“Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me.” Jn. 14:21
Do you Love Jesus?
Everyone questions God’s love for us.
“If God loves us why does he allow suffering in the world?”
Is it possible that most of the suffering in the world is because WE do not love God!
If we did love God we would keep His commandments
And by keeping His commandments much of our self inflicted sins and suffering would come to an end.
The Vineyard Jn. 15:1-8
Every vineyard that wants to bear fruit and be productive must be pruned.
Pruning has shown to improve the quality and size of the grape.
The origin of pruning is said to go back to Palestine.
Where there was a donkey that ate parts of a grapevine and at the harvest they discovered that those grape clusters were bigger and better than others.
Therefore any Vine grower worth his or her salt will prune the branches in order to produce a good harvest.
God the Father is the Vine Grower
And Jesus is the Vine.
And we are the branches.
What kind of branches are we?
Do we bear fruit?
And how much fruit?
The minimum or abundant fruit?
Do we need pruning?
What are the dead branches that need to be cut off and thrown into the fire?
Maybe an unhealthy relationship;
Or a negative attitude;
A fear we cling to or a past hurt we cannot let go of.
A bad habit that we can’t break.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to bear fruit and remain on the Vine.
And so every once in awhile He comes to prune His Vineyard.
And The cross is the shears God uses for pruning.
And when we see it coming we recoil and don’t want to be pruned.
We would rather keep our old, dead branches that suck the life out of us and keep us from new life and bearing new fruit than be pruned.
Be not afraid when the shears of the cross comes to prune us.
God the Father is only cutting away the dead and useless branches of our lives
so that we can bear abundant fruit and remain with Him forever.
The Way, the Truth and the Life
We have the latest trends giving us directions
People telling us what to believe;
Even Life Coaches telling people how to live.
But none of these things or people can replace Jesus.
For Jesus is the Only Way, the Truth and the Life.
And those who follow the latest trends for directions;
Who listen to Other people’s opinions
And follow life Coaches,
Instead of Jesus
Are sure to get lost along the way.
The Body of Christ
St. Paul teaches that we are the mystical Body of Christ.
But through the centuries this Body has been broken and divided many times.
Long before the Protestant Reformation there was another schism in the 5th century when the Coptic Church of Alexandria Egypt split from the Christian Churches in Rome and Constantinople.
The Coptic Church claims to have been founded by St. Mark, whose feast day we celebrate today.
And is the major Christian Church in Egypt which is severely persecuted and experiences bombings of which you may have heard occasionally on the news.
Whenever we have a broken bone, the best way to heal it is through tender loving care.
As we celebrate the feast of St. Mark today and call to mind the Coptic Church which he founded in Egypt
and we are once again reminded that the best way to heal the Broken Mystical Body of Christ
is also through tender loving care of all who call themselves Christians.
The Light of the world
Whenever there is a Tornado warning,
A person has to be prepared for the lights to go out.
So they do not stumble around in the darkness.
Life is filled with storms
That threaten to cast us into physical, emotional and spiritual darkness.
Jesus came into the world so that we might not remain in darkness.
Yet some people prefer the dark to the light.
And it is not Jesus but they themselves who will condemn themselves to darkness
Because they refused to follow the Light.
Antioch : Acts 11:19-26
Have you ever driven by the Antioch Christian Church in Toluca,
And wondered where they got their name?
The city of Antioch was called “the cradle of Christianity”
and was the first place that the followers of Jesus were called “Christian.”
Sts. Peter, Paul and Barnabas all visited and preached in Antioch.
But because of war and changes in trade routes,
Antioch fell into decline.
The next time you drive by the Antioch Christian Church in Toluca, say a prayer for our fellow Christians,
Who by their very name keep the Spirit of Antioch
And its revered name alive.
Christ is the Gate
Gates are used for two things.
To keep things out and to allow others to pass through.
Every farm has a gate to keep out the wolves and to allow the sheep to go to pasture.
Christ is the Gate who keeps out the wolves of this world who seek seek to devour us
Christ is The Gate to Heaven
And if we wish to enter,
We must pass through Him.
