The True Vine

Dear Friend,

Peace and all good!

This morning I researched the etymologies of vine and vein. I was looking for a connection. Apparently, there isn’t one. Oh well, it was fun to look. 

What sparked this little word study was an essay by Michael Casey in the monthly magazine “Give Us This Day”. Writing on the Gospel for this Sunday he observes: “The essence of Christian religion is our being grafted into Christ, allowing the true vine’s energizing sap to circulate through our veins so that all our thoughts, words, and deeds are progressively upgraded, and we become more Christ-like.” He goes on to say that the sins in our lives are like “shadows that tend to deepen as the light within us burns more brightly.”

Good Cistercian that he is, Casey presents these images to challenge the sometimes nagging misconception that the foundation of Christianity is all about perfecting our moral lives. 

The good news is that the vine wants to get into our veins. The life of the vine – love - wants to penetrate our skin and bone, our every thought, word, and deed. Our prayer and the sacraments can open us to this and help bring it about. It means being gentle with ourselves. This slow process of conversion is “an inside job” as a friend of mine likes to say. We’re designed for it.

As we celebrate First Communions this Sunday, it’s good to remember that little babies held by their parents coming up for communion will instinctively reach out their little fingers to grab a host. This may be because babies like to grab everything.  Or, maybe it’s because they have a feel for eternal life long before they can even make the “v” sound in vine and vein.

Gratefully,

Fr. Dan ofm