“It will suffice to tell you in a word: only your personal and profound union with Christ will assure the fruitfulness of your apostolate, whatever it may be.” -St Pope Paul VI
These words capture the heart of today’s Gospel. No matter what your vocation is, if you do not have a deep relationship with our Lord, it will bear no fruit. To develop a deep relationship with our Lord, you must have a daily life of prayer! Prayer is the most important thing that you do everyday. There is no other way to grow in union with our Lord. Ask God for the grace to pray everyday, and then set a specific time to pray for at least 20 minutes.
The devil, as well as our own weakness, will constantly tell you that you don’t have time, you are too tired, and other things are more important. If you put Christ first, He will provide and make sure everything else gets done. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you.” -Matthew 6:33. Trust Christ will provide, and make a firm resolution to pray everyday, no matter what. When I say prayer, I am talking about mental prayer. There are many types of mental prayer, but they all incorporate similar steps:
1. Read a few verses of scripture
2. Meditate on the lines that stick out to you. Ask God, why are you drawing me to this line, why are you doing this in the Gospel, what does this mean for my life, how did you feel when you did this, etc.
3.Make acts of the will based on whatever you are drawn to from your meditation. Lord, I love you. Lord, I trust you. And, Lord, I am sorry.
Remain…
Through daily prayer, this is how you will “remain in me, as I remain in you.” -John 15:4-5.
“Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” -John 15:4
When you pray, you are allowing God to fill you up! Only when you are first filled will you be able to give to others. “Without me you can do nothing.” Our dependency on God should be a source of rejoicing and trust! We can do nothing without Him, but if we remain in Him, He promises that we will bear much fruit. All we must do is pray and let God work! He will bear much fruit in you, in your own life of virtue as well as your apostolates!
For more information about mental prayer, listen to this talk on Lectio Divina by Fr Mike Schmitz: htps://youtu.be/Fthhy59rxWo?si=GByGhodOzLi4PIMF
