Wednesday

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Wednesday, 20 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are reminded that as Christians we have received from the Lord Himself the gift, assurance and the revelation of His most generous love and kindness, all of which He has constantly shown to us, and which He has manifested to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour. We are reminded that the Lord Himself will always be with us, especially through the Holy Spirit that He Himself has sent to be in our midst, in our Church and within each and every one of us. And we are called to stay faithful and strong, to persevere and to continue to be courageous and true to our faith and beliefs in the Lord despite all the trials and challenges that we may be facing and which we will continue to encounter in our paths in life.

In our first reading today, taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we heard the conclusion of the narrative of St. Paul the Apostle and his farewell to the faithful people of God in Ephesus, which we have heard for the past few weekdays. At that time, St. Paul and also many other missionaries had been facing a lot of successes as well as obstacles in their missionary and evangelisation efforts, as the early Church of God grew rapidly and gained many members and followers, and continued to spread further and further despite the many obstacles, trials and hardships that they had to endure, facing rejection and refusal from many among the authorities. Both the Jewish authorities, the members of the Sanhedrin or the Jewish High Council, as well as local governors and authorities, and others who were opposed to the Christian faith, made it difficult for the Christian missionaries to carry out their work.

St. Paul the Apostle had laboured hard to establish the reach and the foundations of the Church in many places he had visited together with the other disciples and missionaries, and faced trouble from some of the Jewish authorities in the places he visited, and he was accused falsely of crimes and things that he did not commit, and was on his way to Jerusalem to face those allegations and accusations. St. Paul could very well have chosen to flee and to stay away from those who sought to oppose and crush him, but he chose to follow the Lord, Who called on him to trust in Him and to follow where He was leading him to go to. The Lord told St. Paul that he would be His witness and missionary in Rome, at the capital and very heart of the Roman Empire, to proclaim the Good News of God and where he would also face sufferings and martyrdom, for the greater glory of God.

Thus, St. Paul reassured all the faithful in Ephesus and others who knew of his story and works, the challenges that he had faced and encountered, that being a faithful disciple of the Lord, while it may indeed be difficult and challenging for them, but the Lord would guide them and protect them throughout their path and way. Those who placed their faith and trust in the Lord would never be disappointed, and everything that they did and carried out in their lives will be blessed by God, and God will remember and know everything that they had done for His sake, and everything that even perhaps we do not know or did not realise. God has provided for us everything, even not sparing from us His own most beloved Son, Who had come down into our midst, in the flesh, showing unto all of us, the full and perfect manifestation of His ever enduring love and kindness.

In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, praying to His heavenly Father asking Him to bless and guide His disciples and followers, and to be with them all throughout their journey. The Lord Himself also promised them all the coming of the Holy Spirit, Who indeed came to descend upon the world, upon the disciples and the Church, empowering all of them and strengthening them, giving them the courage and hope to proclaim the Good News of God. That was how the Church continued to grow rapidly and remained firm despite the many challenges and trials that it and many of the faithful had faced throughout time and history. The many inspiring examples of those who have suffered and remained firmly faithful to the Lord inspired many others who were therefore encouraged to keep steady in their faith as well.

Today, the Church celebrates the feast of one of the holy servants of God, whose life should be an inspiration and example for all of us as Christians, namely that of St. Bernardine of Siena, a great priest and man of God. He was born in what is now Italy in the early days of the Renaissance era, in which time there were a lot of great excesses and corruption in the Church as well as in the general society. He lived through tumultuous and turbulent times, as there were great scandals and political struggles at that time, which affected even to the highest echelons of the Church and the civil society at that time. It was in that time and occasion that St. Bernardine of Siena was called by God to be His servant, to proclaim His truth to a wayward people and to remind all of them of everything that they had wickedly done, and how they should turn away from all those evil ways.

