THE FRUIT COMES FROM THE TREE FED BY THE ROOT

How can one delight in feeding from and living off the fruit of a tree and then turn and despise, deny, and reject the tree?  This form of spirituality that loves the saints and hates the Catholic Church is not centered and grounded.  And worse than hating the Catholic Church it denies Jesus and God who are the taproot of the Church.  A spirituality that denies Jesus and denies God is not the True Holy Spirit of God.  It is artificial and will not stand steadfast in the waves of a storm.  It is an illusion, an empty lifeless form that like chaff will disintegrate and fade away.

The tree is the container of all that is needed to produce the fruit, fed from the roots, contained and distributed to the growth of the fruit. Should this not be what the Church does?  Is this not what the Catholic Church has done throughout the centuries?  It has kept and passed down the history of Christianity.  The tree may not be perfect.  Trees need to be pruned from time to time.  Dead braches and excess branches that misdirect the essential nutrients to the area of growth need to be removed.  God does that in trees growing in nature by wind, lightening, and storms.  He has pruned the Church through trials, tribulations, and persecutions.

The history of Christianity involves a lot of pruning; the Catholic Church has certainly suffered through a lot of pruning as have the Protestant Churches. But it is necessary so that what remains can be a healthy container, a grower and producer of good fruit.

The Catholic Church and the Protestant Churches have produced some truly amazing people who have done much good in this world.  The fruit of their lives is to be honored and admired.  But to honor the fruit we must honor the tree where the fruit came from, and especially the taproot where the life of the tree, and the life of the Church begins and ends.