WEDNESDAY (1 May) – Abide in Me, and I in You

Mabuhay at Mabuting Balita!

Month of Our Lady

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker
Lectionary: 287


First Reading: ACTS 15:1-6
PSALMS 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5:  Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Gospel: 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.” https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050124.cfm
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-may-1-2024

Reflection:
Why does Jesus speak of himself as the true vine? The image of the vine was a rich one for the Jews since the land of Israel was covered with numerous vineyards. It had religious connotations to it as well. Isaiah spoke of the house of Israel as “the vineyard of the Lord”(Isaiah 5:7). Jeremiah said that God had planted Israel “as his choice vine” (Jeremiah 2:21). While the vine became a symbol of Israel as a nation, it also was used in the Scriptures as a sign of degeneration – a deformed state of spiritual growth and moral decline. Isaiah’s prophecy spoke of Israel as a vineyard which “yielded wild grapes” (see Isaiah 5:1-7). Jeremiah said that Israel had become a “degenerate and wild vine” (Jeremiah 2:21).

One must be firmly rooted in the “Tree of Life”
When Jesus calls himself the true vine he makes clear that no one can grow in spiritual fruitfulness and moral goodness unless they are rooted in God and in his life-giving word. Religious affiliation or association with spiritually minded people is not sufficient by itself – one must be firmly rooted in the “Tree of Life” (Revelation 22:1-2, Genesis 2:8-9) who is the eternal Father and his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus makes a claim which only God can make – he is the true source of life that sustains us and makes us fruitful in living the abundant life which God has for us. It is only through Jesus Christ that one can be fully grafted into the true “vineyard of the Lord”.

Bearing the fruit of righteousness, peace, and joy
Jesus offers true life – the abundant life which comes from God and which results in great fruitfulness. How does the vine become fruitful? The vine dresser must carefully prune the vine before it can bear good fruit. Vines characteristically have two kinds of branches – those which bear fruit and those which don’t. The non-bearing branches must be carefully pruned back in order for the vine to conserve its strength for bearing good fruit. Jesus used this image to describe the kind of life he produces in those who are united with him – the fruit of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). Jesus says there can be no fruit in our lives apart from him. The fruit he speaks of here is the fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

There is a simple truth here: We are either fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing. There is no in-between. But the bearing of healthy fruit requires drastic pruning. The Lord promises that we will bear much fruit if we abide in him and allow him to purify us. Do you trust in the Lord’s healing and transforming power to give you the abundant life and fruit of his heavenly kingdom?

Lord Jesus, may I be one with you in all that I say and do. Draw me close that I may glorify you and bear fruit for your kingdom. Inflame my heart with your love and remove from it anything that would make me ineffective or unfruitful in loving and serving you as my All.
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=may1
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/video/2024-05-01-reflection-287

Saint of the Day:  Saint Marculf
Marculf is also known as Marcoul. He was born at Bayeux, Gaul, at noble parents. He was ordained when he was thirty, and did missionary work at Coutances. Desirous of living as a hermit, he was granted land by king Childebert at Nanteuil. He attracted numerous disciples, and built a monastery, of which he was abbot. It became a great pilgrimage center after his death on May 1. St. Marculf was regarded as a patron who cured skin diseases, and as late as 1680, sufferers made pilgrimages to his shrine at Nanteuil and bathed in the springs connected with the church. His feast day is May 1. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=303

More Saints of the Day
St. Aceolus
St. Acius
St. Aldebrandus
St. Amator
St. Andeolus
St. Arigius
St. Asaph
St. Augustus Schoffler
St. Benedict of Szkalka
St. Bertha of Kent
St. Bertha of Val d’Or
St. Brieuc
St. Buriana
St. Ceallach
St. Cominus
St. Evermarus
St. Grata
St. Isidora
St. Isidora the Simple
St. John-Louis Bonnard
St. Orentius
Sts. Orentius and Patientia
St. Panacea
St. Peregrine Laziosi
St. Riccardo Pampuri
St. Theodard
St. Ultan

Let me be the change I want to be. Even if I am not the light, I can be the spark. (Lasallian Prayer)

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