April 29, 2018 5th Sunday B
April 29, 2018 5th Sunday B
Click to hear Audio Homily
There is a phrase we have learned to say ever since we were little children: “It’s mine!” Playing with toys as children, we tussled with our playmates over who could or couldn’t play with “my” toys. In some ways, there is still that possessive 3-year old in all of us. Sometimes we tell God, “this life is mine, this house is mine, these children are mine, this health is mine, and this money is mine. I earned it all by myself.” As much as we want to believe that we are in control of all that we have, events in our lives remind us that we are not the one in control and calling all the shots.
Jesus makes it clear that he is the vine and we are the branches. In a garden, the branch doesn’t tell the vine what to do. On a farm, the plants don’t tell the farmer what to do. The farmer knows what’s best for the crop; he determines when to fertilize, water, spray, cut, and prune the plant. The plant survives because of the knowledge and action of the farmer. Our relationship with Jesus is similar. We depend on how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit act in and through our lives. We need to trust the graces received and obey His Commandment to nourish and flourish. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. Every Christian is linked to Christ and to all other Christians by interdependence; yet we sometimes forget the Lord, ignore others, and live for ourselves. Separated from Our Lord and the Christian community, our lives become barren instead of becoming fruitful. When we meditate on the Word of God and make prayer our priority, the Holy Spirit living in us bears good fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control. On a personal note, I can tell the difference between spending time with the Lord in prayer and not spending any time with Him; there is a noticeable difference in the way I prepare my homilies and minister to parishioners when my prayer life is lacking substance. Do you notice this difference in your life as well, the difference between having prayed in the morning or attended mass versus no prayer and no mass?
Consider the words of the following hymn which speaks of drawing grace from our intimate union with Our Lord in prayer:
There is a quiet place / Far from the rapid pace / Where God can soothe my troubled mind
Sheltered by tree and flower / There in my quiet hour / With Him my cares are left behind
Whether a garden small / Or on a mountain tall
New strength and courage there I find / Then from this quiet place I go prepared to face / A new day with love for all mankind
St. Ignatius of Loyola reinforced the concept of our relationship to Jesus as branches on the vine when he wrote, “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.” As disciples of Jesus, we don’t live on our own strength or on our own terms. God tends, Jesus supplies, and we draw our strength from remaining in God’s direction and care.
https://youtu.be/1fbKQK3Avg8
Click to hear Audio Homily
There is a phrase we have learned to say ever since we were little children: “It’s mine!” Playing with toys as children, we tussled with our playmates over who could or couldn’t play with “my” toys. In some ways, there is still that possessive 3-year old in all of us. Sometimes we tell God, “this life is mine, this house is mine, these children are mine, this health is mine, and this money is mine. I earned it all by myself.” As much as we want to believe that we are in control of all that we have, events in our lives remind us that we are not the one in control and calling all the shots.
Jesus makes it clear that he is the vine and we are the branches. In a garden, the branch doesn’t tell the vine what to do. On a farm, the plants don’t tell the farmer what to do. The farmer knows what’s best for the crop; he determines when to fertilize, water, spray, cut, and prune the plant. The plant survives because of the knowledge and action of the farmer. Our relationship with Jesus is similar. We depend on how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit act in and through our lives. We need to trust the graces received and obey His Commandment to nourish and flourish. There is no such thing as a solitary Christian. Every Christian is linked to Christ and to all other Christians by interdependence; yet we sometimes forget the Lord, ignore others, and live for ourselves. Separated from Our Lord and the Christian community, our lives become barren instead of becoming fruitful. When we meditate on the Word of God and make prayer our priority, the Holy Spirit living in us bears good fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, and self-control. On a personal note, I can tell the difference between spending time with the Lord in prayer and not spending any time with Him; there is a noticeable difference in the way I prepare my homilies and minister to parishioners when my prayer life is lacking substance. Do you notice this difference in your life as well, the difference between having prayed in the morning or attended mass versus no prayer and no mass?
Consider the words of the following hymn which speaks of drawing grace from our intimate union with Our Lord in prayer:
There is a quiet place / Far from the rapid pace / Where God can soothe my troubled mind
Sheltered by tree and flower / There in my quiet hour / With Him my cares are left behind
Whether a garden small / Or on a mountain tall
New strength and courage there I find / Then from this quiet place I go prepared to face / A new day with love for all mankind
St. Ignatius of Loyola reinforced the concept of our relationship to Jesus as branches on the vine when he wrote, “Few souls understand what God would accomplish in them if they were to abandon themselves unreservedly to Him and if they were to allow His grace to mold them accordingly.” As disciples of Jesus, we don’t live on our own strength or on our own terms. God tends, Jesus supplies, and we draw our strength from remaining in God’s direction and care.
https://youtu.be/1fbKQK3Avg8
