A Good Homily Inspires

What is one of your favorite Bible verses? 

One that has always given me great hope is:

 “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.”

I like the idea of choice and the notion that all I have to do is choose God and all will stem from that.  Sometimes when I am having a difficult night or just an anxious day, I repeat those words and find much comfort as the spoken Word gets absorbed by my being.  Yet, in my years as a revert, I have always stopped on that specific bible verse and have never really went on to realize the wholeness the reading from the Gospel of John (15: 1-8) has to give.  Until yesterday, when a deacon with a thick Vietnamese accent shined light to the whole reading and gave me much to ponder.  It was such a great homily that I left the Mass with such joy in my heart.

"Remain in me and I will remain in you.  Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself unless it remains in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine and you are the branches…"

Per our bubbly deacon there’s three takeaways from this reading:

1. Remain Connected to God
2. Always Dependent on Him
3. Continue to seek Him to bear fruits.

Our commitment to God and our faith must be renewed constantly through our actions.  Coming to Sunday Mass consistently is a way to remain connected to God; understanding that we don’t have to face life alone, but have a Father who can come to our assistance anytime wipes the anxiety away; and as we continue to come to Him and we get to know Him more deeply, hopefully that will inspire change. Growth in Christ so honest that our families and communities will reap the benefits of our sanctification. 

I love scripture, when I first returned to the Catholic Church I used to sob during the readings because they penetrated my wounded, harden heart.  Every Sunday, I would be in tears and it was quite embarrassing because I couldn’t control the comfort and healing the Word had on my soul.  Perhaps, because I came back to the church without knowledge of the bible and when I heard the Word proclaimed it was always new to me; thus, due to my lack of familiarity with scripture - it was always like hearing God for the first time!  Now, as someone who has read the bible and am more fluent in the Word of God, I still have moments when I realize how God’s Word is infinite in wisdom.  Thanks to the different point-of-view of my deacon I was able to get new meaning and insight to a favored verse and that really made my Sunday morning!