Jesus said “I am the vine” - Notice, he did not say - “YOU” are the vine

Today at Holy Mass in the Gospel of St Luke we are given some good advice…Build your life on a “foundation of rock”…..Nothing could be more true…Is this what we see in America today? - In our families? - In our corporations?….Short-term thinking always collapses! - ALWAYS…..Nothing is more solid then God and the teachings of the Catholic Church - Yet both are ignored and the consequences are seen and felt…..Are you aware that 55% of all marriages end in divorce? - That includes Catholics by the way…..Are you also aware that if the couple attends Mass on Sunday - That number reduces to 25%…Simply by attending Mass with your spouse….Let’s go deeper - If married couples do not use contraception and practice NFP - The divorce rate is 3%…..These are not dogmatic statistics - But is real time data….So why would you risk not adhering to these facts?….How many Catholic couples use contraception?….Think of these numbers another way…Would you go into a business and invest, say one million dollars, if your success rate was only 45%? - Speaking personally - I would not!…But if I told you that if you go into “this business” and we have a 97% success rate - Which business would you invest in?….Yet, Americans ignore what I just noted - And FULLY bear the brunt of the consequence for ignoring it - So do their children!…..Facts do not change because we do not “like” them…..We are also told something else in the Gospel today….“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit”….Pay attention, not to what people say - But by what they do - And also what the fruit of their life produces…..Bishops who are holy have packed seminaries - Priest who are holy have long lines at the confessional in their parishes….Married Couples who are holy are full of joy and are open to life…..Single people who are holy attract others to themselves and live to serve their community…..This is the “measure” we should observe - “Nice words” spoken or "posted" on social media do not “cut it”…..How do I know this? - “For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thorn-bushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks”……Pay attention and keep your eyes open!…..And beware of false prophets!

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him”

One of the most important statements, in my humble opinion, made by Jesus Christ in the entire New Testament can be found in John 15……”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 every one 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”……..If we take this statement to heart - We are GUARANTEED to “bear fruit” in our life…However, that means we do things according to what the Church teaches - Not our “vision” of the Church - But what the Church actually teaches (i.e. What is written down) - It means we are - Are you ready for this? - OBEDIENT! - Now that is a “BAD WORD” these days - OBEDIENT! …..The Catholic Church is a Divine Institution - That means while it is made up of flawed men - What the Catholic Church teaches is PERFECT - What it also means is - NOTHING mankind can “throw at the church” can destroy it….Look at history objectively - How is the Catholic Church still here?…..The Romans killed every Pope for the first (say) 275 years….Regime after regime has tried to destroy her - THEY ALL FAILED…..Now, how does this apply to us?….When we are obedient to what the Church teaches and live under the authority, which only the Church has because Christ himself gave the Church (that includes the Pope) that authority - We will bear fruit that lasts…For all the people who “follow” various Catholic people on Social Media - This should be the measure that guides you, as far as who you listen too and who you “scroll passed” - No need to comment - Just “scroll” passed!…..Why should you “listen” to what I just noted? - ”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”….Speaking personally - I AM NOT INTERESTED in your OPINION….The “collective we” has ABSOLUTELY NO AUTHORITY…..I am however going to listen very closely to the Pope - I am also going to pray and discern very carefully about what he says, even if what he says “does not agree with my view”….Why? - BECAUSE HE HAS AUTHORITY - And I do not……Does the “collective we” “get that”?

“How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD”

As Catholics when we go to Mass, as we did today, we hear words read to us in the readings that should guide our lives…These are not just “nice words” - They are instructions and in many cases they are commandments…..Today we hear one of those very important messages….That left by ourselves, “we can do nothing”…Do you believe that? - I mean really believe that?….By what I see on Catholic Social Media - I do not “think” many do - Whether they “realize” it or not…I do not comment much on social media but some of the “posts” I read very much contradict the Gospel message today - Again, whether the people who “post” these comments realize it or not…..We have no authority!!!! - Yet these “self appointed prophets” speak like they do….If we are not living and speaking in union with the Pope and the teachings of the Catholic Church - NOTHING YOU DO WILL BEAR FRUIT THAT WILL LAST…..How do I know that? - Because Jesus tells us this today in the Gospel….Do we realize this as we pontificate our personal nonsense for the world to read?….Jesus said “I am the vine” - Notice, he did not say - “YOU” are the vine….JMJ