Our Men’s Bible Study is currently going through John 15, where Jesus speaks of the Vine and the branches. Note that He says, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Not, “I am the Trunk, you are the branches” – as if we’re plugged into, but still separate from, a central core. The Vine is the branches.Without the branches, there is no Vine. In Jn 14, Jesus has just told the disciples that He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him, and Jesus is in the disciple. Whoever sees Jesus sees the Father, and whoever sees the disciples sees Jesus. The Father’s life is in Jesus, and Jesus’ life is in the Father. In a mysterious way, the disciple is Jesus, lives His life, while remaining him- or herself.
Jesus’ life runs through the disciple, like sap through the vine. Without His life, the disciple withers and bears no fruit. The disciple must have a life of prayer, a habit of remaining in Jesus, of always referring to Him, of being guided moment by moment by His Holy Spirit. Otherwise, his or her most dedicated and energetic attempts at ministry will fail. They may spring up, like the seed in rocky soil, for a while. But they will fail. Without a foundation of prayer, parish programs, church ventures, or individual ministries won’t endure. They won’t lastingly touch people. They will bear no more fruit than does a cut-off branch.
I myself need to keep constantly aware, as a Catholic clinical psychologist, husband, father, brother, and friend, that apart from Jesus I can do nothing. I must have a life of prayer. I must pray daily. I need the Eucharist and Confession. I need to meditate on the Word of God. I need fellowship with brothers and sisters in the Lord. I need to sit in Jesus’ presence and experience His “radiation therapy” that cleanses, heals, and redirects me.
There are surprisingly few faithfully Catholic mental health professionals who integrate their faith into their work with their clients, even in a strong Catholic city such as Omaha. There’s enough work here, easily, for a dozen more Catholic psychologists. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Mt 9:37-38).
But in order to give myself space and time to abide in Jesus, to recharge, I need to be able to say “No”. It’s tough to say “No” to new clients who you know are in crisis and would benefit from a Christian approach to therapy, when there are few places to send them. But it has to be Jesus’ work, not mine. I do no favors by draining myself dry. I become withered and useless. I must return continually to the Wellspring. I must strive to remain in the Vine, or I’m wasting mine and the client’s time.
I have an 8-day silent retreat planned for this August 10th-18th. (Please keep that in prayer.) I want it so badly I can taste it. The Lord, in His grace, is still touching clients through me. But I can’t wait to plug into Him for a luxuriously long stretch of time, while I unplug from everything else. I can do nothing without Him, but with Him all things are possible. Perhaps by the retreat’s end, I’ll have deeply assimilated that truth, of the Vine and the branches, once more.
