Daily Mass Gospel Reflection- Staying Plugged In

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 5-2-2021 | Aux. Bishop of L.A. Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

Fifth Sunday of Easter

John 15:1–8

Friends, our passage today is from the beautiful, evocative, and challenging fifteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. Jesus declares that he is the vine and we are the branches. He is the power and energy source in which we live. This vine and branches image is closely related, therefore, to Paul’s metaphor of the Body of Christ.

The point is that we live in him and he in us. Jesus is the source of supernatural life in us, and without him we would have none of it. If you are separated from the vine, you will die spiritually; if you are connected to it, you will live a supernatural life.

What does this mean concretely? It means a steady immersion in the prayer of the Church and steady communion with God, and speaking to him on a regular basis. It means an immersion in the Scriptures and soaking in the truth of the Bible. It means engaging in the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

And you must participate in the sacraments—especially Confession and the Eucharist. By the sacraments, we stay close to the Christ who forgives our sins and enlivens our spirits.

[MurphsLaw]

Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts before him in whatever our hearts condemn, for God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.
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[Marchmain]

Catholics do not need to privately cling to the Bible obsessively. Some sects do this because they don’t have anything else. Every time a Catholic attends mass, even online, we are reading 5 inter-related scripture passages including the gospel.

[MurphsLaw]

I agree with your take on this for the most part. But not all people listen attentively to the liturgy of the Word...and often the homilies dont do a good job tying it all together.

and I think if more Catholics took the time to "immerse" themselves in Understanding John 6 for instance.... the situation would be a lot different...JP2 and XVI were master theologians who showed us how Scriptural scholarship enhanced the Sacramental Church....not detracted from it.... The current Pope seems to have de-emphasized Scripture for the wrong reasons...

[Marchmain]

Good points.