John 15:1-8

Acts 15:1-6

Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you are the vinedresser and know exactly how I need to be pruned. Cut away the stubbornness of my heart so that I may bear spiritual fruit for your Kingdom. Do not let me be separated through selfishness and sin from your Son, the true vine. I desire to glorify your name in all that I do.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Image of the Vine: In the Gospel of John, Jesus does not tell long, narrative parables as he does in the other three synoptic Gospels. But John does record Jesus using powerful images and comparisons that are a type of ancient parable. Today’s image-parable from John is that of a vine and its branches. God the Father is compared to the vine-grower, Jesus is compared to the vine, and we are compared to the branches of the vine. If we extend the parable, the Spirit is life-giving water that fills and flows through the vine and nourishes the branches so that they can produce good fruit. The image is used by Jesus to help us contemplate what our lives are like united to him and what they are like separate from him.

2. Trinitarian Vine-Dressing: We need to be pruned by the Father, to remain united to the Son, and to be vivified by the Spirit. The Father prunes us by permitting sufferings, tribulations, and temptations in our lives. He prunes us by inviting us to make a sacrificial offering of ourselves in union with his Son’s voluntary self-sacrifice. What does remaining and abiding in union with Jesus concretely look like in our lives? Are we united with him in our thinking? Do I think about others as Jesus did and does? How do I judge them? How do I welcome them? How do I listen to them? How do I forgive them? Do my words reflect those of Jesus?Concerning the life-giving Spirit, do I experience how the Spirit dwells in me as in a Temple and is like a river flowing in and through me? How is my mind nourished by the gift of faith? How is my will inspired by the gift of hope? How am I united more and more perfectly to the Lord through the gift of charity?

3. The Fruit of the Vine: At the end of today’s Gospel passage, Jesus affirms that we glorify the Father when we bear spiritual fruit and become his disciples. We can only bear lasting fruit and store up eternal treasure when we are empowered by the life-giving “sap” of divine grace. Healthy vines produce healthy grapes, which can then be crushed and fermented, and turned into wine. And wine, we know, can be transformed into the Eucharistic Blood of Christ, the Blood of the New Covenant. This image underscores how our good works and sacrifices can be transformed through union with Christ into pleasing sacrifices, acceptable to the Father.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am comforted to know that from the early days of Christianity until the present, there have been and will be contentious debates and discussions. I pray that all the members of the Church may always be united to you, the true vine, and guided to all truth by the Holy Spirit. Do not let me be discouraged in times of confusion.

Living the Word of God: Am I praying for the new Pope, Leo XIV? What are my hopes and fears? Am I open to his teaching and pastoral guidance? Am I looking at everything he says and does in political terms or according to the light of the Gospel and the perennial teaching of the Church?