Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
At the Last Supper, Jesus said to His friends, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you,” (John 15:16). Fruitfulness is the mark of a follower of Christ: was not the first command to mankind “Be fruitful…”? (Genesis 1:28). Indeed, the basic definition of life, among other characteristics, includes the ability to reproduce: to be fruitful. One alive in their faith, alive in Christ, is fruitful, and it is by the kind of fruit we produce that others will know whether we are followers of Christ, or not.
What are these fruits? St. Paul writes of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), of which Catholic tradition gives us twelve: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity. If when we look down into the bushel basket of our own fruits and consider that, one day as with the fig tree, Jesus will come looking for fruit (Matthew 21:18-22) and we feel that He will find little, or nothing, let us pray to the Holy Spirit and ask that He help us to be fruitful! The seeds of these fruits were planted at our baptism, are nourished with every Eucharist, invigorated at our Confirmation. Be fruitful, therefore: the world is starving for the fruit we have to offer!