Different countries around the world have different animals or plants as their national symbols. The United States has the bald eagle – a symbol of strength, courage, immortality, and freedom. India has the peacock as its national bird – a symbol of grace and beauty. Haiti has the hibiscus as its national flower – a symbol of beauty and culture. Bangladesh has the water lily as its national flower – a symbol of birth, resurrection, purity, and majesty.
Today we hear the Lord speak about himself as the true vine, and us as the branches. He tells us that if we abide in Him and He in us, we will have life, energy, fruitfulness, and abundance in our lives. If we cut ourselves off from Him, we will grow weak, we will wither, we won’t bear any fruit, we won’t have life, and we will die.
Every time we settle down to pray at home or come to church to pray, we are acknowledging that God is the true vine and we are the branches, and without Him we cannot have life or bear any fruit. Committing ourselves to prayer is keeping ourselves connected to the true vine and reminding ourselves that without God we are nothing.
The core mission of Holy Cross Family Ministries that Venerable Patrick Peyton founded is simply to remind families that if they do not keep themselves connected to God, they will wither, won’t have life, and won’t be fruitful. If any family desires life, strength, fruitfulness, and abundance, the family needs to commit itself to a life of regular family prayer. When faith in God becomes the center of the life of a family, it changes the way that family functions. This is because God is love, God is generosity, God is kindness, God is patience, and when we get genuinely connected to Him through prayer those are the fruits that we bear.
Today as we continue with our Mass, let us ask the Lord to keep us connected to Him. May we ask Him to renew our faith and strengthen our prayer life as individuals and as families. May we ask Him to constantly remind us that without Him we are nothing.
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