Grafting On The Vine

"I am the true vine, you are the branches (Jn 15: 5).  We've heard this a few times, in our lives, no doubt; if not a few, yes, many.  Each time we hear it we are in a different "space", mood, or phase of spiritual development, and thus hear it in a different way; hopefully, a deeper way. Gardeners know that pulling up a vine from the root automatically kills it, and if we merely trim it, the section cut from the root soon withers.  Its source of nourishment and life-giving juices are removed and it cannot sustain itself.  So too with our union with our Root and Source, Jesus.  We might be able to limp along on reserve human energy and nourishment for awhile, but eventually we find as someone put it simply to me recently, "something was missing"  in his life. He had dropped attending Sunday Mass for awhile, and only attended as funerals or weddings obligated him.  But his reconnection to the vine of weekly Sunday Eucharist has brought him joy, peace and a new sense of LIFE!  The "Jesus juices" are now flowing in his spiritual veins and the spiritual fogginess and grogginess he was experiencing have disappeared.  The smile on is face was a sure sign of this.  We might take some time today to reflect on how connected to the Vine we are.  Perhaps like this man, Sunday Mass has fallen off, or our prayer time keeps getting cut as our busyness encroaches on these precious moments needed daily to remain vibrantly attached to the Vine. What is happening with our spiritual reading, our Rosary, our service to others? The consoling thing is, that the vine and the branches can be grated together at any time.  Jesus is simply waiting for us to make the move.
Bro. Rene