In the images that Jesus presents through the Gospels these past two weeks, we are given a glimpse into His very identity. Last weekend, He presented Himself as the Good Shepherd who knows and loves His flock ~ and the flock knows and loves Him. This week, He describes Himself as the True Vine, making us the branches. Just like the flock stays connected to the shepherd, the branches must stay connected to the vine. If a sheep does not stay connected to the shepherd and wanders off, then the life of that sheep is in peril. If the branch is not connected to the vine, then that branch will wither, dry-up, and decompose. Both images, the sheep and the branch, remind us to stay connected to the source of our lives in order to thrive, grow, and survive ~ we must stay connected to Christ. We connect ourselves to Him through the Sacraments, prayer, the Bible ~ Sacred Scripture, and by loving God and one another. Let us stay connected to Him who is the true and only source through which we have life.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Fr. Wayne