Lesson for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jesus Transforms Us from the Inside Out

My dear brothers and sisters, history's greatest leaders influence people from the outside in. With their speech, their ideas, their example, and even their presence they move and motivate those around them, drawing others and stirring them to action.

Jesus Christ, however, goes much deeper, influencing us also from the inside out. He not only calls us from the outside, through the voice of the Church, the actions of Providence, and the example of his faithful disciples.

But he also unites himself to us so intimately that his very life flows through our veins. "I am the vine, you are the branches," he explains in today's Gospel. Where does a vine stop, and its branches begin? Their union is too complete to tell.

The same sap gives life to the vine and to its branches. Just so, grace is God's own divine life flowing through Christ and into us. In this way, as in so many other ways, Jesus Christ stands alone among great historical figures. Not only does he excel all others in their own game, but he plays in an entirely different league; he is a leader, but he is also the Lord.

How grateful we should be that he has seen fit to make us branches of his vine! And yet, as human beings we are a unique kind of branch. We are responsible for keeping ourselves united to the vine. And if we don't, Jesus makes it perfectly clear that we will not bear fruit; we will wither, die, and be burned.

So, the question arises, how do we stay united to the vine, so that we can bear fruit and share in eternal life? In this passage, Jesus points out four ways to do just that.

Growing in Prayer (with quotation from Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

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.

Utilizing the Sacraments (with quotation from St Gaudentius of Brescia)

"Remaining in Christ" means making good use of the sacraments, most especially the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession. If a branch gets damaged in a windstorm, the gardener knows how to tie it up properly so that it will once again attach itself firmly to the trunk.

He binds it or grafts it back on to the vine. That's what happens with confession: Jesus renews the connection with him that our sin has damaged or broken. All the saints and popes recommend that we use this great gift regularly and frequently.

And in the Eucharist, our union with Christ is strengthened more powerfully than at any other time - we receive an influx of grace like no other, because he is truly present there under the appearances of bread and wine. If prayer is sunlight, the Eucharist is a rain shower, refreshing and renewing our souls. Every Holy Communion is like a spiritual springtime in which a new outpouring of divine life surges into our hearts and minds.

St Gaudentius of Brescia put it very clearly when he wrote: "This is the food which sustains and nourishes us on our journey through life, until we depart from this world and are united with Christ."

Loving Obedience to God's Will (with quotation from St Vincent de Paul)

Staying united to the vine requires loving obedience to God's will. This is what St John refers to in today's Second Reading, when he writes: "Children, let us not love one another in word or in speech, but in deeds and truth." It's easy to say pretty words, to talk the talk of being a good Catholic.

But that talk has to translate into actions and the strength of virtues, into honesty, purity, faithfulness, courage, self-sacrifice, and obedience to Church teaching. Otherwise, we are no better than actors on a stage, making a show out of looking like Christ's followers, but not really following Christ.

This loving obedience to God our wise and all-powerful Father, in big things and little things, is the surest sign of humility, and humility the shortcut to holiness, wisdom, and lasting happiness. As St Vincent de Paul put it: "The most powerful weapon to conquer the Devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it."

Letting God Prune Us (with quotation from St Ignatius of Loyola)

Staying united to the vine means allowing God to prune us. Jesus says that each healthy branch of the vine must be pruned "so that it bears more fruit."

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.

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." 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."

God Wants Us to Bear Fruit

Prayer, the sacraments, loving obedience, and suffering in union with Christ are what keep the Christian sap flowing in our lives. They yield the fruit we yearn for most:

• 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 as profound a way as Christ's own life did,
• and a life whose meaning and impact overflow into eternity.

This is what God wants for us; this is why Jesus came to earth: "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.