From the Gospel according to John

Jn 15:1-8

Jesus said to his disciples:

“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 everyone 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Samurai plants.

This whole pruning thing does not seem very appealing to us. We’re trying to avoid it. I imagine plants during the pruning season dodging the pruning shears like in The Matrix, trying to avoid the cut. The Holy Spirit wants to prune me using the circumstances of everyday life, with the differences with my husband that make me uncomfortable, or with his sins, or with mine. All of this takes me out of my comfort zone. It makes my heart more elastic, open to others, simple and tender. I resist, and I complain. But then I ask for humility, I ask for gentleness, I ask for love in my life… But if you haven’t let yourself be pruned? In spring the gardener would say to the “samurai” plant that it will not bloom as a consequence of not being pruned.

If I want the fruits of love, I have to let myself be pruned. It will initially hurt, but then the joy comes.

Applied to married life:

Antonio: Lord, I’m grateful that I fixed the kitchen chair despite my wife didn’t thank me. I have the opportunity to give without receiving anything in return. Thank you because I try to leave everything as she likes, the window open, the slippers in their place… but last night I forgot to take out the rubbish, and that bothered her. Thank you, Lord, because I have discovered my limited love and it helps me not to demand perfection from her. At dinner, she brought up again  that occasion when I hurt her when we were newlyweds, and she blamed me for it as if I had done it today. Thank you, Lord, because you helped me look at her with mercy and see her wounded heart instead of reacting defensively.

Marta: Lord, I agreed to meet him at 5pm, and he arrived late without letting me know. Thank you because I had the opportunity to love him in that situation, it helped me grow in patience and not to focus on myself despite feeling undervalued. And when he got stressed because of the traffic that bothers him so much, I asked for your help not to react badly, You helped me and I managed to calm him down with kindness. Thank you, Lord, because You helped me to not think of myself and to enter his heart and heal it.

Both together: Thank you, Lord, because in your plan you have considered our weaknesses and everything that happens in our lives. With all this, You build.

Mother,

The Lord prunes those who love Him the most. Sometimes we get tired, and sometimes it seems like the pruning never ends, and we never see the results. But the Lord knows better. We trust in Him. Thank you for those little flowers that we see sprouting from our branches, because they fill us with hope. Praise be to the Lord who makes all things new.