In today’s Gospel Jesus uses the image of the vine
and the branches to illustrate how we need to stay connected to him if we are
to be his disciples and bear fruit with our lives. If we stay connected to the vine we’ll bear much fruit, but if
not we’ll wither and be kindling for the fire.
We’re all off to a great start being connected to
Jesus by being here at Mass. The
Mass is the greatest prayer offered to God. Through the Mass we pray, hear
God’s Word, and receive the sacrament of the Eucharist. When we’re dismissed
from Mass we’re sent off to put into practice what we’ve received by loving God
& our neighbor. We may leave
Mass with good intentions to stay connected with Jesus, but it’s easy to get
distracted with the business of our lives. So how can we stay connected to Jesus so we can
bear fruit and not get distracted?
Through prayer, God’s word, and the sacraments.
A great way to pray is what we did this morning:
praying the rosary.
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| Image from USCCB Website |
The
rosary is a prayer that keeps us connected to the life of Jesus and it only
takes about 15 minutes to pray. As
we pray the rosary we focus on events in the life of Jesus based on the
mysteries for the day. Today we prayed the Joyful mysteries, which are the Annunciation
of the birth of Jesus, the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, the Nativity of
Jesus birth, the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, and the finding of Jesus
in the temple. You’ll find the
other mysteries: the Luminous, Sorrowful, and Glorious mysteries listed in this
bulletin and on prayer cards in the back of church. If you have a Smartphone it’s very easy to get an app that
will help you pray the rosary.
Just
search for “Mary” in the app store and it will find rosary devotion with audio
you can pray along with. As we pray the rosary we can also pray for some
particular need: a person who may need our prayers or something you need help with. I try to pray the rosary myself on my daily
commute. It sure makes the
drive more peaceful as it’s hard to get mad at someone while your praying.
Another good way to stay connected with Jesus is by stopping
in a church to be with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. There’s some real power by
praying in the presence of
the Blessed Sacrament. Many churches
have special times where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration. We
have opportunities for adoration every Wednesday and the first Fridays of the
month. If you have availability
there are times you can sign up for an hour of prayer each week, just call the
parish office to sign up, or you can stop in for whatever time you have
available. There are even some
parishes close by that have adoration available 24 hours a day. Even if you only can stay five minutes it can be a powerful
way to stay connected to Jesus throughout the week.
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| Image from USCCB website |
Reading God’s word can also keep that connection to
Jesus strong. A great way to do
this is by reading the scripture for the upcoming Sunday. The readings are
printed each week in the bulletin and can be easily found them on the web. There’s
also a reflection on the readings printed in the Criterion each week. You can get daily readings sent to you by email, listen to a podcast, or even watch a video of the reading at the USCCB Website.
Attending a daily Mass can also keep you connected
to Jesus.
A
Mass during the week is usually only half an hour long. It’s a much more intimate
experience and can be a very peaceful break in a busy week. We have Mass daily,
and even have a 6:30 am Mass every Wednesday that may fit in before going to
work. You may even have a parish close to your work that may have a daily Mass
you could fit in your schedule. I know if you work downtown there are two churches
that have 12:00 pm Masses that you can get spiritually fed in over lunch.
By keeping connected Jesus throughout your week through
prayer, God’s Word, and sacraments you’ll be able to bear the fruit in your
life by living as his disciples showing love for God and neighbor.
God
bless you!
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