I am the vine, you are the branches
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that bears no fruit
he cuts away,
and every branch that does bear fruit
he prunes to make it bear even more.
You are pruned already,
by means of the word that I have spoken to you.
Make your home in me, as I make mine in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit all by itself,
but must remain part of the vine,
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me, with me in him,
bears fruit in plenty;
for cut off from me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
is like a branch that has been thrown away – he withers;
these branches are collected and thrown on the fire,
and they are burnt.
If you remain in me
and my words remain in you,
you may ask what you will
and you shall get it.
It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit,
and then you will be my disciples.’

The Gospel of the Lord

The Second Conversion

In the spiritual journey, just as in the process of marital communion, there is a first conversion, and then a second is necessary.
In the first conversion, we discover God, His plan, His Providence, His logic… We are in awe and begin to follow Him, and He starts to bring order to our lives. However, a moment arrives when we reach a certain harmony and seem to stagnate. This is the time of testing. God tests us by allowing temptations and apparent setbacks. It is the moment to recognise all this as part of God’s plan and to remain steadfast in Him, committed to His plan, until He decides to lead us out of it and take us onwards. It is then that we truly begin to soar.

Applied to Married Life:

George: This morning, I missed another opportunity that the Lord provided for me to advance towards Him and towards communion with you.

Lucy: This morning, I was demanding and snappy with you, I apologise.

George: I forgive you, but the issue is that God places these situations before me to help me grow in humility, to make me gentler, and to prepare me to be guided by Him. Yet, I still struggle to let myself be pruned. Please forgive me too, my dear, for my response was terrible.

Lucy: I forgive you. This phase is not easy, but even when we don’t understand anything, we must not blame each other. It is God who wants to make us His own.

Mother,

How many opportunities for pruning do we miss by trying to impose our own justice instead of allowing God’s justice to prevail. How patient He is with us! Praise be to Him forever.