Jesus tells us: “I am the vine and you are the branches”

“He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Dear Friends, at the center of the Word of God for the Fifth Sunday of Easter are these questions: What place does God occupy in our lives? God, does it matter? Does my faith in God impact my way of being and acting? Let me begin this day’s reflection with the following story. Billy Graham’s daughter, a fervent Christian, was asked on one of her television programs: “How can God allow attacks on the Twin Towers, terrorist attacks, hurricanes, or earthquakes to occur?

Ana Graham with great insight answered: “God is more moved by all of this than we are, but since for years we have been asking him to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives, God little by little is moving away from us.” How can we expect blessing and protection from God if we demand that He leave, when we take Him to the sidelines of our lives? What clarity and what conviction! What an opportune time to ask! Is Jesus, for us… an object of worship, an image of plaster, wood, or a firm rock? Is he a living Jesus, a friend in whom I put my trust? The faithful friend who is always by my side?

Many times we think that we can take care of ourselves, that we don’t need God. And yet it is not. At some moments in life, God stomps and we don’t know what to do. When my mother tragically died in an accident when she was only 40 years old, my father was left alone with five small children. At that time I was 13 years old and my youngest brother was 5. In a dramatic and difficult context, my father completely entrusted himself to God. He often participated in the Eucharist.

I remember that next to his light lamp he had two books: one by Tomas Kempis, “Imitation of Christ”, and another the “New Covenant”. Every day before going to sleep he read them… he prayed to God for us and for his wife, whom he loved tenderly. He wanted to educate us well. He didn’t tell us that we had to pray, but I always prayed, because I saw him kneeling before his bed every day before going to sleep. Sometimes he fell asleep because he was tired.

And notice how good the Lord is. Despite the difficult situation, we all finished university studies. Today my sister Carolina is in Burundi, she is a great missionary. And I have been in Argentina since 1988, announcing the gospel in this beautiful and beautiful country. Many times he asked me: How could my father respond to such challenges? And the only answer is: with the help of God’s grace.

Why am I telling you this? To tell them that Christianity is not just a doctrine, some truths that must be believed, or some precepts that must be fulfilled. Christianity primarily and essentially is a way of being united with someone who loves us and sustains us in our existence. And that someone is God, in him we exist, we move and we live.

Pepe Mujica, the former president of the Republic of Uruguay, leaving his position as senator, in 2021 said: “Honestly, I’m leaving because the pandemic is making me sick. Being a senator means talking to people and walking everywhere. The party It is not played in offices. I have many defects, but in my garden I have not cultivated hatred for decades. How wonderful! What an example for the senators of our beloved Argentine Homeland, because unfortunately many – not all – think more about their pockets or their personal interests than about the people and their real needs.

Today Jesus tells us: “I am the vine and you are the branches.” My dear friends, it is this very complex time in our country in which we are invited to put our trust in God, to live rooted in his word. In our country, today more than ever, we need reconciliation, a hug, a kiss. Is another homeland possible? Yes. We can change history as long as we are “citizens”, people who play for the country, and not simple “inhabitants” who expect everything from the State.