Friday, August 1, 2025
Feast of Saint Alphonsus Liguori
My sisters and brothers in the Lord,
Welcome to week thirty-one of BMW, Be My Witnesses. Last week we reflected on the very presence of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit within each of us. That presence should bear some fruit in our lives. As the Psalmist says: “He is like a tree planted near streams of water, that yields its fruit in season” (1:3). This fruit, then, is not so much based on our own strength but on God’s power in us. That is why we continue with another week of prayer.
Prayer: Pray to be Fruitful
The first we hear about God’s expectations of us human creatures is his command, “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). Most translations read, “Be fruitful…” Jesus picks up on this theme during his Last Supper talk with the Apostles. He speaks of his being the vine and the need for us to be fruit-bearing branches (John 15:1-17). The way this is achieved, says the Lord, is “Remain in me, as I remain in you” (John 15:4); that remaining in each other is friendship; it is love.
Thus, our prayer, in order to be fruitful, begins with this further resting or remaining in the awareness of the indwelling of the Trinity in our lives. But it is a prayerful awareness which, if fully embraced, will lead to fruitfulness. Jesus even emphasized this: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit” (Mt 7:18). Remaining with Jesus sustains us as good trees. The resulting fruitfulness is both internal and external.
When I was younger, during my prayer time, I would literally ask God to surprise me. I never really cared for the results!! So eventually I stopped asking for these surprises. As you can imagine, they have not ceased. God still wants me to bear fruit in ways I never imagine. Perhaps, Jesus was letting me experience his words: “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” (John 12:24).
So, it is with us. The Lord told us we would be able to move mountains, which was his way of saying that if we allow God to take control of our lives, then he will be able to move mountains through us. This can be one of the fruits of our prayer life. It is the moving of obstacles in our lives which prevent us from fully embracing our friendship with Jesus. We all keep obstacles in place so that his friendship will not surprise us too much.
A second internal result of our prayerful fruitfulness will be the destruction of any barrenness in our lives. Fruitfulness is the opposite of being barren. And in our hearts we would all rather bear fruit for the Lord.
As to the external, we know that such prayer, if it is truly an encounter with our friend, Jesus, will lead to being his missionaries in our world. Mother Teresa has said: “The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service, the fruit of service is peace.”
The Challenge
Therefore, this week’s challenge is a simple one. Let us pray that God will remove any obstacles in our lives that prevent his power from changing any barrenness in our lives into fruitfulness both for ourselves and for the world. Then, share your reflections with your small group.
Until next week, may God Bless you.
+ Earl Boyea
Bishop of Lansing
P.S. Here is a video version of this week's Be My Witnesses. Please do share with friends and family. Thank you.