EASTER V [B]: Acts 9:26-31; 1Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8

Today’s Scripture selections emphasize the need for Christians to abide in Christ as a condition for producing fruits of kindness, mercy, charity and holiness. Jesus assures his disciples, using the parable of the vine and branches, that the life-giving Spirit Whom Jesus will send to them, will be present and active within and among his disciples and their successors.

The vine was part and parcel of Jewish imagery and the very symbol of Israel. The vine was grown all over in Palestine. Therefore it was easy for the listeners to understand what Jesus was speaking about. The vine grows luxuriantly and it requires drastic pruning. A young vine is not allowed to bear fruit for the first three years and each year it is cut drastically back to develop and conserve its life and energy. Two kinds of branches grow on vine. One that bears fruit and one that does not. The branches that do not bear fruit are pruned back so that they will not drain away the plant’s strength. In order to make us useful branches constant pruning is required. This pruning takes the form of suffering.

It may be painful, physical sufferings, like sickness, disease, financial insecurity, or old-age.

It may be hidden, interior sufferings, like losing a loved one or watching a dear relative abandon their Catholic faith.

Whenever God permits these kinds of sufferings - the ones that we don't seem to have any control over - we have to let our faith remind us that they are under his control.

He is the vine-dresser. He knows how much pruning we can handle (and the amount is different for each branch).

And he knows how to use that suffering to unite us more deeply with Christ, who suffered on the cross to redeem the world.

Allowing these prunings will allow us to become more fruitful, even if we don’t understand how. We are not to be bitter or angry about those sufferings. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord – as the psalmist says.

In times of pain and hardship, God is begging us to trust in him more and more, to pray in the depths of our hearts that beautiful prayer that he himself taught us through his revelations to St Faustina of the Divine Mercy: "Jesus, I trust in you."

The first and foremost thing that stands as hindrance to our submission to Jesus is our "ego". It will turn us into a useless branch that will never produce any fruit. So, prune it; identify and cut it off.

Accepting the Cross, not rebelling when God tries to prune us, is the secret of all the saints.

As St Ignatius of Loyola put it:

"If God causes you to suffer much, it is a sign that he has great designs for you, and that he certainly intends to make you a saint. And if you wish to become a great saint, entreat him to give you much opportunity for suffering; for there is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the Cross, which Christ used for his own sacrifice of boundless charity."

 

Prayer, the sacraments, loving obedience, and suffering in union with Christ are what keep the Christian sap flowing in our lives.

Staying united to the vine means constantly growing in our life of prayer. Prayer is how we expose our souls to the divine sunlight. Just as plants need exposure to sunlight for energy, so we need to expose ourselves to God's truth and love through reading and reflecting on the sacred scriptures, and through conversing with him in the quiet of our hearts.

And so, if our prayer life is the same when we are fifty as it was when we were fifteen, it could be a sign that we are stunting our spiritual growth.

For Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, listening to God in prayer was the very first link in the sacred chain of interior peace.

Here's how she put it:

The fruit of silence is prayer;
the fruit of prayer is faith;
the fruit of faith is love;
the fruit of love is service;
the fruit of service is peace...

 

When we lead a life that resounds with meaning and energy, a life that positively impacts others and exudes joy and enthusiasm, a life that changes this world for the better in a profound way as Christ's own life did, we are glorifying the Father.

"By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

Bearing such fruit makes life worth living; without it we are dry, dead branches good for nothing except the fire.

As we continue with this Mass, let's thank God from the depths of our hearts for uniting us to the vine of Christ.

And when we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, let's promise him that this week we will make a decent effort to do our part to protect and strengthen that union.