The Vineyard

My Dear Friends in Christ,

If we remain in Christ, we will bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. In our first reading from Isaiah and our Gospel from Matthew, God is the heavenly cultivator of the vineyards. The vineyards in both readings are being nurtured to produce good fruit. In both cases, the people are asked to judge the result of the vineyards. In the end, both vineyards are trampled and ruined and fail to produce good fruit. We have now inherited the vineyard and been entrusted with its care. If the Church is the vineyard, Christ is the true vine, and we are the branches. We are called to bear fruit for the kingdom of God, but we can’t do it on our own. To bear fruit for the kingdom, we must first be at peace. Paul sheds light on how we should go about doing this as he instructs the Philippians to have no anxiety and to turn to God with all their needs. To know Christ and rely on him for our every need is to know peace. Christ is the source of life, and anyone who remains in him will bear much fruit.

The annual Catholic Appeal is in the final stage as follow -up letter 3 arrived in homes last week. Thank you to those who have made a gift to get our parish to 57% of goal. If you would like to make a gift to help our parish reach goal please respond to the mailing or fill out a pledge card which is available in the sacristy. Each gift helps. When we reach our goal we get a rebate . Thank you for your consideration.

May God bless you all,

Father John