12 September 2020

Saturday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Our life’s worth depends on what we have done. To bear good fruit means to prune away everything that hampers that budding fruit to mature. Jesus alone is the one who works within me daily to achieve this goal. To the degree I allow him to take hold of me, I will yield fruit either in abundance, with a meager result  or not at all.

He protests against those who talk the talk, but do not walk the walk. It is not enough to cultivate intellectual reasoning alone. Also, it Is too easy to kid one’s self with pious sentiments. When one receives a sudden jolt to the bone, such reasons and sentiments fall to the ground because they are not solidly grafted into the heart.

 The Word of God renders us tough to the extent we live it. It grows little by little with patience. Prayer enables us to see its value and to nurture its growth.

 There is no better gardener than Mary, our mother, to cultivate this growth. Today we honor her name. Today I shall ask her to teach me her formula in knowing how to bear good fruit, where to cut and trim; where to guide and nurture.