By Fr. MICHAEL P. ORSI
I’ve never appreciated landscaping as much as in these last few years, since coming to live in Florida. Landscaping wasn’t something I thought about very much. Growing up in Brooklyn, we never had very much land to be scaped.
But watching highly skilled landscapers at work, seeing the beautiful effects they create from nature’s elements, has become a fascination to me. It’s also given me a new appreciation for Jesus’ famous image of the vine: “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
Just as a flower can bloom only because of its connection to the mother plant, and the plant can grow only because of its connection to the earth, so we enjoy fullness of life only as long as we remain connected to Christ.
The results of disconnection become evident in very short order. If you watch landscapers at work pruning trees or trimming bushes, you can observe how quickly foliage that was lush and green is reduced to a mass of dried-out and brittle refuse. So too our spiritual lives wither if we become detached from Jesus, our sustaining vine.
We’re in the Easter season just now, and the focus of our celebration is Christ’s Resurrection. The only way we can achieve the ultimate goal of our lives — to share in that Resurrection — is by remaining connected to Jesus. Thus, the connection made possible by faith is vital not just for this life, but for eternal life.
There are other things to which connection is essential. Being connected to our families is of critical importance in growing up. Even after we’re grown, it can be a matter of life and death in the event of illness or disaster. We know that life is unpredictable, and so we count on the stability of family connection, since at any time we might face setbacks, or even complete collapse.
Connection to our country provides a cultural/civic identity that grants us certain key rights, legal protections, and societal benefits. If you’ve ever dealt with refugees, you’ve observed the suffering that comes from no longer having an active tie to the land you call home.
All our connections — to family, country, and God — are essential to surviving physically, mentally, and spiritually. And all are under an enormous amount of stress these days.
Keeping families intact has become increasingly difficult. And this is having many negative effects. There is solid scientific evidence that children of broken homes (particularly families in which the father isn’t present) tend to experience higher rates of depression, academic failure, and delinquent behavior.
The many novel living arrangements that get called “families” these days simply don’t match up to what Scripture and society have always understood as family in meeting kids’ needs. Likewise, dependence on state assistance, which has taken over so many lives as families have fallen apart, cannot take the place of a wholesome home (no matter how many government checks come in the mail).
Patriotism, the emotional expression of our connection to country, is constantly being disparaged. The media and many of our schools teach kids that America is “bad,” that our history must be questioned, and so any sense of loyalty (connection) to country is an unworthy feeling.
Of course, we know that America is not bad, even if we acknowledge that certain injustices do persist. The principles enshrined in our founding documents make it possible to set right what has been wrong in our history. And so, even as we proceed unevenly to correct our national flaws and failings, this country remains what Abraham Lincoln described as the world’s “last best hope.”
But ongoing efforts to denigrate our history, mock our national heroes, and shred our founding documents leave us rooted in nothing. They are efforts to sever our connection with country. They present us with us a grim choice between total chaos and one-party or strong-man rule.
Our connection with God has been severely strained by the fear that’s dominated these last few months. The quite normal desire for health and longevity has morphed into a morbid preoccupation with the threat of infection.
There’s no question that COVID is a serious illness that’s taken lives and caused suffering. But the constant drumbeat of news reports, advertisements, and public health warnings, all the businesses closing, and the calls to “mask up” have brought us to a state of unrelieved panic. School lockdowns and Zoom learning have burdened our children with a horrid sense of doom, a preoccupation with dying from which many may never emerge.
The most damaging effect has been felt in the Church. Deprived of the ability to worship, many people have found it hard to maintain their sense of connection with God. They’ve heard more from Dr. Fauci during this last year than from their clergy. And even as dispensations are lifted and worship schedules reinstated, many are reluctant to come back.
The long decline in church attendance has been vastly accelerated by the pandemic. When — or whether — the Church recovers is anybody’s guess at this point.
And so, as we view the current landscape, we see much uncertainty. But the one thing about which there is no question is that people need to be connected.
Jesus said, “I am the vine. You are the branches.” That’s never been more meaningful than it is right now.
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