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After college, I entered a program in Rome that required me to be away from the country for two years with no possibility of returning home. These were the days before the internet, Zoom, and Facebook, when even phone calls were expensive. As the time for me to leave drew near, I was feeling sad at the possibility of losing touch with so many people I had come to love. When I shared this with my pastor, he told me, “The Jesus you will be praying to in Rome is the same Jesus your friends will be praying to here at home.” Those simple words reminded me that, even half a world away, I would remain connected with my friends through the mystery of faith and prayer.
At the Last Supper, Jesus faced the prospect of leaving his disciples. He wanted them to know that although he would no longer be with them physically, his presence would nonetheless still be very real and active among them. And so, Jesus used the image of the vine to describe the ongoing connection he would have with his followers even after his death and resurrection. Just as the branch is vitally connected to the vine, so the believer is vitally connected to Jesus. And just as, apart from the vine, the branch shrivels up and dies, so those who are not connected to Jesus have no life within them.
The Last Supper is the only place where Jesus uses the image of the vine, but it repeats a theme which echoes throughout the gospel of John — that Jesus “stays” or “remains in” his disciples and that they “stay” or “remain in” him. For example, when Jesus asks the first disciples what they want, they do not ask him, “Where are you going?” but, “Where are you staying?” This “remaining” points to the mystery of Jesus’ ongoing presence within his disciples.
The fact that we each sprout individually from the vine which is Christ does not mean that we are separated from one another. Jesus connects us not only to himself but to one another. Together we form the one vine which extends its branches throughout the world and bears fruit in love. The woman who folds her hands to pray in Tennessee draws life from the same source as the man who kneels down in Bangladesh. The teenager who visits the sick in Buenos Aires does so with the same love that moves a rich woman to give her coat to a homeless person in Lisbon. It is the same Jesus who continues to be present and active throughout the world just as he promised his disciples.
At the Eucharist, we gather to witness the transformation of “the fruit of the vine and work of human hands” into the very life blood of Christ. It is the source of our life and its highest expression. We offer with the gifts of bread and wine all that we are and all that we have done. It does not always seem like much. But we offer it precisely so that it can be transformed into something beyond our power to achieve. Pondering the mystery of the life of Jesus within us will make us grow in our longing to be united with him through Holy Communion. And it strengthens our sense of unity with other Christian believers throughout the world.
In Christ we remain connected to one another through him.
Douglas Sousa
PRAYER
Lord Jesus,
1. Our Right to Life representative, Mary Siring, will be providing carnations to the parish on Mother's Day, next weekend (May 8th & 9th) after all the Masses. Remember the "mother" in your life with a cheery bouquet.
You are the vine and we are the branches
Because of you we are alive.
Because of you, we bear fruit.
As we reach out to you
Keep us mindful of the needy
Who yearn to be reached out to.
As we stretch out our hands to you,
Let us also stretch out our hands to the hungry
So that the fruit we bear in you
May nourish others.
Amen
READINGS FOR MAY 2, 2021
5th SUNDAY OF EASTER
1st Reading—Acts of the Apostles 9: 26-31—Saul went back to Jerusalem, but the disciples were afraid of him. Barnabas told them how the Lord had conversed with Saul and how he had suffered in the name of Jesus. Then they welcomed and protected Saul.
Responsorial Psalm: 22: 2-27, 28, 30, 31-32—“I will praise your name, my King and my God. I will praise your name, my King and my God!”
2nd Reading—1 John 3: 18-24—“Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” If our hearts do not condemn us, we can have confidence that God will grant our requests.
Gospel Acclamation—Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, give the glory and the honor to the Lord! “
Gospel—John 15: 1-8—Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in them, will bear much fruit.” Everyone else “will be thrown out like a branch and wither.”
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
1) Let us pray for the Church:
May your people, the Church, be at peace, O God. Make us one in love.
May we all find renewed hope in the Risen Christ.
2) Let us pray for the nations:
May all of the ends of the earth turn to you, O Lord.
May the family of nations find the way of peace together and may all military and police officers feel our love and support.
3) Let us pray for the sick and the suffering:
Be one with our brothers and sisters in pain, O Lord.
Help us lift their burdens.
We pray especially for —
Betty Morici Reagan Bahling Frank Vella Abby Gels
Jon Barber Joyce Stewart Jerry Richart John Noble
And all nurses, doctors, first responders and those who work to keep us fed.
And for all who have asked for our prayers.
4) Let us remember the dead:
May our beloved live on in you, O Lord. Raise up from the earth those whose faith is known to you alone (especially) …
(5:00 Mass) Frederick & Mariah Andre, Tom Rogan
(8:30 Mass) Anna Swiatlowski
(10:30 Mass) Maria Luisa Capistrano, Sol Lopez
5) Let us pray for our personal needs in a moment of silence:
Keep us all in your loving arms, Lord.
We pray to the Lord . ..
ANNOUNCEMENTS — May 2, 2021
2.On Mother’s Day weekend we ask the children to offer a flower to the Blessed Mother as they process in with Fr. Gerry. At the 10:30 Mass, we will have a May crowning of Mary.
3. The quilting and craft group will meet next Saturday at 10 a.m. in Solanus Hall.
4. We are offering a Sunday-by-Sunday Scripture study beginning this Wednesday, May 5 th from 10 a.m. to 11:30. No registration or fee is required. If you would like a copy of the study materials, please contact the Religious Education office before class.
5. Our First Communion Mass will be on Sunday, May 16 th at the 10:30 Mass.