Pruned

                                                    by Brother Thomas Aquinas

​“I am the vine, and my Father is the vine
grower. He takes away every branch in me
that does not bear fruit, and every one that
does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”
— Jn 15:1-2

                                                                                                  ​
Thus begins one of the most well-known passages of the Gospels. Full of imagery and
metaphor, there are numerous places from which to draw great wisdom and insight.
One detail that perhaps receives less than its share of attention is the choice to describe
the Father’s activity as pruning the branches. There are many parables that incorporate
plants in some fashion, such as the barren fig tree, which is tended and fertilized so that
it may produce fruit in the future. What, then, are we to learn from the image of being
pruned?

In the horticultural sense, to prune a tree or other plant is to cut away parts that are
diseased, decaying, or dead. This naturally involves careful application of sharp tools
and leaves the plant with an open wound that needs time to heal. A good gardener also
knows that it is preferable to make small cuts to young plants, rather than waiting until
the situation gets out of hand. If a tree left to its own devices grows into a malformed
mess of poorly placed branches, it may reach a state in which the only means of
preserving it is to remove a substantial portion of the plant.

In the spiritual sense, the Father prunes each of us by removing those parts of our lives
or aspects of our behavior in which we are diseased. Small habits, if left untended, can
develop into serious character flaws. Analogously, though venial sin does not destroy
sanctifying grace in the soul, it “disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin” (CCC
1863) and bring spiritual death upon ourselves. Yet, even if we manage to avoid the
graver matters, it would be foolish to remain complacent in venially sinful behavior. All
sin, regardless of severity, works against the flourishing God desires for each of us.
We are called not to mediocrity but rather to perfection. Indeed, the Father prunes us
not to achieve mere survival but to cultivate growth that allows us to bear fruit. This is a
painful process, as we must learn to let go of what holds us back from our full spiritual
potential.

In some cases, we may need to renounce true goods in favor of something else to
which God is calling us as individuals. To stretch the analogy a bit: wine and figs are
both valuable, but a fig tree is not meant to produce grapes. Unlike the vine or fig tree,
which are passive to the gardener’s diligent care, we can choose either to cooperate
with or to resist God’s work in our lives. Ultimately, each of us must accept the Father’s
pruning if we desire to flourish as the “plants” He has made us to be.

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