Daily HOMILY for May 21, 2014: Wednesday of the 5th Week of Easter, Cycle A

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In 2014, I am facilitating a 12-week interactive online course in contemplative prayer and action for priests with Saint Luke Institute.  Please visit SLIconnect.org to learn more:  https://www.sliconnect.org/product/living-god-program-contemplative-life-2/

Wednesday 5^th Week of Easter

St. Luke’s Institute

May 21, 2014

WORLD’S “PRODUCTIVITY” ++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Productivity is a big & important word in our world

Ø  Its only other rival in the commercial world may be the “bottom line”

Ø  Pursuit of productivity results in too much stress for many people

Ø  The world’s productivity is the kind that can be measured, weighed, and evaluated monetarily

GOSPEL “PRODUCTIVITY” +++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  The comforting and beautiful words of today’s Gospel are about a more profound kind of productivity

Ø  We hear Jesus say that he is “the vine and we the branches”

Ø  And that “the Father is the vinedresser who prunes the vines to make them more fruitful”

Ø  Moreover, he reminds us that “we can only be productive if we remain united with him”

Ø  And if the branches continue to receive the nourishment coming from the vine itself and its roots, then,

Ø  “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing?”

COMPARING “PRODUCTIVITIES” +++++++++++++++++

Ø  Putting commercial activity alongside that fruit spoken of by Jesus makes us question ourselves

1.     In what way, how R we productive in the Lord?

2.     What are the signs of our union with him?

Ø  From the teaching of Jesus elsewhere in the Gospels, we pretty well know what the signs of our union with the life of the risen Christ are:

1.     Genuine, practical love

2.     Effective care and concern for others

3.     Patience and perseverance

4.     And witness and dedication

Ø  But, again, all this is not automatic

CONCLUSION +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ø  Paradoxically, those of us who come to celebrate Mass daily may be in more need of warning about this than those who come weekly or only occasionally

Ø  Why? Because our productivity appears in what we do or don’t do once we leave this chapel

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