Fifth Sunday of Easter

St. John 15.1-8: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit".

"From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy and sufferings. Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: 'Abide in me, and I in you...I am the vine, you are the branches'. And he proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours: He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him'".