A grower once told me that grapevines are deep rooted plants. They go down far as six feet.
In the Readings today Jesus uses the metaphor of a grapevine. He is the "vine" and we are the "branches". We are called to be one with Christ and stay connected to Him. Yet it is more than that.
Christ wants us to disregard all the superficiality in our lives and introspect deep within the soul. In order to know God we must know ourselves and vice versa. Truly knowing oneself means moving past all the distractions in life (i.e. money, fame, pride, popularity, toys, movies, television, games and gadgets) and become "deep rooted".
Prayer and meditation allows us to go deep into the soul, sometimes revealing things about ourselves we may not want to see. The deeper we go, the deeper the pain. This is necessary however, for the true healing and liberation needed to become new men and women in Christ (able to bear "good fruit").
The analogy of vine and branches also refers to wine and Eucharist. After receiving Jesus in communion, a Christian should sit in silence for an extended period of time and allow Christ to to do His "pruning".
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