Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 15, 1-8
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Remain in God
1. Root. The root of your life is prayer, for that’s what shapes your life. The root is in the soil, it grows inside but it sustains the whole external structure. If you want to pull down a tree, cut the root and it rots, falls, and breaks. The same happens in your life, if you want to sustain your life, your dreams, and objectives, then nourish your root with prayer. When you let yourself be taken in by this accelerated world full of obligations, to a point that you might even forget to call the people you love during the day, that is when you start to rot, to fill yourself with filth (pornography, a double life, lies, vices, etc.). You fall, because you can’t face situations and you can’t raise your head. You break, this is when your dreams are destroyed, and you are confused, not knowing where you are going.
2. The trunk. The sacraments are the trunk of your life; that liturgy sustains you and strengthens you because it is palpable, concrete, and direct. The trunk of your life of faith must be the sacraments for they fortify you against external blows. But the trunk also helps you to serve as support for others. Who has not leaned on a trunk at some time or other?
3. The fruit. If you remain in God, you’ll bear fruit. It’s that fruit that enriches and satisfies others. Of course, there are moments in which the fruits are quite visible, on the surface, and moments when you have to wait. What should reassure you is that when the fruit is ripe, it’s delicious. Therefore, do not accelerate nor delay the process. Strengthen your prayer so that no one or nothing might knock you down, take care of your trunk in the sacraments so that others may lean and rest on you; give yourself to others because you can give your best.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
