with Himself. What a privilege
He offers us! The Lord of heaven and earth wants to be our Special Friend.
A close friendship implies many things: faithfulness, support, understanding, compassion, affection, presence, either physical or in spirit. Purely human relationships and love have limitations. However, with Jesus we have perfect, unconditional love and many expressions of his presence.
Jesus is present to us in Spirit, the Sacred Scriptures, the Eucharist and in one another. We however, often neglect to remember his presence in the Holy Spirit which he sent to us at Baptism and Confirmation. Sometimes in our busy, noisy lives we neglect to ask for his guidance in our daily tasks and decisions.
The Sacred Scriptures can inspire us if we take the time to read and reflect on them. In His total self-giving He offers to nourish us daily in the Holy Eucharist. Also, we can recognize Him in the people He has made in His own image and likeness. Finally, we can see Him in Nature, His handiwork. For us animal lovers, His image is especially reflected in the love and loyalty of our pets.
When we reflect on the Lord's goodness, we realize that any one of these gifts of His presence would have been enough. However, in his extravagant love He reminds of His presence and His love in countless ways. He also tells us that if we remain connected with Him, we will bear much fruit.
When we are open to cultivating our relationship with the Lord, He provides the strength, courage, and dedication to allow His love to flow through us to His other children, our brothers and sisters. What tender, loving and truly awesome God we have!!!
Reflection Question: How can I keep connected closely with the Lord on a daily basis?
Spanish Translation of Reflection Above...
La Vid y Las Ramas
Jesús compara su relación con nosotros a una vid y sus ramas. Es a través de la vid que los nutrientes que dan vida pasan a sus ramas. Mientras la rama esté abierta para recibir el agua y los minerales, prospera y finalmente dará sus frutos. Si la rama se corta de la vid, se muere y no se produce fruta.
Por lo tanto, el Señor nos invita a una relación cercana con Él mismo. ¡Qué privilegio nos ofrece! El Señor del cielo y la tierra quiere ser nuestro Amigo Especial. Una amistad cercana implica muchas cosas: fidelidad, apoyo, comprensión, compasión, afecto, presencia, ya sea física o en espíritu. Las relaciones y el amor puramente humanos tienen limitaciones. Sin embargo, con Jesús tenemos un amor perfecto e incondicional y muchas expresiones de su presencia.
Jesús está presente en nosotros en el Espíritu, las Sagradas Escrituras, la Eucaristía y el uno en el otro. Sin embargo, a menudo olvidamos recordar su presencia en el Espíritu Santo que nos envió en el Bautismo y la Confirmación. A veces, en nuestras vidas ocupadas y ruidosas, olvidamos pedir su guía en nuestras tareas y decisiones cotidianas.
Las Sagradas Escrituras pueden inspirarnos si nos tomamos el tiempo para leer y reflexionar sobre ellas. En Su entrega total, Él nos ofrece nutrirnos diariamente en la Sagrada Eucaristía. Además, podemos reconocerlo en las personas que Él ha creado a su propia imagen y semejanza. Finalmente, podemos verlo en la naturaleza, su obra. Para nosotros, los amantes de los animales, su imagen se refleja especialmente en el amor y la lealtad de nuestras mascotas.
Cuando reflexionamos sobre la bondad del Señor, nos damos cuenta de que cualquiera de estos dones de Su presencia hubiera sido suficiente. Sin embargo, en su amor extravagante Él recuerda su presencia y su amor de innumerables maneras. Él también nos dice que si permanecemos conectados con Él, daremos mucho fruto.
Cuando estamos abiertos a cultivar nuestra relación con el Señor, Él proporciona la fuerza, el coraje y la dedicación para permitir que su amor fluya a través de nosotros hacia sus otros hijos, nuestros hermanos y hermanas. ¡¡Qué tierno, amoroso y verdaderamente asombroso Dios tenemos !!!
Pregunta de reflexión: ¿Cómo puedo seguir conectado estrechamente con el Señor en un a diario?