St. Bernardine of Siena became a member of the Franciscan Order and eventually became a friar and ordained as a priest, after which he led a life of great missionary works, preaching and ministering to the people of God. St. Bernardine spent over thirty years working among the people, preaching to them directly and speaking to them, calling upon all of them to turn over a new life and to discard their wayward and wicked ways, calling on them to return to the virtuous and blessed path of being Christians, stopping whatever activities and things that have kept them separated from God and corrupted, such as gambling, excesses of wealth and hedonistic lifestyle among others. He spoke out against corruption and against all sorts of other vices, and through him, not few turned back to the Lord. Nonetheless, it did not mean that St. Bernardine’s work was smooth, as he had to encounter quite a few challenges and opposition to his works, but regardless, he faced it all with faith and courage.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the faith and examples of St. Bernardine of Siena, and look upon our own lives, thinking and discerning in what manner we may be able to serve our Lord with greater fidelity and zeal. Are we willing and able to commit ourselves in the manner of how St. Bernardine of Siena had dedicated his life to serve the Lord, to proclaim His truth and Good News and in persevering in doing so even when he encountered stiff and often bitter resistance from the people that he had been ministering to? Are we willing and able to embrace faithfully our respective calling as Christians, in doing what we must do in order to do our part as members of the same Church of God, to do our best to be His faithful and dedicated beacons of His light and truth to the nations?

May the Risen Lord, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, continue to be with us and bless us in our every good efforts and endeavours, and may He empower each and every one of us to be ever stronger and more committed in the path that He has shown us all. May God be with His Church and may all of us remain in His favour and love, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 20 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 17 : 11b-19

At that time, Jesus prayed to God His Father, “Holy Father, keep those You have given Me in Your Name, so that they may be one, as we also are. When I was with them, I kept them safe in Your Name; and not one was lost, except the one who was already lost, and in this, the Scripture was fulfilled. And now I come to You; in the world I speak these things, so that those whom You gave Me, might have joy – all My joy within themselves.”

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world, I do not ask You to remove them from the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.”

“I have sent them into the world as You sent Me into the world; and for their sake, I go to the sacrifice by which I am consecrated, so that they too may be consecrated in truth.”

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Wednesday, 20 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 67 : 29-30, 33-35a, 35bc and 36c

Summon Your power, o God, with the strength You have wielded for us. To Your Temple in Jerusalem, kings will come with gifts.

Sing to God, o kingdoms of the world; sing praises to the Lord, to Him Who rides the ancient heavens, and speaks in the voice of thunder. Proclaim the might of God.

He is great in Israel, powerful in heavens. Blessed be God!

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Wednesday, 20 May 2026 : 7th Week of Easter, Memorial of St. Bernardine of Siena, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 20 : 28-38

Keep watch over yourselves, and over the whole flock the Holy Spirit has placed into your care. Shepherd the Church of the Lord that He has won, at the price of His own Blood. I know that, after I leave, ruthless wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. And, from among you, some will arise, corrupting the truth, and inducing the disciples to follow them.

Be on the watch, therefore, remembering that, for three years, night and day, I did not cease to warn everyone, even with tears. Now, I commend you to God, and to His grace-filled word, which is able to make you grow and gain the inheritance that you shall share with all the saints.

I have not looked for anyone’s silver, gold or clothing. You, yourselves, know, that these hands of mine have provided for both my needs and the needs of those who were with me. In every way, I have shown you that by working hard one must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus Himself said, “Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving.”

After this discourse, Paul knelt down with them and prayed. Then, they all began to weep and threw their arms around him and kissed him. They were deeply distressed because he had said that they would never see him again. And they went with him even to the ship.

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Wednesday, 13 May 2026 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church celebrates the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, marking the moment when the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, appeared to the three little children at Fatima, the three visionaries, St. Francisco de Jesus Marto, St. Jacinta de Jesus Marto and their cousin, Lucia dos Santos. This happened just not long after a century ago, when the world was deeply wrapped within the destruction and the chaos of the First World War, then known as the Great War. There had been vast amounts of destruction and chaos at that time, millions having perished and died throughout all the years of conflict, and it was there in the small town of Fatima in Portugal, that the Blessed Mother of God chose to make her appearance before the three children who were there shepherding their families’ sheep.

The Blessed Mother of God, who revealed herself to the three children on this date in the Year of Our Lord 1917, as a loving and beautiful Lady whose countenance is more brilliant than the Sun. Our Lady of Fatima hence appeared to the three, telling them about the messages which she wanted to tell all mankind, of the anger of God at the great destruction and all the chaos which man had wrought upon each other, and how many people had committed great sins against each other because of their greed, pride and ambition. She called on all the children of God, who were also her children, entrusted to her by her own Son, to repent from their many sins, and to follow once again the path that the Lord has shown and taught us to do. She wanted to guide us all, her beloved children, towards her Son by her guidance, through whom we can find sure path to our Lord and Saviour.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared on several occasions, every thirteenth day of the month, as she continued to reveal more and more about herself and the messages that she wanted to deliver to the people of God. She told the children to spread her message and call to more and more of the people, calling them all to repent and to pray the Holy Rosary, especially with regards to peace and the ending of the Great War. The fact that the three children heard about all these from Our Lady, in a place relatively far from the frontlines of the war then, was significant. Not only that, but Our Lady also spoke about the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, which foreshadowed what would happen to Russia at that time, at the threshold of a Communist revolution that would see a seven decades long period of anarchy and severe oppressions against the faithful not just in Russia but also elsewhere.

