Tuesday in the Fifth Week of Easter

We pray through the fifth week of Easter and offer the whole day to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We hear St Cyril of Alexandria unpack the vine and branches so we can understand what it means to live in Christ and bear lasting fruit. 
• opening prayers and the morning offering for daily life 
• St Cyril on Jesus as the vine and believers as branches 
• union with Christ through the Holy Spirit as grace and gift 
• our deliberate act of will through faith and obedience 
• adoptive sonship and kinship with the Son and the Father 
• Christ as the only foundation of the spiritual temple 
• bearing the fruit of new life rather than the old sinful life 
• discernment, integrity, and reverence as signs of abiding 
• prayers for constancy in faith and hope 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org. 

Transcript

St Cyril On Vine And Branches

Abide In Christ And Bear Fruit

Closing Prayers And Devotions

Invitation To Join The Cristeros

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Tuesday in the fifth week of Easter. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From a commentary on the Gospel of John by St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop. The Lord calls himself the vine, and those united to him branches, in order to teach us how much we shall benefit from our union with him, and how important it is for us to remain in his love. By receiving the Holy Spirit, who is the bond of union between us and Christ our Savior, those who are joined to him, as branches are to a vine, share in his own nature. On the part of those who come to the vine, their union with him depends upon a deliberate act of the will. On his part, the union is affected by grace. Because we had good will, we made the act of faith that brought us to Christ, and received from him the dignity of adoptive sonship that made us his own kinsmen, according to the words of Saint Paul. He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. The prophet Isaiah calls Christ the foundation, because it is upon him that we as living and spiritual stones are built into a holy priesthood to be a dwelling place for God in the Spirit. Upon no other foundation than Christ can this temple be built. Here Christ is teaching the same truth by calling himself the vine, since the vine is the parent of its branches and provides their nourishment. From Christ and in Christ, we have been reborn through the Spirit in order to bear the fruit of life, not the fruit of our old sinful life, but the fruit of a new life, founded upon our faith in Him and our love for Him. Like branches growing from a vine, we now draw our life from Christ, and we cling to His holy commandment in order to preserve this life. Eager to safeguard the blessing of our noble birth, we are careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, and who makes us aware of God's presence in us. Let the wisdom of John teach us how we live in Christ, and Christ lives in us. The proof that we are living in him, and he is living in us, is that he has given us a share in his spirit, just as the trunk of the vine gives its own natural properties to each of its branches, so by bestowing on them the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the only begotten Son of the Father, gives Christians a certain kinship with himself and with God the Father, because they have been united to him by faith and determination to do his will in all things. He helps them to grow in love and reverence for God and teaches them to discern right from wrong and to act with integrity. Live in me as I live in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, so you cannot bear fruit unless you live on in me. Alleluia. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself apart from the vine, so you cannot bear fruit unless you live on in me. Alleluia. O God, who restore us to eternal life in the resurrection of Christ, grant your people constancy in faith and hope, that we may never doubt the promises of which we have learned from you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.