The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
Like the image of the good shepherd in last week’s Gospel, the image of the vine today continues to remind us of God’s fruitfulness, intimacy, and love. Our Father, infinitely wise, removes branches that do not bear fruit and precisely prunes fruitful branches so that they are all the more abundant.
Today’s Gospel calls us to ask ourselves: What areas in our life need pruning?
From work, family, relationships, daily life, and adding a myriad of activities in between -- we often feel exhausted by the end of the day or week. We may feel like there’s never enough time to do everything or never time to rest.
As tempted as we are to make other areas of life abiding places, Christ says, “Remain in me.”
Living in a world that tells us that we’re not doing enough and need to do more, today’s Gospel reminds us that we, abiding in Christ, are enough. As we trim the hedges of life that do not serve us, the better we can rest in His presence, beauty and awe.
Lord, help us to remove the branches in our lives that do not bear good fruit.
Draw us closer to You. Help us to remain and abide in you, rest and grow in strength to be Your disciples, serving others and glorifying you. Amen.