Dear Immaculate Family,

“I am the vine, you are the branches…” You could hardly find a better picture of communion and belonging. Jesus is not simply a religious leader whom we follow.

Our relationship with Him is even deeper than the relationship between the good shepherd and his sheep that we saw last Sunday. We are inserted, grafted, rooted into Him. This is not just a figure of speech, it is true since the day of our Baptism, when we were incorporated into Him. The life of the vine, Christ, is our life. Saint Paul understood this very well when he said: “Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2,20).

Our personal connection with Jesus is indispensable for us to have true life in us and bear fruit: “without me, you can do nothing”. Without Jesus, we wither and die. Life is much more than being physically alive. True life is communion with God in Christ. The challenge for us is to remain in Him as He remains in us. This is also true in our relationship with others. We need a personal connection to grow and bear fruit as family, spouses, friends, community… Seemingly, nowadays we are more “connected” than ever before. New technologies, instant communications, and social media have turned our world into a small place.

However, paradoxically, we are more isolated than ever before. We may have hundreds of friends on Facebook but fewer friends that we actually see and talk to in person. We may be absorbed by screens most of the time and barely communicate with those around us.

Our connection with one another is an indicator of our connection with God. To paraphrase Saint John: if I am disconnected from my brother whom I see, how can I be connected with God whom I do not see? Let us pray that the Lord may prune in us everything that keeps us away from him and from others.

Thank you for your prayers!

God bless you all!

Fr. Rolando