SAINTS JOHN FISHER, BISHOP, AND THOMAS MORE, MARTYRS (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

By their fruits you will know them.

If you were going to set up a fruit stand, you would want to inspect your produce carefully. Only healthy, ripe, undamaged fruits would meet your standards. If any were spoiled, not only would they rot, but they could damage your other fruit as well. So you would be quick to separate those bad fruits from the good ones.

“Fruit inspection” is a good way to think about the discernment that Jesus is describing in today’s Gospel. We can assess the state of our hearts by observing the quality of the fruit being borne in our lives. Such an “inspection” can help us uncover and turn from patterns of sin or unhealthy influences. It can help us to see if we are growing closer to God or moving further away from him.

This is something we can try to do at the end of each day. Start by looking over all that has happened that day, including how you felt and how you reacted to the situations that came up. Then look at the fruit that each event has borne in your life.

What kind of fruit should you look for? Maybe the fruit of the Spirit that St. Paul lists: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). Or take your lead from St. James. He tells us that if something comes from God, it leads to peace, gentleness, mercy, and good deeds (James 3:17). If you see evidence of any of these fruits, you can be confident that your heart is in the right place and that the Spirit is at work in you.

But the opposite is also true. If you’re reacting with fear, anger, or divisiveness, then you may need a change of heart. Repent if you need to, and then ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to release these feelings—as well as the situations that caused them—to the Lord.

Today, keep your eyes open for the good fruit of the Holy Spirit in your life. Pursue the things that bring good fruit. And if you see some bad fruit, take heart. It’s your opportunity to turn from it and let the Lord prune it away.

“Lord, help me to see the fruit in my life so that I can reject the bad and cultivate the good.”

2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3
Psalm 119:33-37, 40
Matthew 7:15-20