Then, Our Lady of Fatima also mentioned persecutions and hardships that the Church and Christian faithful around the world had to suffer, and she even predicted the assassination attempt on Pope St. John Paul II, which would happen exactly on the date of her first apparition, sixty-four years after it happened. As she continued to appear to the three children, the message of Our Lady of Fatima and news about the apparition began to spread, and more and more people came to believe in God through her and through the apparition event. At last, on her last apparition on the thirteenth day of October, Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes and Mother of God showed a great miracle that was witnessed by many people, also known as the ‘Miracle of the Sun’, in which the Sun appeared to be erratic in its movement, circling around the sky and seen by no less than forty thousand people.

Ever since then, the devotion to Our Lady of Fatima kept on gaining popularity as more and more people come to the Lord, through the devotion to His blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Fatima. All of us have also come closer to the Lord through her, and I hope that this day as we all remember the love of God shown to us through His mother, then hopefully all of us should be inspired by her examples, faith and commitment to her Son, as well as her continued love for each and every one of us. All of us are reminded to be faithful to the Lord in the same manner as His Mother, Our Lady of Fatima. Through her apparitions, including the one at Fatima, Mary our mother continued to carry on the mission entrusted to her by her own Son. For the Lord has entrusted all of us to His own Mother as her own children, and she as our own mother.

That is why she has always cared for us, reaching out to us constantly, and her heart must have been filled with sorrow as she saw any single one of us falling into the path of sin and evil. Certainly she does not want any one of us to be lost to eternal damnation and darkness, and she wants us all to come to her Son through her and with her guidance. However, more often than not we have rejected the ever generous offer of love and compassion from her Son, Our Lord and Saviour, and rejected the same love showed by Mary herself, the Mother of God, and our own mother. All of us are called to turn towards the Lord once again, and Mary called on us to heed her examples and faith, her love for her Son, which we should listen to and follow, as we ought to hear the advice and heeding from our mother and our parents.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by the good examples of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, Our Lady of Fatima, and the faith that she had, the obedience that she had in her life, the dedication and commitment that she had towards everything that the Lord had entrusted to her. Let us all today as one whole Universal Church all entrust ourselves anew to our blessed Mother, Our Lady of Fatima and ask her for her ever generous intercession and help, and guidance so that we may be able to find our way in life, towards her Son, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, heeding her call for us to repent and turn away from our many sins and wickedness. Let us all hence listen to our Mother and strive to live our lives ever more worthily from now on, as Christians, that is as all those whom God had called and chosen.

May our Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, the Holy Mother of God, continue to pray for us all sinners, and may she continue to inspire us and lead us down the path towards salvation in her Son. May all of us continue to be encouraged and strengthened, so that in all of our actions and way of life, we will always be filled with zeal and faith, the desire to serve God and to do what is right with our lives, as according to what God Himself has revealed and taught to us. May God bless us all and be with His Church, now and always. Amen.

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Wednesday, 13 May 2026 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 16 : 12-15

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. When He, the Spirit of Truth comes, He will guide you into the whole truth. He has nothing to say of Himself, but He will speak of what He hears, and He will tell you of the things to come.”

“He will take what is Mine and make it known to you; in doing this, He will glorify Me. All that the Father has is Mine; because of this, I have just told you that the Spirit will take what is Mine, and make it known to you.”

Alternative reading (Mass of Our Lady of Fatima)

Luke 11 : 27-28

At that time, as Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to Him, “Blessed is the one who gave You birth and nursed You!”

Jesus replied, “Truly blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it as well.”

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Wednesday, 13 May 2026 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : White

Psalm 148 : 1-2, 11-12, 13, 14

Alleluia! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heavenly heights. Praise Him, all His Angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

Kings of the earth and nations, princes and all rulers of the world, young men and maidens, old and young together.

