Category: Uncategorized

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Acts: 14: 19-28

In those days, some Jews from Antioch and Iconium
arrived and won over the crowds.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,
supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered around him,
he got up and entered the city.
On the following day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

After they had proclaimed the good news to that city
and made a considerable number of disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.
They strengthened the spirits of the disciples
and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying,
“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships
to enter the Kingdom of God.”
They appointed presbyters for them in each Church and,
with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord
in whom they had put their faith.
Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia.
After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
From there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God
for the work they had now accomplished.
And when they arrived, they called the Church together
and reported what God had done with them
and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Then they spent no little time with the disciples.

The Word of the Lord.

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Can you recall a moment in your life that demanded courage? 

Perhaps it was an extended period of time, like a tour of duty overseas. Maybe it was a single moment like a grace-filled confession or a crucial conversation.

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In our first reading, the Apostle Paul demonstrates immense courage for the sake of the Gospel.

He and Barnabas have been preaching all over Greece and Turkey. At times their message is well-received. At others they’re outright rejected.

Today, for example, people literally try stoning Paul to death before dragging his lifeless body out of town. When he comes to his senses, Paul stands up and walks right back into town, preaching the very same message to the very same people!

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His courage that day must’ve moved hearts quicker and deeper than a thousand sermons ever could. “Where did he get this courage from? Is he crazy?” Many must’ve wondered.

There’s no way Paul would’ve risked his life again – caring for the salvation of the souls who just tried killing him – unless his message was true: 

“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried, raised from the dead, then he appeared to Peter and the others, and last of all he appeared to me” (1 Cor. 15: 1-8).

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Christ died for you.

His love has been poured into your heart. 

And after following him here on earth, there is a resting place for you in heaven. 

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How does this knowledge change your outlook on life today? 

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Image credits: (1) Real Life with Jack Hibbs, YouTube, 28:30 (2) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (3) The Light of Christ Journey

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Gospel: John 14: 21-26

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them
is the one who loves me.
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”
Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him,
“Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us
and not to the world?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit 
whom the Father will send in my name —
he will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When was the last time you saw Jesus? Or felt comforted by his presence?

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It’s an odd question if you’re looking for his flesh and bones, or a loud trumpet sounding from the heavens.

Christ reveals himself to us constantly, but in humbler ways. So humble that if you’re not attuned to looking for him, then he’ll pass you by.

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When the Lord first appeared here on earth, he didn’t tear the heavens open by arriving in a blazing chariot of fire. Rather, he came as a helpless baby.

He connected himself to a family, and over the next thirty years, he taught them how to live and love as he did. When the appointed time for his public ministry came, he chose the twelve Apostles, forming them in his school of mercy day by day.

In a word, Jesus spent his life building relationships – relationships that slowly turned people into living examples of his love.

As he says in today’s Gospel, “Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me… and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

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This how we can still see and feel the Lord today – through ordinary Christians who have learned how to live as Christ has commanded us.

As one Spanish mystic once wrote: 

Christ has no body but yours,

No hands, no feet on earth but yours,

Yours are the eyes with which he looks with 

Compassion on this world,

Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,

Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

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So, when was the last time you saw Jesus?

Hopefully, you can turn to your neighbor and say, the last time I saw you.

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Image credits: (1) Kate Palazzi (2) Holy Owned and Operated (3) Christianity.com

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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 every one 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Everything that is alive requires pruning in order to reach its full potential.

Yet no one wants to be pruned – to be cut off from the vine – even those branches, parts of ourselves, that must go.

God, the “Father-farmer,” in his divine wisdom sees what must be done … and is willing to do it with us and for us.

As Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” But as we all know, growth in life, in our families, in marriage, in this parish, in our faith, requires pruning.

Perhaps the question God is posing to us today is, “What parts of ourselves need to be pruned?”

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Let’s begin with the branches that undoubtedly must go – those that withering.

Withering branches are easy to spot. They’re dark and limp, slowly dying on the vine. They stifle a vine’s growth, demanding energy and nutrients, while giving nothing back, which is why a farmer must prune them.

I find that a fascinating truth: withering branches take energy to die.

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So, what does a withering branch look like in our own lives?

Often, it’s a habit, an emotion, or a relationship formed over time, which slowly drains us without bearing any good fruit.

Imagine nursing a grudge for months, even years. That bitterness would sap your energy without producing anything positive. Slowly, it’d also harden your heart.

Or think of living with an unhealthy habit – perhaps overindulgence in things like eating, drinking, social media, gambling, and so on. These things can cost us time, money, even our health! 

These habits don’t give life; they take it.

God, the “Father-farmer” wants to prune these branches out of our lives, allowing us to grow towards our full potential. 

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But that’s painful. Anytime we’re faced with being pruned, there’s the temptation to postpone; to enjoy the withering branch a bit longer. 

It’s not easy letting go of parts of ourselves, even if they are unhealthy. Perhaps Saint Paul was referring to this idea when he said in his Letter to the Romans:

“What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate… So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.” 

Paul, a man so many rightly admire, also needed to be pruned. Like us, he needed the help of God, his “Father, farmer.”

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What’s the withering branch in my own life – a relationship, a habit, or a memory that I cling to, demanding my time and energy without bearing good fruit?

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Late in the summer months, a farmer will also prune budding branches. Although they’re fruitful, they’re smaller shoots on the vine.

They, too, must go so that the nutrients can be directed to the largest branches, which are bearing the most fruit.

Similarly, there’s no shortage of good ways to spend our time. But we can easily become overextended, doing too much with too little. 

Sometimes we need to say, “no,” pruning those smaller shoots in our lives – taking one or two things off of our plate – in order to bear more fruit where it matters most.

Do I feel overextended? Do I need to say, “no” to something, even if it’s something good?

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Jesus concludes this Gospel image of the vine and the branches by saying, “By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

By “fruit,” the Lord means good works.

The nourishment that we receive from him – through his Word, through prayer, and through this Eucharist – is meant to increase the charity within our lives, making us more and more like Christ, the True Vine.

What “fruit” are we producing as his disciples? 

How does our attachment to the vine of Jesus positively influence our role as parent, spouse, friend, minister, or Christian in the world?

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Spring is the time for planting – and pruning.

May God, the “Father-farmer,” take away those withering, and even budding, branches so that we may bear more fruit – thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.

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Image credits: (1) dti-tool.disciplers.org (2) Christiany.com (3) Daily Express