Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever. — Psalm 113:2

Mass readings: 1 Timothy 1:15-17 / Luke 6:43-49 

Fruit Trees 

My young daughters kept saying our ornamental trees were plums; I kept saying they were cherries. They bore no fruit, so who knew? Then one day the girls came and dragged me outside to see something. There beneath one tree were several . . . plums. “Well, ladies,” I said, “you can’t get plums from a cherry tree, can you? So you were right. I was wrong.” 

Today’s Gospel says we can’t get good fruit from a rotten tree. That would be like getting plums from a cherry tree. There are many “trees” today that yield rotten fruit: violent TV programs; brain-searing video games; R-rated movies; too many credit cards; ads that urge us to buy, buy, buy. Let’s pray for self-discipline and the grace to choose life — to choose healthy trees instead of sickly ones. 

Prayer: Jesus, Savior, help me choose good trees. Help me bear good fruit.