Let them praise the Name of the Lord. For His Name alone is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven.

He has given His people glory; He has a praise to His faithful, to Israel, the people close to Him. Alleluia.

Alternative Psalm (Mass of Our Lady of Fatima)

Psalm 44 : 11-12, 14-15, 16-17

Listen, o daughter, pay attention; forget your father’s house and your nation, and your beauty will charm the King, for He is your Lord.

All glorious as she enters is the princess in her gold-woven robes. She is led in royal attire to the King, following behind is her train of virgins.

Amid cheers and general rejoicing, they enter the palace of the King. Forget your fathers and think of your sons, you will make them princes throughout the land.

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Wednesday, 13 May 2026 : 6th Week of Easter, Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Acts 17 : 15, 22 – Acts 18 : 1

Paul was taken as far as Athens by his escort, who then returned to Beroea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible. Then Paul stood up in the Areopagus hall and said, “Athenian citizens, I note that in every way you are very religious. As I walked around looking at your shrines, I even discovered an altar with this inscription : To an unknown God. Now, what you worship as unknown, I intend to make known to you.”

“God, Who made the world and all that is in it, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, being as He is Lord of heaven and earth. Nor does His worship depend on anything made by human hands, as if He were in need. Rather it is He Who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone.”

“From one stock He created the whole human race to live throughout all the earth, and He fixed the time and the boundaries of each nation. He wanted them to seek Him by themselves, even if it were only by groping for Him, succeed in finding Him. Yet He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being, as some of your poets have said : for we too are His offspring.”

“If we are indeed God’s offspring, we ought not to think of divinity as something like a statue of gold or silver or stone, a product of human art and imagination. But now God prefers to overlook this time of ignorance and He calls on all people to change their ways. He has already set a day on which He will judge the world with justice through a Man He has appointed. And, so that all may believe it, He has just given a sign by raising this Man from the dead.”

When they heard Paul speak of a resurrection from death, some made fun of him, while others said, “We must hear you on this topic some other time.” At that point Paul left. But a few did join him, and believed. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus court, a woman named Damaris, and some others. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Alternative reading (Mass of Our Lady of Fatima)

Isaiah 61 : 9-11

Their descendants shall be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a race YHVH has blessed.

I rejoice greatly in YHVH, my soul exults for joy in my God, for He has clothed me in the garments of His salvation, He has covered me with the robe of His righteousness, like a bridegroom wearing a garland, like a bride adorned with jewels.

For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden makes seeds spring up, so will the Lord YHVH make justice and praise spring up in the sight of all nations.

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Wednesday, 6 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures, each and every one of us are reminded that as Christians, all of us should be truly connected and linked to the Lord, attuned and in tandem with His ways and truth at all times. Unless we keep ourselves connected to the Lord and follow Him wholeheartedly, we may find it difficult to remain truly faithful to Him, and we may easily end up falling away from the path that the Lord and causing us to fall into eternal damnation if we are not careful and vigilant in how we live our lives. That is why we should heed to messages carried in our Scripture passages today so that we may truly know what the Lord has called us to, to a life and existence that is truly blessed and harmonious with His truth and love, to obey Him and to do as the Law and the commandments He had told us to do, with genuine understanding and appreciation of what we believe in.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Acts of the Apostles of the beginning of the narrative of the moment of time when the Church in its early and very rapidly growing days, began to be pulled into two opposite extremes, as we ourselves heard from the account of the Acts of the Apostles. Back then, the Church grew rapidly with the conversion of many of the Jewish people both in Judea and Galilee as well as in the diaspora, and not few of them came from among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Meanwhile, the Apostles and the missionaries of the Lord had also managed to get great inroads into the Gentile communities throughout the Mediterranean, as many among the Greeks and other local populace, as well as the Romans and many others began to heed the call of the Lord and embraced Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

The Pharisees and the teachers in particular, as mentioned, carried on their past baggage of beliefs and prejudices, as they began to argue and insist that the whole Church and all of the Lord’s believers should follow the full rigour of the Jewish laws and customs, as how the Pharisees themselves had observed and enforced. As we all ought to remember from the Gospels, the Lord Jesus Himself had often rebuked and criticised many of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law for their overly strict interpretation and observation of the Law of God, which happened because of the accumulation of excesses and changes throughout the many centuries since the first time revelation of the Law through Moses during the time of the Exodus from Egypt. The Law of God had been passed down through the generations, and the interpretations of the Law had been changing ever since, with the Law by the time of the Lord Jesus having become excessive and difficult to observe by the people of God.

