Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop, Doctor
September 13th, 2010
‘Each tree is known by its own fruit for each tree is known by its own fruit.’
Lk 6:43
There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce sound fruit. For every tree can be known by its own fruit.
We can take a seed as an example of what Jesus is teaching us in this parable. A seed contains within it all that is necessary for life to burst forth. We are elated when we see the first signs of Spring, but come a draught, or an attack by insects, we see the hope of life wither and eventually die. So it is with all human life. We are born with so much potential, so open to love and nurturing through the warmth of parents and those around us. But if that love is withdrawn; if we are exposed to the dangers surrounding us in our society, we begin to wither. What was good in us will fail unless there is a turn-around in what is influencing us-in other words, a conversion. When signs of stunted growth are noticed in the tree, whether it be a sapling or a tree that has been known to produce good fruit, there are remedies. So it is in our spiritual life. Through God’s action in our life and our response to his will, our life can be turned around and we shall flourish.
Prayer
Prayer
God our Father we know the way through Jesus’ teaching.
May our lives portray you in our attitudes and giving to others.
The prayer for each day has been prepared by various members of the Holy Family Association. All who visit our website are remembered in prayer. If you would like us to pray for a particular need, simply complete and submit the form on the right hand side of this page. You may wish to leave a comment in the space below.
Just a Thought
How the Holy Family prayer: A Reflection by Pope Benedict XVI
“I would like to invite you to reflect on the place of prayer in the life of the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home of Nazareth, in fact, is a school of prayer where we learn to listen, to ponder and to penetrate the profound meaning of the manifestation of the Son of God, drawing our example from Mary, Joseph and Jesus.
Pope Paul VI during his visit to Nazareth said “we come to understand the need for a spiritual discipline, if we wish to follow the teaching of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ.” And he added: “First, it teaches us silence. Oh! That there would be reborn in us the esteem for silence, that wonderful and indispensable atmosphere of the spirit: while we are deafened by so many noises, sounds and clamorous voices in the frantic and tumultuous times of modern life. Oh! Silence of Nazareth, teach us to be resolute in good thoughts, intent upon the interior life, ready to listen well to the secret inspirations of God and the exhortations of the true masters.”
We can glean several insights on the Holy Family’s prayer and relationship with God from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ childhood. We may begin with the Presentation of Jesus in the temple. St. Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph, “when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, brought the child up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord”(2:22). Like every observant Jewish family, Jesus’ parents go up to the temple to consecrate the firstborn son to God and to offer sacrifice. Moved by fidelity to the law’s prescriptions, they set off from Bethlehem and go up to Jerusalem with Jesus, who is now forty days old. Instead of a one-year-old lamb, they present the offering of simple families; that is two young pigeons. The Holy Family’s pilgrimage is one of faith, of the offering of gifts, a symbol of prayer, and of encounter with the Lord, whom Mary and Joseph already see in the son Jesus.”
