Father
Patrick Langan, LC
John 15: 1-8
Jesus said to his
disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is
the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me
that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he
prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already
pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as
a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it
remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you
remain in me. I am the vine, you are the
branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will
bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown
out like a branch and wither; people will gather them
and throw them into a fire and they will be
burned. If you remain in me and my words remain
in you, ask for whatever you want and it will
be done for you. By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples."
Introductory
Prayer: Lord, thank you for granting me the opportunity to
be with you. There are things in life, Lord, that
attract me, but you attract me more. I hope in
you, and I love you. Maybe I don’t really understand
what it means to love, and maybe I don’t love
the way I should, but I do love you.
Petition:
Lord, help me to grow in my interior life so
I can remain united to you.
1. Forgetfulness of God: Lord,
it is so easy to forget you when life gets
busy. It is easy to forget you when things go
well. Almost without realizing it, I begin to separate myself
from the vine. My prayer time is a good thermometer:
When I am separating myself from the vine, it becomes
shorter and shorter until it almost fades. I go my
own way. I forget to pray. However, it isn’t necessarily
a question of eliminating activities but of doing all of
these tasks for God and in union with him.
2. Barrenness:
If I separate myself from Christ, the vine, and invest
my energies in something else, I know what is going
to happen. I will produce no fruit. This is my
experience; it has already happened. Eventually I will wither and
be thrown out like a dry branch. Lastly, these withered,
old, dried-up branches will be gathered and thrown into a
fire, and they will be burned. There is no way
I can bear fruit if I am separated from the
vine.
3. Abundant Fruit: I want to produce abundant fruit. I
want to help bring about a change in this world.
That is attractive to me. That means a lot to
me. I have tried different ways, and I know that
only united to the vine can I bear lasting fruits
for Christ’s Kingdom. This is the way I will glorify
the Father. In this meditation, I already sense the sap
running back into my soul. My life will produce fruit
for others. Lord, help me to cling to the vine.
Help me to strengthen that bond of unity. Help my
faith and love for you grow, for you are my
all.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, it is easy to
trust what I can see, feel and touch. It is
wiser, infinitely wiser to trust you, even if you are
hidden from me for now.
Resolution: At least three
times today I will lift up my thoughts to offer
one of my activities to God.
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