For 6 May 2026, Wednesday of the 5th week of Eastertide, based on John 15:1-8, sent in from Fall Creek, Oregon, USA.
Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About Deborah Wilhelm
Dr. Deborah Wilhelm is an Adjunct Professor of Preaching and Evangelization at the Aquinas Institute of Theology and a lecturer in theology at the Loyola New Orleans Institute for Ministry. Her most recent book is Preaching Racial Justice, which she edited with Fr. Gregory Heille and Fr. Maurice Nutt. An active preacher, teacher, writer, retreat leader, and Camaldolese Benedictine Oblate, she and her husband live and pray among the rivers, trees, and blackberry vines of rural Oregon.
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6 May 2026
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Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
About Deborah Wilhelm
Dr. Deborah Wilhelm is an Adjunct Professor of Preaching and Evangelization at the Aquinas Institute of Theology and a lecturer in theology at the Loyola New Orleans Institute for Ministry. Her most recent book is Preaching Racial Justice, which she edited with Fr. Gregory Heille and Fr. Maurice Nutt. An active preacher, teacher, writer, retreat leader, and Camaldolese Benedictine Oblate, she and her husband live and pray among the rivers, trees, and blackberry vines of rural Oregon.