During the Liturgy of the Eucharist the wine is referred to as “the fruit of the vine.” During the traditional Passover meal, before the first cup is taken, the host prays, “Blessed art thou, O Lord…Creator of the fruit of the vine.” The imagery of the fruit of the vine is that it is desirable, nourishing, and life sustaining. When I hear Jesus’ words in today’s gospel, I am reminded that, not only is it essential to stay connected to the vine, but we are to be fruitful, lest we be snipped off and separated from our life-giving Source. Branches must be attached to the vine to bear fruit. I used the word “snipped” rather than “pruned” because the branches nourished by the vine are regularly pruned. The pain associated with pruning is something even the best branches have to endure in order that they become more fruitful. (www.unityhill.com.au)
ReplyDeleteSo what does it mean to bear fruit? St. Paul specifies that the kind of fruit we should see from those who are connected, pruned, and fruitful is the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. “It is a total package, not individual fruits. The fruit of the Spirit for Paul is the characteristic, the personality, of Jesus that becomes visible in our lives as we become like Him by drawing life from the Vine.” (unityhill.com) St. Katharine Drexel hinted of this likeness when she addressed her Sisters, “I believe that the very best gift that I can ask is that you become more and more conformed to Our Lord.” The spiritual practices you suggest: reading Scripture, frequent reception of the Eucharist, striving to see Him in others, giving gratitude for nature and enjoying animals as the delightful handiwork of our Creator, will certainly help us stay connected to the Vine.
Robert P. Waznak, SS, reflects on Jesus’ farewell address in which he reminded his followers that the only possible way for us to live our lives is when we abide in him, the true vine. “Apart from the vine of the risen Lord, we may grow wild, but we will not bear fruit.” Waznak goes on to discuss how so many people foolishly think that they can live life unconnected with no need for a vine, a connectedness with community, a world, a God. He goes so far to say that “the fool believes that he or she is the vine.” I judge that as reckless living. We were designed to live connected to God. Cut off from that life-giving Source can only lead to confusion and emptiness. It is my opinion that many addictions and suicides can be attributed to such erroneous beliefs. Branches wither when they are severed from the vine, and we see extensive evidence of spiritual death in our society today.
These severed branches, however, are the soil of opportunity for us to be fruit bearers as we seek to encourage them to reconnect to the Vine of Life and restore their inherent wholeness through renewed relationship with God and the community of believers.
Rick Warren tells us that we can trust that God’s love reaches everywhere and everyone. His power is limitless, and his forgiveness is endless. Our prayers for people who do not know the hope we find in Christ do not go unheard. We need to keep on praying and not lose heart. Pat C., ASBS
What an amazingly marvelous observation - "The Lord of heaven and earth wants to be our Special Friend"! Bless us all! Those explanations about Our Lord's words are appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThe following quotation is from a homily by Father Roger J. Landry:
"Pope Francis this morning in his meditation in St. Peter's Square summarized the Gospel by saying: "Jesus is the Vine, and through Him - like the sap in the tree - the very love of God, the Holy Spirit, passes to the branches. Look: We are the branches and through this parable Jesus wants to make us understand the importance of remaining united to Him. The branches are not self-sufficient, but depend totally on the Vine, in which is found the source of their life. So it is with us Christians. Grafted by Baptism in Christ, we have freely received from Him the gift of new life, and thanks to the Church, we are able to remain in vital communion with Christ. We must remain faithful to (our) baptism and grow in intimacy with the Lord through prayer, listening, and docility to His word, and participation in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation. If one is intimately united to Jesus he enjoys the gifts of the Holy Spirit... and consequently does so much good to his neighbor and society, like a true Christian. In fact, one is recognized as a true Christian by this attitude, as the tree is recognized by its fruit. The fruits of this profound union with Christ are wonderful. Our whole person is transformed by the grace of the Spirit: (our) soul, understanding, will, affections and even (our) body, because we are united body and soul. We receive a new way of being. The life of Christ becomes our own. We are able to think like Him, to act like Him, to see the world and the things in it with the eyes of Jesus; and so we are able to love our brothers, beginning with the poorest and those who suffer the most, with His heart, and so become friends of goodness, of charity, and of peace in the world."