BEING WITH CHRIST

John 15:1-8

Words from Pope Francis

"to start anew with Christ means being close to him, being close to Jesus.  Jesus stresses the importance of this closeness  with his disciples at the Last Supper.  JEsus uses the image of the vine and the branches and says, abide in my love, remain attached to me, as the branch is attached to the vine.  If we are going to him we are able to bear fruit.

The first thing for a disciple is to be with the Master, to listen to him and learn from him.  This is always true and it is true every moment of our lives.

How do you abide int he presence of the Lord? When you visit the lord, when you look at the tabernacle, what do you do? Do you let yourself be gazed at by the Lord?


Starting new with Christ means imitating him by leaving ourselves behind and going out to encounter others.  When we put Christ at the center of our life, we ourselves don't become the center!  The more you unite yourselves to Christ and he becomes the center of your life, the more he leads you out of yourself an do pens you to others.  This is the true dynamism of love, this is the movement of God himself! God is the enter, but he is always self-gift, relationship, love that gives itself away and thesis what we will become if we remain united to Christ."

What does it mean for us to be united to Christ?  What does it mean for us to put into practice the words of today's gospel we hear from Jesus, "Remain in me, as I remain in you…I am the vine and you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing…"

What does it mean?  It means like Christ our life becomes a gift for others.  A gift for others.  Our life is a gift not to be hoarded but to be given away.

"By this is me Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."

BEar the fruit worthy of the vinedresser, be a gift for others.

Not a push over.  Not someone to be abused.   But some one who understands the truth is not afraid to live it, unashamed to be the bearer of the gift of truth in love for others.