Category Archives: Easter

Homily – Fifth Sunday of Easter – 2024

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Saint Peter’s Church, Mary Queen of Martyrs Parish, Plymouth MA

“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.”

Most of my childhood was spent on a property that once was a farm. In our backyard was an apple tree; a very old, very big apple tree! It was never pruned, and it would only produced very small apples. These apples did not taste good, and most of them rotted on the ground.


In today’s Gospel, Jesus is comparing His relationship with His disciples to that of a vine and its branches, and with the vine grower, the Father. Jesus is calling on us to maintain a close, a deep personal relationship with Him, as He maintains a close relationship with the Father. The effects of this relationship with the Lord is that we will produce good fruit, fruit that strengthen us, fruit that will transform us, our families, our communities.


Jesus is, in one sense challenging His disciples, and in a sense, challenging all of us here, to go out into this world we are living on, and by word, by example, show to our families, our friends, our neighbors, our communities, what it means to live the Gospel, and what it means help bring about change, light, joy, hope in a world in such times we are experiencing right now.
“Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.”

We are currently in times that, to quote the American Revolutionary, Thomas Paine “try men’s souls.” It is in such moments, in such challenging situations, that Christ calls on us to go, and in small ways or large, share the fruit that is within us. Opportunities may present themselves to us, to take on acts of charity, to share with others the love and the peace we ourselves experience when we open ourselves to the love of God, through Jesus. And as we have received much fruit from our loving Savior, so we are encouraged to share that fruit, that joy, that healing with everyone we come in contact with.


To achieve this, means deepening our relationship with Jesus. It means trying to enter daily into moments of prayer, moments of reflecting on Scripture, and especially in our participation in the Eucharist, where we. receive the Body of Christ, open ourselves to His Presence. United with Him, we find the strength, the encouragement, to go out from here, to reach out to those in need, spiritually and physically, family member, friend or stranger. We go out and share the fruit we received through our union with Jesus.


“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”

“Where Is The Love?” Homily For The Fifth Sunday of Easter

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“I give you a new commandment; love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”


“…all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”


I will be honest with you, when I look out at this commonwealth; this country, this world. I wonder how many would recognize individuals as disciples of Jesus. In some of our major cities, and in some of our smaller one’s, there is more violence in our streets than I seen in awhile. War, disease, gang violence, domestic violence, it is out there. We see it on our screens; the wars and the conflicts, the intensity of which really frightens me. And I see also a hate among all peoples, white, black, Hispanic, and Asian; It is hate I have never seen before; and that frightens me also. And what comes to my mind is a question, actually a demand, where is the love?


I have heard that question asked before, but I could not remember where; so I turned to that source of all knowledge, ….Wikipedia. There were two songs issued under the title,”Where is the Love?” one song was written by the rap group The Black Eye Peas, released in 2003; re-released in 2016. They felt the question still needed to be asked; where is the Love? …..(pointing to the Crucifix). There is the Love. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son, Jesus. Jesus Christ, loved us so much, that He was willing to suffer death, death on a cross, so that we might be saved from sin and death; that by His Resurrection, we are freed from death, and will have eternal life. He calls on us to share this Good News, not just by words, but by example. Within our own families; towards people we will meet on the street, in the office, the factories, the stores; if we treat both friends and strangers with real respect and charity, we are showing where God’s love is. If we stand with the poor, the infirm, the crippled, the refugee; meeting their needs, an arm around a shoulder, letting them know they not alone; that is showing where the love is. If in any discussions, or debates we might be a party to; if we recognize that the other person is a brother or sister in Christ; we respect that person, even if we cannot accept the positions they hold.


The world is out there, a wounded world, inflicted by hate, war, despair. How well we love one another, how well we respect and love our neighbors, our city, our country, will give the answer to the question; an answer that everyone longing for, “Where is the love?”