Jn 15:1-8
”I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Abiding in the Vine
As I walk my dog on a cold, rainy night near my home, I am juggling the dog’s leash and my favorite umbrella- the one with cows on it. I pass a tall, middle-aged homeless man. I nod and say hello, he does the same. He has water dripping off his head and his coat is drenched. I do not. He walks by. I suddenly turn, call, and run after him. He stops and says, “I’m homeless.” I simply say, “I know. Do you want this?” I had wondered how I’d feel when I inevitably lost this umbrella. I had no idea that it would feel so good. Perhaps I had a moment of abiding in the vine? I think this is a tiny example of what St. Ignatius is talking about when he introduces the idea of detachment in his Principle and Foundation of the Spiritual Exercises.
—Donna K. Becher, M.S. is an associate spiritual director at the West Virginia Institute for Spirituality, Charleston, West Virginia. Her training is rooted in the Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Prayer
Breathe into me, Spirit of God,
That I may think what is holy.
Drive me, Spirit of God,
That I may do what is holy.
Draw me, Spirit of God,
That I may love what is holy.
Strengthen me, Spirit of God,
That I may preserve what is holy.
Guide me, Spirit of God,
That I may never lose what is holy.
—St. Augustine