St Florian, martyr

 John 15:18-21

Lectio

- The world - a concept firmly anchored in today's Gospel. It describes a reality that is opposed to Jesus. Jesus himself mentions that he "chooses disciples out of the world".

- The world hates Jesus and his disciples.

- Election is another word that stands out in today's Gospel. Being chosen by Jesus takes you out of the world into a different reality where you are more connected to Jesus. Strong enough to experience what has become his experience.

Meditatio

Because of my name... These few words seem to be the key to understanding the few, rather complicated sentences that make up today's Gospel passage. 

First of all, it sets up quite well the relationship between the world and the elect. It focuses on the name of Jesus and therefore on his person.

Jesus draws attention to how he himself was treated by the people. He reminds us that there were those who rejected Him and fought against Him, but there were also those who accepted His word. 

He points out that those who have been chosen by him should not expect anything different. The same will be true for them.

This is also fulfilled in the life of today's patron saint, St Florian, who suffered martyrdom as a Christian who stood firm in his faith. 

But to be chosen by Jesus is one thing. In the end, you can reject it and not care. You can stay in the world. 

St Florian experienced persecution because he remained faithful. The experience of being chosen is an important experience for him. An experience more precious than life itself.

Oratio

Lord Jesus. Already in the Sacrament of Baptism I have experienced election through You. Let me experience it as a special union with You. Help me to protect myself in You from the difficulties of a world that does not want to live with You, and help me to proclaim You effectively to those to whom You send me.

The principal struggle - St Anthony the Great

And that said, the man who lives in the desert and abides in contemplation is free from the threefold struggle: for hearing, for speaking and for seeing. He only has to fight for the heart.

The first thing that struck me in the above sentence was the information that the desert dweller is not free from struggle at all. There is a constant battle for his heart - the most important battle that can take place in a person's life.

It seems to me that Abba Anthony emphasises this on purpose, so that some people don't think that escaping to the desert is a demanding but ultimately comfortable option, because it relieves them of a lot of effort. It is not.

In fact. Retreating to the desert frees one from certain circumstances which, in normal life, give rise to temptations and can lead to falling into sin. But the absence of occasions to sin does not make a person virtuous, nor does it guarantee that he will turn his heart to God.

The struggle of which Anthony speaks is precisely this. For the heart of man not only to be free from sin, but to be full of love for God. It is a struggle for this love to find concrete expression. Concrete manifestations. 

It is interesting to read this reflection from the perspective of modern man, who has come to live in a world that is as far from the ideal of the desert as it is possible to be. In a world where it is difficult to find a space of true silence, where no sound can reach except that of nature. In a world where streams of messages (because not even words themselves, if you consider any kind of social media based on film or images) are thrown out. In a world that tries to influence people in so many ways through what they see.

So the basic struggle of many modern people is the struggle to find at least a patch of desert for themselves. It is a struggle, by the way, that many lose because they see no point in it.

This struggle is so absorbing that it often overshadows the need to fight for one's heart. 

And that seems to be something worth thinking about.

5th Easter Sunday

John 15:1-8

He who abides in Christ bears much fruit

- What does it mean to remain in Christ?

- What does it mean to bear much fruit?

In the Gospel, Jesus uses the image of the vine to show that in order to bear fruit, a plant must be connected to a root that nourishes it. 

To abide in Christ is to be immersed in the nourishment He provides, which can become the source of our "fruit-bearing".

- Fruit - something that will last from my life; something that will withstand the test of death.

- Fruit - not just any fruit, produced in Jesus.

Looking at the allegories of the vine, we might think of baptism as the moment of implantation - of union with the vine, with Christ. But being grafted in is by no means the same as abiding. 

For abiding to be effective, there is a need for nourishment and care, expressed first of all in receiving nourishment - the Eucharist, but also in the care of rejecting unhealthy and undesirable elements - the sacrament of Penance.

Confirmation is still to come. It is also a special moment in the building of this relationship called perseverance.

But even that is not enough. Perseverance is more than a few 'point' events. Abiding is in a sense infinite. It is a dynamic process, a kind of ossification.