5th Sunday of Easter April 28, 2024

Readings: Acts 9:26-31, 1 John 3:18-24 3:18-24, John 15:1-8

We are invited today to consider our belonging to the Lord and to the Church. We are all part of the vine when we remain in Christ and seek to do His will. We form Christian communities by this faith in Christ. Those of us who are Catholic have come to accept the Catholic Church and its teachings as presenting the truth of Christ and as carrying out His mission in the world in a way that other Christian Churches do not. For us, part of remaining connected to the vine as its branches means faithful acceptance of the Church and its teachings and in many ways, acceptance of the role of the Bishop of Rome, the Holy Father.

Our readings today invite to continue to understand the world and our participation in it through the eyes of Jesus Himself. Once again, we are brought to the same place: speak the words of Christ, live as Christ and in that living and speaking is born the Christian community. Because I am a truly convinced Catholic, I also believe that a deep search for the truth will bring Christians to the Catholic faith.

The most important aspect is to allow the Word of God to penetrate us deeper and deeper. We must strive to let that Word form every aspect of our lives. We must strive to live with deep inner peace and tranquility so that we can listen to that Word. We must spend time each day with the Word of God. We must be totally committed to following the Word of God wherever it takes us. “Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth,” and we can become fully alive. It is in our actions that we know who we really are. At the same time, we all admit that we are still “in process.” We are Christians, Catholics, becoming more completely in deed and in truth followers of Christ.

Today we can ask our Risen Lord to open our hearts and minds more completely to his Word, the Word of God. We can ask the Holy Spirit to illumine our hearts and our minds so that we can see the truth and have the courage to live it in our deeds.

Fr. Terry.