A NOTE FROM THE PASTOR

April 28, 2024

My mother was a great gardener; she could take any plant, any flowering thing and bring it back to life. She had the ultimate “green thumb”. One day, I saw her taking perfectly good, growing flowers and cutting the tops of them clear off! She then explained to me the concept of “pruning”, of trimming the heads of flowers to help them grow back stronger and more vibrant than before. It is something, I must admit, remains a bit of a “mystery” to me!

Once again in the gospel, Jesus uses a very “earthy” image to convey His relationship with us. Last week, if you recall, it was Jesus as “the Good Shepherd”. On this week, Jesus uses the image of “the vine and the branches”. In speaking in this way, Jesus conveys the fact that He gives life, and life abundantly. Just as the “branches” cannot live without the nutrients which come from the “vine”, we cannot live without the “nourishment” which comes from Jesus. There are times, as well, when we as “branches” need to be “pruned”. It may feel like the type of pruning which my mother’s flowers received that seemed so foreign to me but which, in the end, we come to realize that it was necessary for our growth.

It was this type of “pruning” that St. Paul received at God’s hands. As most know the story, Paul (then known as Saul of Tarsus) made his living as a lawyer prosecuting (persecuting, really) Christians. It would seem unlikely that God would use such a person to do His work, yet that is exactly what God did. When one thinks about it, Saul/Paul is exactly the type of person God would use to get His message across – after all, who better to promote Christianity than one who used to actively work against it? The conversion of Paul is one of the great “lessons” God offers us in not seeing mere appearance, but seeing into the heart of a person.  Paul is symbolic of the power of God at work in the world.

As we move through the Easter Season, let us continue to work towards promoting, protecting and defending Gospel values. Let us help others to see the beauty in the faith, a beauty which transcends all time and brings to us God – the God of both the Eternal and the Eternal Now (the present age which is situated in eternity).

A Blessed (continued) Easter Season to you all,

Fr. Paul