Weekly message
from Fr. Chris

Dear SPA Family,
The radio, TV, smartphone, fridge, washing machine, lamp... cut off from the power source are just pieces of furniture/device of no great value. They do not fulfill their essential task. The moment they are connected to a power source, they take on their full value and begin ‘to live’.
It is the same with our spiritual life. In order for each of us to bear the fruit God intended, we must strive to be constantly united to Christ. Jesus compares Himself to the vine and us to its branches. He says: “I am the true vine; you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing”.
Just as the value of the branch, its vitality and fructification depend on union with the vine, so also the value of our life depends on our union with Christ. What does that mean exactly? Well, this means that each of us is a branch planted by Christ in a vineyard named ‘Church’. Each of us is to bear the fruit that God set for him when he chose him and gave him a special calling.
The fundamental bond with Christ is the state of sanctifying grace that we obtained in baptism. We can, however, lose this grace by committing a mortal sin. We then become dry, dead twigs that belong to the vine – but they are not alive, they do not bear fruit.
So, what should we do to be with Christ continually? First of all, we must try to live in a state of God’s grace. Everything else; prayer, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, keeping the commandments, faith, love – these are the means or results of living in God’s grace.
Thanks to Christ, we know that God Himself is the source of our spiritual life. Thanks to his love and grace, everything we do in our lives takes on meaning and value. “Whoever remains in me and I in him, the same bears much fruit”.
The misfortune of dying outside God’s grace and being unable to bear fruit usually begins with little things. It begins with neglect in the morning or evening prayers and ends with stopping praying altogether. We start slowly to skip Sunday Mass and end up stopping attending the Eucharist. We neglect confession before Christmas or Easter, and we end up not going to confession for a few or many years.
The same happens in our dying outside commandments and moral values. We start with the first cigarette and end with an insatiate craving for it. It starts with one glass of wine and often ends with an alcohol addiction. We reach out for the first dose of the drug, and it may end up wasting and losing health and life. It innocently starts with a flirtation and I may end with divorce, the breakdown of marriage and family.
Let us remember that as many times as we cut ourselves off from Christ and His grace, we die and bear no fruit. No wonder our hearts grow cold, and, in many cases, we end up deviating completely from Christ. Separated from Jesus, not only do we fail to bear God’s commissioned fruit, but our lives also end in a spiritual defeat. Then the words of Christ are fulfilled: “Whoever does not remain in me will be thrown out like a vine and wither. And it is picked up and thrown into the fire and it is burned” (Jn 15.6). Nobody wants that! I don’t… and I believe that you do neither.
Let us therefore remain in union with Christ. This is our mission and calling here on earth. The value of our actions, our prayers and the value of our lives depend on it.
Have a blessed week. Fr. Chris Copy

Dear Spa Family,
The fourth Sunday of Easter is known and celebrated throughout the Church as the Sunday of the Good Shepherd. Basically, we probably all know the image of Jesus carrying a lamb on His shoulders, showing Him as the Good Shepherd. This picture is so eloquent in its content, because it speaks of Shepherd’s care over his flock, moreover, over each sheep. But…! Isn’t it a bit like… as if nowadays, this image has lost its proper meaning and message…? We believe that Jesus, the Son of God, is the Shepherd, each of us is a lamb who is devoted and entrusted to Shepherd’s care. This divine care results from love and willingness to do good for humankind. But does it translate into life and the environment in which we live, work, and meet other people…?
Today, the world creates a slightly different picture, as if there is no need for someone to care for somebody else because we hear that a person is to be independent and self-sufficient. And to expect support, help, or care from someone else – as something natural – is often seen as a human weakness. Commerce, materialism, the pursuit of a better tomorrow, rivalry, and often misunderstood ambitions that enter human life make it easy for a person to be drawn into this ‘machine of good and happiness’, hoping that he will succeed. However, it often ends in failure, disappointment. Why is this happening….?
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of a good shepherd who knows his sheep and cares for them, and moreover, lays down his life for them. He is the shepherd himself. But it also talks about a hired man, a different kind of shepherd. That is, about someone who needs sheep so that he can earn something on them, get rich, achieve his goals. This ‘shepherd’ and the sheep have no bond whatsoever apart from the work related to it. In this situation, often in the face of danger, the hired man runs away, leaving the sheep, saving only his life. And maybe you are wondering what this has to do with what was mentioned above? Well…!
How often in human life, in our life, we let ourselves be deceived, deceived by people who at first glance want to be such life coaches (shepherds) for us, telling us that it is about our good, happiness, fulfillment, and future, which is wide open to us. And they say that they do it completely selflessly, they simply feel sorry for the talents that lie dormant in us. Is it not so…? However, in difficulties, when something goes wrong, it really turns out what the intentions were, and we are often left to ourselves. Isn’t that the attitude of that wage-earner in this Sunday’s Gospel...?
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, wants to care always for us, even in our difficulties, giving his life for us. Why...? Because we are from His sheepfold, where each sheep is precious, and the whole sheepfold is united by one bond - love.
Let this Sunday be an opportunity for us to be prudent about what the world offers us, in the name of good and our happiness, so that in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, we may discover and find true happiness.
Have a blessed week. Fr. Chris Copy