Not only that, but one of the main criticisms that the Lord laid on the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are the fact of their hypocrisy. This means that while they enforced the very strict interpretation of the Law and forced others to obey and to follow their way of observing the Law of God, but they themselves did not truly obey the Law the way that they themselves had prescribed. Then, in addition, their preoccupation and obsession with the extensive details of the Law and all the rituals and the complicated nature of the laws, rules and regulations had distracted and prevented them and others from becoming true believers, as they made idols out of their own obsession with the Law of God and their own preoccupation with the intricacies of the laws and rules that they had made in their way of observing the Law and the commandments of God.

And it is in idolising their own prejudices and preoccupations with the Law and how it ought to be observed and done that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had ended up separating themselves from the True Vine, that is the Lord Himself, Who manifested Himself through His Son, through Whom He wanted to make us know and understand all these things. In our Gospel passage today, we heard of the Lord speaking to His disciples using the parable of the vines in order to deliver to them His intentions and teachings, and to remind them to remain firmly faithful to the teachings and truth of the Good News that He has brought upon them, and which has been revealed to them. They should not seek to find other focus or distractions, or put their emphasis and attention upon other things that may end up misleading them down the wrong path, as what many among the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had done.

Through the parable of the vine, as well as by referring to Himself as the one and only True Vine, the Lord wanted all of His disciples and followers to remember that everything and especially all those who belong to the Church of God must be rooted in Him, in His teachings and truth. Anyone who separated themselves from the Lord will not have life or part with Him, and those who profess teachings and beliefs contrary to what the Lord Himself had taught His disciples, were wrong and mistaken, and unless they change their ways and beliefs, they would likely end up being discarded, damned and rejected at the end of days. They also can cause division and harm to the unity of the Church, as what happened back then during the time mentioned in our first reading today, was almost the case. Thankfully, the Apostles and the Church elders, guided by the Holy Spirit, convened the very first gathering of the Church, in what would be known as the First Council of Jerusalem.

Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church led by the Apostles resolved the situation and reaffirmed that the Church and all the Christian faithful ought to follow the Law and commandments of God as revealed and explained by the Lord, but not the grievous excesses, abuses and misrepresentations and misinterpretations of the Law as espoused by the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. The Lord, as the True Vine, truly guided and gave help and life to the Church, and as long as the faithful remained firmly attached and faithful to Him, they would indeed be blessed and strengthened in their ways and life, and the Lord would provide for them. Unfortunately, a lot of people tend to prefer to depend on other things, and got distracted by the many temptations of worldly desires and attachments found all around us.

That is why all of us must truly grow genuinely in the faith that we have in the Lord, in truly appreciating and understanding the true meaning, purpose and intention of the Law and commandments that God has given to us, in all of His intentions and will, in all that He has done towards us. We are all called to follow Him wholeheartedly in the manner that He Himself had taught and shown us, and we are also reminded not to follow the examples of those Pharisees and Jewish Christians who continued to be prejudiced and biased against those whom they disagreed and felt themselves superior against, that we ourselves do not end up doing the same things and show the same attitude which are truly unbecoming of us as Christians.

May the Lord, our most loving, compassionate and patient God continue to help and lead us all down His righteous path, bringing us all ever closer to Him and helping us all to be truly genuine in our way of living our faith, not merely superficially understanding it, but truly immersing ourselves fully in God’s love in all of our attitudes, actions and way of life, in everything that we say and do, at all times. May God bless our every good efforts and endeavours, now and always, forevermore. Amen.

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Wednesday, 6 May 2026 : 5th Week of Easter (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

John 15 : 1-8

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the True Vine and My Father is the Vinegrower. If any of My branches does not bear fruit, He breaks it off; and He prunes every branch that does bear fruit, that it may bear even more fruit.”

“You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you. Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself, but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you do not remain in Me. I am the Vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me you can do nothing.”

“Whoever does not remain in Me is thrown away, as they do with branches, and they wither. Then they are gathered and thrown into the fire and burnt. If you remain in Me and My words in you, you may ask whatever you want, and it will be given to you. My Father is glorified when you bear much fruit : it is then that you become My disciples.”