Sunday, April 28 : Blessed Columba Marmion

Jesus Himself has willed to confirm by a comparison our faith in His sanctifying influence: “I am the vine,” He said “You are the branches” (Jn 15:5). The branches have life, but they do not themselves provide the sap which nourishes them. They are constantly drawing their vitality from the sap which comes from the parent stem. So it is for the members of Christ: their good actions, their practice of the virtues, their spiritual progress, their sanctity, belong to them certainly; but it is the sap of grace coming from Christ which produces these wonders in them. “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me;” (Jn 15;4) In Jesus everything radiates life: His words, His actions, the different phases of His life. All the mysteries of His life on earth, those of His childhood, as well as those of His death, possess an ever efficacious power of sanctification. In Him the past is not effaced: “Christ dieth no more: death shall no more have dominion over Him.” (Rm 6:9) He never ceases to pour into our souls His supernatural life. But too often our inattention or lack of faith paralyzes the effects of His action in our souls. For us to live is to possess sanctifying grace; to make our thoughts, our affections, and all our activity emmanate from Christ.

Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team