Life in the branch

Amy Hoover presents a reflection on the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary which shows understanding of the tension of living which often seems to pull us to one extreme position or another. Friar Jude Winkler comments on the two different reports of what has become known as the Council of Jerusalem with a pollyanna view from Luke in Acts and a Pauline problem solver account in Galatians. Amy finds that our resolution of tension comes from the acceptance of the invitation from Jesus in the allegory of the vine and the branches from the Gospel of John to remain in Him. Both Winkler and Hoover proclaim the Eucharist as the real experience of being and remaining in Jesus. The intimate physical contact with the Real Presence in this Sacrament moves the understanding of this Gospel passage to appreciation of how Jesus desires that we draw life continuously from our prayerful intimacy with the Divine. The pruning of our life as branches is understood by Friar Jude as our suffering for the faith wherein we can see how we are being prepared to bear much fruit as we interact with our brothers and sisters who Amy reminds us are where we encounter Christ daily