5th Sunday of Easter, Christ the True Vine, Year B

I am the true vine, Jesus says in today's Gospel, you are the branches (John 15:1-8). Think of it: a vine and branches are one plant, with the same life-giving sap flowing through it. The branches depend on the vine for life and nourishment.

Here's part of a commentary on this Gospel by St. Augustine:

Christ the True Vine, anonymous, before 20th c.I 

If you dwell in me, said Jesus, and my words dwell in you, you will ask for whatever you desire and it will be yours. Can a person dwelling in Christ desire anything out of harmony with Christ? The very fact that people dwell in their Savior must mean that they have no desire that is opposed to their salvation. And yet we do indeed desire one thing insofar as we are in Christ, and another insofar as we are still in this world.

Because of our sojourn here below, a thought sometimes steals into our ignorant minds to ask for something which cannot be good for us. But this many not be, if we are dwelling in Christ. He does what we ask only if it is for our good. To dwell in him, therefore, is to have his words dwelling in us; whatever we desire we shall then ask for, and it will be given to us.