Vines, Gardens, and Cutting Away in the Spiritual Life

Is your soul sad?

Resentment can be a heavy burden in our lives, draining our energy and undermining our spiritual growth. As followers of Jesus Christ, who extended forgiveness even in his greatest trials, we are called to release these grudges. Holding onto resentment not only harms our spiritual connection but also impedes our ability to fully embrace the love and forgiveness that Christ offers us. Letting go allows us to move forward with a lighter heart and a deeper commitment to our faith and relationships.

Living Fully and Vibrantly: Bishop Robert Barron emphasizes that God wants us to live a vibrant and full life.
Spiritual Gardening: He compares our spiritual journey to gardening, noting the importance of pruning to help plants, and by extension ourselves, flourish.
Trimming the Unnecessary: Bishop Barron advises us to cut away parts of our lives that don’t serve us well, such as detrimental habits, negative thoughts, or unhealthy relationships.
Facilitating Growth: This process of elimination enables us to grow and deepen our connection with God and our true selves.
Creating Space for New Joys: By making room in our hearts, we open ourselves up to new growth and joy.

Jesus counters and reverses the Shame & Blame

Teach me Bishop Barron

The Vine and the Branches

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes* so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends,* because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
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.
This I command you: love one another.

The World’s Hatred.

If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,* because they do not know the one who sent me.
If I had not come and spoken* to them, they would have no sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin.
Whoever hates me also hates my Father.
If I had not done works among them that no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
But in order that the word written in their law* might be fulfilled, ‘They hated me without cause.’
“When the Advocate comes whom I will send* you from the Father, the Spirit of truth that proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me.
And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.