Dear Lord, Jesus, I am so grateful for this word this morning. You are the vine. I am a branch. Apart from you, I can do nothing.
You remind me today that when I feel “dry and withered” and able to “do nothing,” it’s because I’m trying to do it “apart from” you. Those times really feel disconnected. It seems so clear this morning. I try to take myself, as a branch, to this place and that person and try to “bear fruit” and am disappointed when the fruit doesn’t come, or I get angry if the fruit turns out to be “unjuicy” or even “bitter.” On the very worst days, Lord, you must smile at my arrogance, knowing that I pull away because I think I can produce better fruit on my own.
Oh, please prune and heal my independence and stubborn self-reliance. Let me make my home in you, as you make yours in me. Let this dry and drooping branch be refreshed today. Help me stay connected today. Send your life coursing through me. I so want the fruit I bear to be full of your life. That’s how I want my “yield” to increase. And, down deep inside, I want people to taste the difference of fruit that is full of your life.
You living in me, me living in you, this is what I ask. Gratefully, humbly, with more trust. Feeling the reviving juice already.
Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ
Co-founder of Creighton’s Online Ministries, Retired 2025
I served at Creighton from 1996 to 2025. I served as Vice-president for Mission for three Presidents, directed the Collaborative Ministry Office and co-founded the Online Ministries website.
I loved seeing the number of faculty and staff who over the years really took up the mission as their own and made Creighton the Jesuit university it is today. I was also consoled to witness the website – a collaborative effort - touch the hearts of so many around the world.
I’m now living at St. Camillus – a Jesuit care facility in Milwaukee. Many of my days are spent dealing with my own health issues, as I carry out the mission we’ve been given, “to pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus.”
