In one of her memoirs Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta recollects the following situation. "Another thing that the Sisters drew my attention to was that when they looked at the vine they could see no fruit. All the fruit was on the branches. Then they told me that the humility of Jesus is so great that He needs the branch to produce the fruit. That is why He has taken so much care over the joining - to be able to produce that fruit He has made it a joining that somebody will have to use force to separate."

Today's parable about the vine teaches us not only about our dependence on God but it is a great lesson about the humility of God. Our God is humble because in His omnipotence and holiness He is working in us and through us - imperfect, simple and sinful human beings. God is humble because He finds His glory in our life of faith and love.

There is also another important point of Jesus' parable. We can bring wonderful spiritual fruit only at the cost of pruning. This pruning is all about cleansing us from our selfishness and self-reliance. God does it through daily hardships, tribulations and suffering. Jesus also teaches us that we are cleansed when we accept His word and live it with faith.

"It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples."