“Jesus said to His Disciples: ‘I AM the True Vine, and My Father is the Vine Grower. … I AM the Vine, you are the Branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him will Bear much Fruit … 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.”
Mass Readings 5.3.15 – FIRST READING: Acts 9:26-31 – PSALM 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32 – SECOND READING: 1 John 3:18-24 – GOSPEL: John 15:1-8
FIND A MASS: MassTimes.org – FIND A MASS: TheCatholicDirectory.com
SUNDAY TV MASS: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
I will praise You, Lord, in the assembly of Your People.
LINKS & RESOURCES
- Pope Francis: Bear the Fruits of Membership in Christ and the Church – News.va
- “Bearing Fruit in Abundance,” Commentary of the Day, Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian Monk and Doctor of the Church, Sermon 58 on the Song of Songs – DailyGospel.org
- Pondering Pruning – A Meditation on This Necessary Work of God in Our Lives – Msgr. Charles Pope, Archdiocese of Washington
- On the Vine: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Fifth Sunday of Easter- SalvationHistory.com
- Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter, Campion P. Gavaler, O.S.B., Saint Vincent Archabbey (Benedictines)
GOSPEL
Jesus is the Vine, God the Father is the Vine Grower, we are the branches, and we are exhorted to Bear Fruit for the Kingdom of God.
Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, in one of her books, actually a collection of oral statements, reminds us how Jesus is the Vine and we are the Branches, and how on a vine it is the branches that bear fruit.
While God excises those who fail to Bear Fruit, He Cultivates those who do Bear Fruit, to Bear even more Fruit:
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 every one that does He prunes so that it Bears more Fruit. …’
This Divine Pruning is tied in with Jesus providing His Disciples, and us, the Word of God.
‘… You are already Pruned because of the Word that I spoke to you. …’
So we are reminded the importance of Holy Scripture, as well as the whole Body of Teaching that Jesus imparted to the Apostles.
Jesus reminds His Disciples, and us, of the importance of being fully connected with Jesus, of the branches remaining on the Vine by being in Union with Christ.
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.
Christ also warns that those who do not remain in Him will be thrown out like a branch and wither.
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.
So how do we remain in Christ and Bear Fruit? And what need we avoid, to not be the unfruitful branch thrown in the fire?
Jesus already mentions the Word of God. Elsewhere in the Gospels He also reminds us that we are to have a personal relationship with Him, recognizing His Voice.
We show we love God by keeping His Commands, which, in part, are set out by the Word of God. We keep His Commands by rejecting and avoiding sin, and by loving and serving others, especially those in need.
In addition to the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, such as feeding the hungry or visiting the sick, we also recall the Beatitudes, such as “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” At the same time, if we are followers of Christ, we must reject sin and obey God’s Law.
Blessed Mother Teresa pointed out that, when serving the poorest of the poor, including those of other faiths or without a faith, one is not merely to act as secular social workers. One is to recognize Christ in distressing disguise, in those who suffer and are in need. As Jesus says in Matthew 25, when I was hungry you gave ME food.
Along those lines, Blessed Mother Teresa recounted a story
Jesus promises that, if we are in Union with Him, and therefore are carrying out God’s Will, He will grant what we ask for. Moreover, we will Glorify God by Bearing Fruit as Christ’s Disciples
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.
SUNDAY TV MASS: Heart of the Nation (Wisconsin)
SUNDAY TV MASS: Passionist Fathers (New York)
FIRST READING
The Early Church is at peace and growing, and adjusting to Saul (Paul) arriving in Jerusalem.
The Church’s growth is infused with the Holy Spirit and Fear of the Lord.
The Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace.
It was being built up and walked in the Fear of the Lord,
and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
Previously a Pharisee who ruthlessly sought to persecute Holy Mother Church, Saul now has undergone his conversion and is eager to Proclaim the Gospel as a Christian. Barnabas introduces him to the Apostles. As people are getting used to this new reality with Saul, Hellenists whom Saul debates want to kill him, so the Church sends Paul to Tarsus.
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem he tried to join the Disciples,
but they were all afraid of him …
… Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the Apostles,
… he reported to them how he had seen the Lord,
and that he had spoken to Him,
and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the Name of Jesus.
He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem,
and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord.
SECOND READING
SECOND READING: 1 John 3:18-24
Saint John the Apostle, writing in one of his Epistles, exhorts us to love in deed and truth.
Our hearts are known by God, and if we and our hearts belong to the Truth, we can have Confidence in God, to ask what we need and receive it, because we keep his Commandments and serve His Holy and Divine Will.
Children, let us love not in word or speech
but in deed and truth.
… this is how we shall know … we belong to the Truth
and reassure our hearts before Him …
… God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
… if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have Confidence in God
and receive from Him whatever we ask,
because we keep His Commandments and do what pleases Him.
As an aside, recall that the Latin roots of the word confidence mean “with Faith.”
Note the connection between keeping God’s Commands, doing God’s Will, and receiving what we ask of Him.
Recall also that, if we are keeping God’s Law of Love and Doing God’s Will, what we ask of Him will, itself, be in conformity with His Divine Will; we therefore will draw Purpose, Meaning, Direction and Fulfillment from being Part of His Will and His Divine Plan; and this is tied in with the condition and reality of our hearts; it is therefore infused with our Being and our personal Joy and Purpose, and in turn tied in with our belonging to the Truth.
Perhaps we can reflect upon how, in this context, the Truth, God’s Truth, takes on a Meaning and a Living Force, such that Jesus the Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life.
Our friend and guide John the Apostle summarizes God’s Command, His Law of Love to believe in Christ, love our neighbor, and keep His Commandments.
And His Commandment is this:
we should believe in the Name of His Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another just as He commanded us.
Those who keep His Commandments remain in Him, and he in them,
and the way we know that He remains in us
is from the Spirit He gave us.
More Resources
- Find a Mass: MassTimes.org
- Find a Mass: TheCatholicDirectory.com
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Basilica in Washington, D.C.
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – Passionists (New York)
- VIDEO: Diocese of Sioux Falls, including Sunday Masses
- VIDEO: Sunday Mass – University of Notre Dame
- VIDEO: Daily Mass – Toronto
- VIDEO: Daily Mass – Boston/Catholic TV
