May 03, 2015
5th Sunday of Easter
Trucks and lifts were picking up limbs and branches on Schwartz Rd. After wicked winter weather broken branches and limbs are scattered in yards. Yet after 80 + inches of snowfall in November and zero degree cold in February vibrant life returns: buds on trees, flowers blooming, grass growing/greening and birds singing. Jesus in our Gospel speaks of vines and branches. Listeners are very familiar with pruning as vineyards dot the landscape. Jewish prophets speak of God planting and cultivating vineyards. When there is a disappointing harvest of covenant worship, justice and compassion for neighbors and strangers, God is the vinedresser who trims the branches to increase yield. Jesus adds something different and startling. “I am the vine. You are the branches.†It is not just God pruning that produces a rich harvest but the life of Jesus flowing through the branches. We are nourished with words of Jesus, with his very essence in the bread and wine, his body and blood in Holy Communion and with the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit bestowed on/in us that prompts us to pray, to discern critical need in our community and in the world, and to respond generously. Two examples: pass the chalice for priestly vocations and 2nd collection for relief after earthquake in Nepal. We come to awareness of our responsibility to pray to God to send workers into the vineyard. The harvest is bountiful but laborers are few. Consider taking the journal and chalice home and praying for vocations to priesthood. We petition God to help the people of Nepal but that help comes through our involvement and support. The 2nd collection next weekend, through the Bishop’s office, Catholic Charities International and Catholic Relief Services, will be directed to bring needed aid to people overwhelmed by the immensity of the devastation. We are all branches on the vine of life. We are children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ.
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4th Sunday of Easter
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6th Sunday of Easter
