Beautiful readings today, especially the Gospel from St. John Chapter 15, is something I think we all should meditate on when we are back home. In today's Gospel Jesus that, all our lives would go nowhere without him. He tells us, "without me, you can do nothing".
When we grow up and leave home, our love and connection with our parents may remain with us. But we are really on our own. It can never be that way with Jesus. We need Jesus when we are 35 or 50 or 80 as much as when we are 6 or 7. We need Jesus all of the time. The prophets, hundreds of years before Christ, uses the vineyard as an image of Israel. Just as a farmer or a vine grower would take care of the vineyard, would cultivate the vineyard, so God would care for his people and expect much fruit from them. Devout worship, obedience to his commandments, justice and love for the poor and vulnerable. So Jesus is telling us that only through our union with Him, can we bear fruit. Jesus has tried to tell us that in many ways.
