Dear friends in Christ

In the Gospel of this Sunday St John paints another beautiful icon for us of Jesus as The Vine. It is another of the great I AM statements of Jesus—I am the true Vine and my Father is the Vinedresser. When we look at any vine, it is difficult to distinguish where one branch starts and another ends, the intertwining and interweaving of the branches is an analogy of how those who are Baptised are grafted on to Jesus; we are part of Him and organically one with Him. This image of a 15th-century icon from Crete embodies this entire theology in artistic form. Jesus is literally represented as the grapevine, the fruitful plant rooted in the soil. The Biblical text shown in Greek directly below him quotes today’s Gospel. Grape leaves and bunches of grapes further identify the Biblical allusion, set on the traditional golden background (indicative of the heavenly). The plant’s tendrils sustain fourteen persons: the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Baptist, and assorted Apostles and Evangelists. We are part of that same company, part of the Family of Christ and His Church. As we continue the celebration of the Resurrection in these days of Eastertide, we do so conscious of our divine filiation—that we are children of God—and therefore can live in the hope and optimism that faith in the risen Jesus gives us.

This week begins the month of May: may our continued love and affection for the Mother of God be expressed in many small tokens of piety for her who is Patroness of our Parish Family.

With every blessing!

Msgr Kevin Hale