Now that spring finally has arrived everything in nature is coming to life again. The flow of juices in
trunks, stems and vines travels upward into the farthest reaches of the branches, letting new leaves unfold from buds and flowers grow. A branch grows from the trunk or vine it is connected to. It is fed by the vine by a simple act of nature.
There is no need for the branch to be aware of this process or to contemplate it in any way. The branch has no need to feel anything for the vine. It does not need to love it. Nature has put them together and nature will let them grow.

How different is it for us humans! We have grown from a spiritual source as branches grow from a vine, but we have long since become disconnected from it and feel its loss. Like the branches in the gospel (John 15) we are in danger of drying up inside, of being cut off from the last remnants of the spirit – or rather cutting ourselves off. Our connection to the spirit is not – as it still was in very ancient time – a naturally given one. It is one that needs our awareness, one we need to achieve.

Our connection to the spirit needs a deed – the deed of Love. True love is a deed that connects us to each other and to the spirit. It is a deed that connects us to Christ. He himself has gone through the Mystery of Life and Death on Golgotha as a deed of love to be connected to us.

Through this connection our love streams to him and his love to us, giving us life. Through this love we can bear much fruit.

This contemplation by Rev. Contreras is inspired by John 15.