Let us strive to keep the connection with Christ.

We know that cutting the power lines doesn’t turn on our light bulbs, lamps, or motors. We understand that a broken water line won’t quench our thirst. We know that what is interrupted is not fit for purpose and that eventually, we will know the natural consequences of the interruption.
In the spiritual life, it is similar. With the Church, breaking contact with God means stopping praying, stopping participating in worship, and stopping accessing the sacraments. Eventually, we also find that much has changed, and for us believers, in that case, only for the worse. Let us try to reflect on this subject today.

The Gospel tells us of a beautiful parable that the Lord Jesus told His listeners shortly before His Passion. The Lord Jesus wanted to remind everyone, including us, of what is most precious in the life of a Christian. It is man’s complete and most perfect union with God. He could not have portrayed this truth better than by a familiar simile to all His hearers. The Israelites had many vineyards. As the Lord Jesus looked at the vine bushes, He said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abided in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

The Lord Jesus compares Himself to a vine and us to a branch. His speech is multifaceted. He tells us that just as the twig lives only when joined to the bush, man can live life to the full only when perfectly joined to God.
What does this imply? First of all, the connection cannot only be half-hearted. A broken branch still draws the necessary nourishment from the bush, but only partially. We can say that it is still alive, but it is incomplete. It is in danger of being cut off from the bush and burnt. Thus, it will cause itself and the cru a nuisance. Similarly, we can speak of a completely severed twig who would like to live an independent life. Its fate is already sealed. It will wither; it will dry up. It fades because it is deprived of the life-giving sap that can only be drawn from the mother’s grain.
It is most beautiful when the twig is intact and connected to the bush. Only it can give it what it needs to live and bear fruit. The Lord Jesus cares deeply that we live, flowering branches on the bush himself. He is all about authentic connection. We can also say that we are to be as perfectly united to Christ as possible.

The Lord Jesus says: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask what you will, and it shall be done for you. My Father is glorified in that you bear much fruit and become my disciples” (Jn. 15:7).

These words of Jesus are unequivocal. Thus, Jesus longs for our complete union with him. In such union, the terms of St. Paul the Apostle are fulfilled upon us: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). This is all the more solemn because Jesus Himself asks us to do so. And let us realize that when Jesus asks, we should not resist. [This is his will. These are words that were very dear to the heart of the Lord Jesus. Therefore, let us persevere in complete union with Him.

What fruit can we expect from this union? Above all, an excellent immunity against our inward evil inclinations. Neither the devil, sin nor the world, with all its seductions, will harm him who lives with Jesus. Such a person feels strong because Jesus is in him, and he is in him. We can also say that Jesus thinks, does, and decides for him. He who leans on Christ depends on an irrefutable rock. It pays, therefore, to be united with Christ.
Another consequence of this union is the strengthening of our faith. A united person is more conscious of his faith than anyone else. Such a one can say with St. Paul, “I know whom I have believed…” (2 Tim. 1:12). Such a person shows his faith in deeds. We can say that he lives his faith daily. There is no difference between what he says and what he does in his life. Unificationism makes his life like the life of the Lord Jesus.
Another consequence of our union with Christ is the multiplication of our love. Because of this union, love grows, becoming as powerful as death. Therefore, such love enriches us and helps us gain much merit. Thanks to it, we then live the entire life of God’s children. Enriched by such love, we do not calculate whether such a union will pay off because we trust Christ that he is the only one who will help us develop our Christian life. Such a life to which the Lord Jesus himself invites us and in which he sees the true meaning of life.

We live in a great hurry. We often say: I have no time. Therefore, we do not notice something beneficial for our life because it passes through our hands without a severe moment of stopping. This Gospel, too, speaks of a powerful and necessary matter for each of us. Jesus wants so much for us to be inseparably together.