Vatican City, 3 May 2015 (VIS) – The
union of Jesus with those who follow Him, explained through the image
of the vine and the branches that Christ presents to the disciples at
the Last Supper, was the central theme considered by the Pope during
this Sunday's Regina Coeli.
“We can all be joined to Jesus in a
new way. If, on the contrary, one loses this union with Him, he
becomes sterile, indeed harmful to the community. And to express this
reality, Jesus uses the image of the vine and the branches, and says:
'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'”. … Through Him – like the sap in a tree – the
love of God Himself, the Holy Spirit, passes to the branches; through
this parable Jesus enables us to understand the importance of
remaining united with Him. The branches are not self-sufficient, but
depend totally on the vine, the source of their life”.
“The same is true for us as
Christians. Grafted to Christ through Baptism, we have received from
Him the freely-given gift of new life; we can stay in vital communion
with Christ”. However, the Pontiff emphasised, “it is necessary
to stay faithful to Baptism, and to grow in friendship with the Lord
through prayer, the prayer of every day, through listening and
obedience to His Word – read the Gospel – and participation in
the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Sacrament of
Reconciliation”, as “if one is intimately joined to Jesus, he or
she receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which – as St. Paul
tells us – are 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control'. As a consequence, a
Christian brings great good to his neighbour and to society. Indeed,
from these characteristics, it is possible to recognise who is a true
Christian, just as we can recognise a tree from its fruits. The
fruits of this deep union with Jesus are wonderful. … We receive a
new way of being, the life of Christ becomes our own; we can think
like Him, act like Him, see the world and other things through Jesus'
eyes. As a consequence, we are able to love our brothers, beginning
with the poorest and the suffering … and thus bring into the world
the fruits of goodness, charity and peace. … Let us trust in the
intercession of Our Lady, so that we too may be living branches in
the Church and give coherent witness of our faith, consistency
between life and thought, life and faith – aware that we all,
according to our specific vocations, participate in the sole salvific
mission of Christ”.
Following the Regina Coeli the Pope
mentioned that yesterday in Turin the Italian Luigi Bordino was
proclaimed blessed. A consecrated layman of the Priestly Society of
St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, the new blessed “devoted his life
to the sick and those who suffer, and dedicated himself tirelessly to
the poorest, curing and cleansing their wounds”.
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