Daily Reflection – Oct 22, 2016
Saturday 22 October 2016
First Reading: Ephesians 4:7-16
Responsorial Psalm:
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord
Psalm 121(122):1-5
Gospel Reading: Luke 13:1-9
Today’s Saint: St John Paul II, Pope (Optional Memorial)
Gospel Reading:
Some people told Jesus about the Galileans
whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.
He said to them in reply,
“Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way
they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!
Or those eighteen people who were killed
when the tower at Siloam fell on them–
do you think they were more guilty
than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem?
By no means!
But I tell you, if you do not repent,
you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable:
“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard,
and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none,
he said to the gardener,
‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree
but have found none.
So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’
He said to him in reply,
‘Sir, leave it for this year also,
and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it;
it may bear fruit in the future.
If not you can cut it down.’”
Reflection:
I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it. (Luke 13:8)
Recently, a Chilean gardener cultivated an award-winning tree that grew apricots, plums, cherries, peaches, and nectarines—all on the same plant! Trees of this sort have been dubbed “fruit cocktail” trees. Surely, the orchard owner we meet in today’s Gospel would have been dazzled to ever see one. His own fig tree was struggling to produce any fruit at all!
Obviously, fruit cocktail trees don’t grow naturally. Gardeners develop them by grafting branches from different species into a host tree. The host tree’s sap then flows into all the limbs—old and new alike—nourishing them all and eventually producing a medley of fruits.
If you think about it, this isn’t all that different from the way the Lord is grafting his own spiritual fruits into your heart. You may naturally be host to the fruit of meekness, for instance. But God is working in you to produce the whole spectrum of his character. This means love, joy, patience, and self-control—along with a deepening of your natural fruit.
The sap we need to bear this harvest really comes from the Holy Spirit. He is like the patient gardener from today’s Gospel—the man who offered to personally care for the owner’s fig tree. From deep in our hearts, the Spirit’s grace flows outward, allowing us to grow a supernatural yield of fruits.
The “growing season” of 2016 is far from over; we still have eleven weeks! How about taking a moment to identify one spiritual fruit that you would especially like to cultivate? Ask for the Spirit’s help in this decision.
Once you have settled on a specific fruit, invite the Lord to prepare your heart to bear more of it. After all, a tree must be made ready for grafting if the transplanted branch is to embed itself. You may consider writing the name of your desired fruit on a slip of paper and carrying it around in your pocket or wallet. Whenever you touch the paper, remind yourself how sweet this extra fruit in your life will taste to the Lord—and look for the opportunities he will give you to develop it!
“Thank you, Lord, for working within me to yield a whole harvest of fruit!”
