This Sunday’s Gospel (John 15:1-8), Jesus depicts himself as the true vine and God the Father as the vine grower. He calls us to ‘remain in him’ and if we do, he promises that we will ‘bear much fruit’.
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity (1880-1906), a Carmelite in Dijon, France reflected on this Gospel:
“”Remain in Me.” It is the Word of God who gives this order, expresses this wish. Remain in Me, not for a few moments, a few hours which must pass away, but “remain…” permanently, habitually, Remain in Me, pray in Me, adore in Me so that you may be able to encounter anyone or anything; penetrate further still into these depths. This is truly the “solitude into which God wants to allure the soul that He may speak to it,” as the prophet sang [Hos 2:14/2:16].
In order to understand this very mysterious saying, we must not, so to speak, stop at the surface, but enter ever deeper into the divine Being through recollection. “I pursue my course,” exclaimed St Paul [Phil. 3:12]; so must we descend daily this pathway of the Abyss which is God; let us slide down this slope in wholly loving confidence. “Abyss calls to abyss” [Ps 42:8/42:7]. It is there in the very depths that the divine impact takes place, where the abyss of our nothingness encounters the Abyss of mercy, the immensity of the all of God. There we will find the strength to die to ourselves and, losing all vestige of self, we will be changed into love.”
– Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, I Have Found God
Remain. In Latin, manere means “to stay”. re means “again”, or “revert back to”. Therefore Re-manere can signify “to stay again”. Or, to return to where you are.
We live in a society that encourages movement, of going somewhere, of doing something. But Jesus points not to going “out there”, but rather – and how Blessed Elizabeth understood – to be in Christ. “To be” is a state of existence. How that compares with what our culture often values – “to do”, which is merely an action of the agent who is (be).
Jesus calls us to remain in Him. To ‘be’ in Him. Today, let us rest (remain) in Him, fully aware of the presence of Jesus in all that we ‘do’. That with Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, we may habitually ‘stay’ again in Christ:
- remain in Christ
- pray in Christ
- adore in Christ
- love in Christ
- suffer in Christ
- work in Christ
- act in Christ
- (you fill in the blank) in Christ
This gives a broader understanding to this Gospel admonition “Remain in me”. Let all that we do be in Christ, and find our lives prolific and fruitful, as God desires.
—
Unity With Christ will Transform Your Life – Pope Francis’ Regina Coeli address, 5th Sunday of Easter
nunspeak 
Rejoice in Christ.
Yes.