Homily: May 10, 2023, Wednesday of the Fifth week of Easter (Holy family School Mass)

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We heard in the Gospel today, Jesus is telling His disciples, "Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine."

How many of you enjoy gardening?

Have you ever noticed what happens when you cut off a branch from a plant? What will happen to that branch? It will dry up, wither and die after a short time, right?

Some of you don’t do gardening so you may not be familiar and may not understand. What about this - how many of you use a mobile phone or tablet?

What happens when the battery is used up and you don't charge it? Yes, it shuts down and stops working. You can’t play on it, can’t send messages, can’t make calls, you can’t even switch it on. The mobile phone or tablet is dead!

So what should you do to revive it? Yes, you connect it to the power source to charge it, either plug in to the electrical outlet or to a power bank to power up the battery. Only then does the phone become useful again, right?

Our spiritual lives are the same. Our power source is Jesus. We need to stay connected to Jesus, to keep receiving the power of spiritual gifts so that we can do what we have been created to do, that is to bring about wonderful fruits like love, compassion, kindness, joy, peace, generosity, and so on. Fruits that will give life to others and make the world a beautiful place to live in.

So, remember to stay connected with Jesus as often as possible. Power up when you feel low and weak, sad and sick, by receiving the sacraments, with prayer and Bible reading.

Talk to Jesus always and let Him charge you and power you up full. Never be disconnected, and you will be ok. God bless you always.

Amen.


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