GOSPEL, John (15:1-8)
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
Jesus the True Vine
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. 2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. 3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. 6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Bridget She was born in Sweden in 1303; after an exemplary life as a wife and mother of eight children, she gave herself, after her husband’s death, to a life of greater union with God. Founded the religious Order of the Blessed Sacrament. She left many works about her mystical experiences. She had undertaken penitential pilgrimages and had written many works in which she recounts her mystical experiences. She died in Rome in the year 1373.
The Church has chosen for this feast day the Gospel of John, (15: 1-8) whose fundamental theme is “He who abides in me and I in him bears abundant fruit”
The central idea of today’s gospel is the disciple’s permanent union with Jesus through love, the keeping of his commandments.
The mutual love of the Father and the Son passes from Christ to the disciples and from the latter to all others. Jesus says “As the Father loved me, so have I loved you; remain in my love”.
How to remain in the love of Christ?
“If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; just as I kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love,” says Jesus, because “he who loves me will keep my word.”
To love Jesus is to keep his commandments. The relationship between love and obedience is very similar; they support and complement each other. When love leads us to sacrifice our own will to conform to the will of the others, achieving the fusion of wills, then love is mature and what St. John of the Cross-said: “Beloved in the beloved transformed” comes true. Happiness is directly related to the capacity for sacrifice.
Love and obedience united create joyful joy. This is why Christ communicates his joy to his Disciples, as an anticipation of the eternal happiness of loving and being loved. “I told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be full”.
Love generates joy when it is totally free, that is, when it is completely free from selfishness and self-interest.
“4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1Cor 13:4-7).
PRAYER
Grant us, Holy Father that we abide in the love of Jesus to bear abundant fruit of faith, peace and joy. Lord Jesus, pour in us your joy of Spirit, so that our happiness may reach its fullness in you and then let us be witness to others of your love and your joy. Amen.