We are a joyful community of disciples proclaiming the Good News and inviting all people to encounter the love and mercy of Jesus Christ.
"I am the Vine. You are the branches."
(John 15:5)
Branches of the Vine
How big can Jesus make our hearts? We all probably know someone who has left the practice of their faith and perhaps joined another church that is not Catholic. Something monumental is missing in our hearts.
Our Catholic faith isn’t a contest but an openness and willingness to accept and embrace people where they are in life and their faith. This can be very difficult for us to accept. However, it’s what Jesus did in the Gospels and what the disciples did in the first generation of our faith.
The apostles encountered people who were not Jewish. A Jew could not even speak to a Gentile. The Apostles remembered how Jesus cured the Roman centurion’s son and asked the Samaritan woman to drink water from her well.
Jesus is the Vine, but he is also the entire plant. At the first Council of Jerusalem, the Apostles left judgment aside. They received a new commandment from Jesus: love as He loved them. Then, it became much easier to welcome Gentiles to the Lord’s Table.
We cannot keep our faith to ourselves. Each branch of the VINE penetrates every part of it. The time will come when all Christians can eat and drink from our table. The Lord alone knows that date.
But until then, our responsibility is to mature in our love for Christ Jesus as he reaches out through us and embraces the people we meet every day.
Do not be surprised when Jesus reaches out and touches someone you find different or difficult. Who might that person be? Someone who no longer eats and drinks with us? Pray for them and for yourself to be a loving presence of Christ to all.
Our Catholic faith isn’t a contest but an openness and willingness to accept and embrace people where they are in life and their faith. This can be very difficult for us to accept. However, it’s what Jesus did in the Gospels and what the disciples did in the first generation of our faith.
The apostles encountered people who were not Jewish. A Jew could not even speak to a Gentile. The Apostles remembered how Jesus cured the Roman centurion’s son and asked the Samaritan woman to drink water from her well.
Jesus is the Vine, but he is also the entire plant. At the first Council of Jerusalem, the Apostles left judgment aside. They received a new commandment from Jesus: love as He loved them. Then, it became much easier to welcome Gentiles to the Lord’s Table.
We cannot keep our faith to ourselves. Each branch of the VINE penetrates every part of it. The time will come when all Christians can eat and drink from our table. The Lord alone knows that date.
But until then, our responsibility is to mature in our love for Christ Jesus as he reaches out through us and embraces the people we meet every day.
Do not be surprised when Jesus reaches out and touches someone you find different or difficult. Who might that person be? Someone who no longer eats and drinks with us? Pray for them and for yourself to be a loving presence of Christ to all.
Who is Jesus reaching out through us to welcome to His Table?
Lord Jesus, change my heart to reach out to someone I find difficult to love. I pray in Your Name. Amen.
Reflection by:
Fr. Rick Pilger, I.C., was born in Canton, Illinois, the third of four children. He attended St. John’s Seminary in Wonersh, England, and was ordained in 1979. Fr. Rick is a member of the religious order, Institute of Charity, founded by Blessed Antonio Rosmini. He has served parishes in Galesburg, IL., Bradenton, FL., and now in Seminole, FL. as a Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Father Rick’s greatest passion is sharing God’s good Word and celebrating the Sacraments with His people.