”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”…I often wonder if we as Catholics give “lip service” to that statement made by Jesus…..I can only speak for myself…If I do not “remain on the vine”….I can do nothing!

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the first reading from a Letter to the Hebrews……”You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised”…..To achieve anything in life one must persevere…..The same goes in the spiritual life…This is why daily prayer, fasting and reception of the Sacraments are so important…As we all know the world is constantly “pulling” at us…Holy Mother Church in her wisdom asks of us that we go to Mass every Sunday and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…Why do we need to do that?….Because the Eucharist is “food for the journey” for us to get back to God safely……Today the Universal Church commemorates the life of St John Bosco, the great educator of children…This is what the saint had to say about the need to persevere in religious practices…..”As our body declines and dies when deprived of food, so does the soul when we do not give it the nourishment it needs”….As always, the saints are spot on!…..No matter who we are, no matter how much faith we think we have…If we do not firmly establish daily and weekly practices of our Catholic faith, we will “slip”…Why?…Because we are simply human…..And all humans are susceptible to weakness…Daily prayer, Weekly fasting, the Rosary and reception of the Sacraments are the “life force” of a Catholic…..We can not give to the world what we do not have…If we do not “plug in” to God, the “light” goes out…..This is a very important concept to understand…..Following Christ and living the teachings of the Church in the world in real time is impossible without doing the day to day work of prayer…To think otherwise is a huge mistake…Never under-estimate your humanity……Without God, we can do nothing!

“Commit to the LORD your way; trust in him, and he will act. He will make justice dawn for you like the light; bright as the noonday shall be your vindication”

As a father of five young children my patience is challenged daily…Because of this, I knew I needed to increase my prayer life….As a result I go in the early morning hours both Saturday and Sunday for 30 minutes each day and sit before the Blessed Sacrament before the kids get up…… This time before the Lord has helped me…I remember going to confession and telling the priest my sins regarding my lack of patience…….The priest told me about the need for daily prayer…I thought to myself after hearing his words…Just think how impatient I would be without the grace of God!….”A cup must be filled” and we are not unlike a cup - We must empty ourself out so God can fill us with his very life…Not unlike an athlete that trains daily - One must practice their Catholic faith daily in order to live like a Catholic…Because its our life’s example that matters most, not what we say….Mother Teresa has spoken about the power of daily prayer…This is what she said….”When the sisters are exhausted, up to their eyes in work, and all seems to go awry, they spend an hour in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. This practice has never failed to bear fruit; they experience peace and strength”……In order for us to persevere, we must pray - Period Full Stop!…If our life is not sustained by the Sacraments, our faith will grow weak….Far too many people miss this point…A huge mistake!…We are too confident in our own strength and when we have this mindset, the devil creeps in slowing….Scripture tells us very clearly….”Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace”…….Again Mother Teresa told a story that puts this reflection into context…A priest once told her that he was too busy to pray a holy hour every day before the Blessed Sacrament…He told her he has a school and two parishes to run - How can he “make time” to pray?………This is what Mother Teresa said to him…”You are a very important man and God has given you many things to do…You should not only pray one holy hour each day…You need to do two!”….I wonder if he got the point?…Without prayer our faith grows weak - We need to make time for daily prayer!….And when we maintain a solid Sacramental life grounded in daily prayer and weekly fasting….The Lord will sustain us…Take what I just said to the bank!…..When Mother Teresa was asked by the press, “What is her secret?”…Her answer was simple and it applies to us as well…This is what she said…”My secret is - I pray”

“The salvation of the just is from the LORD; he is their refuge in time of distress. And the LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him”

Today at Mass we are reminded about the virtue of perseverance…..We are instructed by the saints once again…St John Bosco and Mother Teresa…They tell us that if we do not maintain a Sacramental life and develop a routine of daily prayer, we will leave ourselves open to fall and allow the world to “pull us” away from God…St John Bosco again reminds us….”Your soul needs nourishment just like your body and if you deprive your soul of this nourishment you are possibly inviting great harm”…….Jesus tells us very clearly in Scripture…..”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”…I often wonder if we as Catholics give “lip service” to that statement made by Jesus…..I can only speak for myself…If I do not “remain on the vine”….I can do nothing!