I spoke with a young person who said that he was away from the church, away from his faith. He is catholic, went to a catholic school. However, he went through some difficulties in life that shook his faith in God. He got angry with God and decided to stay away from all religion. But then, he confessed, he felt even worse. Nothing really made sense to him. When I was close to Jesus, he said, he had more hope. And even though he got angry with God many times, he knew deep in his heart that there is a reason for all of this, that one day he will get the answers. This conversation reminded me about the words that we hear from Jesus in the gospel reading. Jesus said: “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. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned.” Jesus can survive without us, but can we survive without Jesus? If yes, for how long?
