Fifth Sunday of Lent

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Dying to self is hard to do, but this is exactly what Jesus is asking us to do. There are so many things in this world which we can do, so many temptations to deny, so many acts of mercy to perform. When we fall into temptation we choose to plant the seed of our soul in a dark place where the Light of Truth does not shine and we fail to grow spiritually. However, if we love God with all our hearts, bodies, minds, and strengths and our neighbor as ourselves, then we die to ourselves and bear much fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven. Let us choose self-sacrifice, so that we might be transformed from a single grain of God’s love into a tree of grace and mercy for all whom we meet.

What are the things in our lives which we need to die to in order to produce more fruit for God’s glory? How do sacrifice ourselves for love of God and His children? What fruits have we produced or failed to produce due to our choices?

O Lord, we wish to die to our selves and bear much fruit.

Amen.