Today’s gospel of the vine and the branches answers the two basic questions of our faith lives that most of us have probably asked ourselves at one time or another - "What does God want from me?" and, "How can I fulfill God’s plan."

The answer to the 1^st question is that he wants us to bear fruit. Just as the barren branches of the vine are cut off and thrown away, we would be useless if we didn’t bear fruit. Bearing fruit means drawing others to God. The Lord places upon us the responsibility for the growth of the kingdom of God. He uses us to call other people to himself.

At the end of our lives we will stand before the Lord and he will look to see what our lives have produced. He will not be interested in our large bank accounts, our beautiful homes, our athletic, intellectual or artistic accomplishments, but only, if we did all we could to bring other people to him, and how well we loved. His consideration will be whether or not our hearts were so full of the Lord’s sacrificial love that all those we encountered on a daily basis – relatives, friends, co-workers – learned about the love of God for us. He will look at people, perhaps many we don’t even know, who have been strengthened in their faith by seeing our faith and our love. He’s going to look at how well we developed into the image of His son, sacrificing ourselves so that others may find God. We see an excellent example of this in today’s 1^st reading. The disciple Barnabas puts his name and reputation on the line as he steps forward and speaks on behalf of Saul, who is not trusted by the Apostles because of his past persecution of the Church. The Apostles are not convinced of his conversion. It is only as a result of Barnabas being willing and ready to sacrifice his name and reputation that Saul is brought into the fold and subsequently becomes the great Apostle to the Gentiles. What God wants is for us to bear fruit.

But how can I be a source of God’s presence for others, we ask ourselves? Jesus said in today’s gospel, "I am the vine and you are the branches. He who lives in me and I in him will produce fruit abundantly." This image of the vine and branches is an analogy of the great intimacy we have with the Lord by virtue of our baptism, when we were grafted onto the vine, and by our constant nourishment with his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. Our relationship with God is much deeper than merely confessing that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. Jesus is not out there somewhere, but in here, living in us and us living in him. The good that we do, the virtue that we practice, flows from the life blood of Jesus Christ that is in our veins. This life flows through us, but only as long as we nourish it and stay connected to the vine. It dies if we cut ourselves off from the Lord, and it dies if we stop receiving the Eucharist. It dies if we stop living Christian morality.

Jesus said in the gospel, "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit." For many, much of what has been said might sound discouraging. You might be thinking to yourselves, all well and good, but are you kidding. Sometimes I have a hard time staying spiritual for 15 minutes after attending Mass or a parish mission or even a retreat. How can I go out and be a source of God’s presence to others? I am not able to preach or to teach or even to sing, and I certainly can’t go out to the missionary fields, so how can I be of fruitful service? If that’s how you feel, then take courage from the example of John Warr.

John Warr was an 18^th century apprentice shoemaker, not what one would ordinarily refer to as a glorious, or illustrious, or prestigious, or an influential position. But John was determined to be a faithful witness for Christ. There was another apprentice working with John by the name of William, and John talked to him constantly about spiritual things, but William couldn’t be bothered. Then one day William was caught exchanging a counterfeit shilling for a good one. In his guilt and humiliation he asked John for help and prayer. Through this faithful witness of John Warr, this William put his faith in Christ and developed into a committed disciple.

This other apprentice was William Carey, who later became a remarkably fruitful missionary to India. Carey’s life and ministry had a tremendous influence on the cause of worldwide gospel outreach in modern times. Thus John Warr’s impact on a co-worker brought glory to God and untold blessings to multitudes of people around the world.

It’s not always easy being a Christian Catholic. It means dedication, sacrifice, determination to live as Christ called us. It demands having something to show for our lives. It means we have to put our words into action, as St. John said today in the 2^nd reading, "Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth." But this can only be accomplished so long as we are united to the Lord Jesus, to the vine, whose life flows through us.