Fifth Sunday of Easter
Stay
connected: that’s what social media says it can do for you. It tells you that if you use the site,
then you can keep track of all your friends’ (and general acquaintances’)
birthdays, see what they are up to, rejoice in their triumphs, weep with them
in sorrow, and stay connected.
And
yet, the social fabric of our society is very disconnected. You can have 700 friends on Facebook,
and not really have anyone with which to share truly personal details. You can follow hundreds of people on
Twitter, read all of their accomplishments, sing along with their mopey song
lyrics after a break up, and retweet their hilarious messages, and not truly
have a real relationship with that person. Now don’t get me wrong: I have no problem per se with Facebook, Twitter, or social
media. But, what I have noticed is
that as much as social media says that it connects people, there are way too
many people who feel adrift, without a true friend in the world.
So
when Jesus tells us today in the Gospel, “‘I am the vine, you are the
branches. Whoever remains in me
and I in him will bear much fruit,’” our idea of staying connected to Jesus
might be a little skewed. After
all, we’ve liked that picture on Facebook that says, “If you share this picture
with your friends, Jesus will acknowledge you in heaven,” and we’ve retweeted
the tweet that says, “Retweet if you love Jesus; keep scrolling if you love
Satan.” So we’re connected to
Jesus, right?
Jesus
reminds us that, “‘Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it
remains on the vine, so neither can you unless your remain in me.’” Our life, especially our spiritual
life, depends on our attachment to Jesus.
If we are connected, then we bear fruit. If we are separated, then we die, just as a branch connected
to the vine bears grapes, while the braches that have been separated from the
vine die and are good for nothing other than fuel for the fire.
More
and more as a society, we don’t know how to be connected with each other. We try to fake it and take the easy way
out. We’re so busy, either with
our own schedules, or those of our family, that we are losing the ability to
stay in touch with each other, even when it’s our own families. How long has it been since you had a
nice, Sunday dinner, where you sat around the table and just spent time with
one another: hearing about what’s going on, sharing jokes and funny stories,
supporting each other in hard times?
Some families still do, and they tend to be happier families. Too often, though, there’s a game on Sunday,
or work to be done, and if the family eats at home, it’s whenever each person
wants, not together, and is usually enjoyed while watching TV, so there’s no
real conversation. We run around,
and get fast food, and are experts at doing lots of things. But we have become novices at simply
being together, which accounts for the deep feelings of loneliness and
separation that exist, especially among our youth.
And
because we don’t know how to be
connected in our human relationships, we also are lost in how to be connected in our spiritual
relationships. More and more
people come to me and say, “Father, I feel like God has abandoned me. I can’t feel anything from God.” For some, this is due to the fact that
they do not know how to be connected
to God, other than the shallow connections that are as ubiquitous as the
dandelions in a field of grass this time of year. So let me suggest a few ways to be connected to Jesus.
1.
Carve out daily time for God. We’re all busy, I know. I often feel like I’m running from one
thing to another. But, I have
found that the more I am able to set aside blocks of time: 30 minutes here, 5
minutes there, 15 minutes there, the more I can respond to the spiritual needs
of the parish, because I am more connected to the vine, the life, the wisdom,
the patience that comes from God.
Just like an iPhone, which cannot work very long without connecting the
tether to an outlet, so our souls cannot be refreshed unless they are connected
to God in daily talking and listening with Him.
2.
Follow the commandments. In our second reading, St. John tells
us that the way we know we belong to the truth—Jesus—is that we keep His
commandments. Do we follow the 10
Commandments, and the precepts of the Church? Do we strive to live an honest life, putting God first,
others second, and ourselves last?
And when we fail, as we all will, then return to the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, to be re-grafted onto the vine of life.
3.
Enjoy Mass. Now, you might think this is outside of your control. Maybe you don’t like the homily; maybe
you don’t like the music; maybe the pew’s not as relaxing as you would like;
maybe you can’t stand that young priest.
But, while we can’t control the homily, the music, the pews, or the
priest, we can come to Mass thanking God that we can set aside time to rest and
relax in Him. We can come to Mass
at least 5 minutes early for silent prayer, and not leave Mass immediately
after communion, rushing off to the next event, but make time to be with the Lord. Vatican II taught that the Eucharist is
the source and summit of the Christian life. It is where we get our energy to be Christians and it orients
us, if we are open, to the eternal liturgy of heaven where the angels and
saints (and hopefully someday we will be saints) worship God.
4.
Read your monthly copy of FAITH Magazine, or check
out or download a spiritual book, like The
Lord by Romano Guardini, or Story of
a Soul, by St. Thérèse of Lisiuex, or Peace
of Soul by Archbishop Fulton Sheen, or To
Whom Shall We Go? by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, or another Catholic book. The soul is not separate from the body,
and so feeding our mind with spiritual reading also feeds our souls.
We live in a
disconnected world. We are so busy
doing things with other people or for other people, that we have forgotten how
to simply be with other people, including
Jesus. And no matter how many
friends we have on Facebook; no matter how many followers we have on Twitter,
we are not going to feel whole, to feel connected, unless we are united to
Jesus the Vine. Take time to spend
with each other. Make time for
Jesus. It will be the best
investment you will ever make.