On Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Revelation (20: 1-15) entitled "The final struggle with Satan, the dragon". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the gospel of John by Saint Cyril of Alexander, bishop.

Saint Cyril was born in 370 and lived a monastic life. He was ordained a priest and succeeded his uncle as bishop of Alexandria where he served from 412 to 444. He was enthroned when the city was at the height of its influence and power within the Roman Empire. He had a preeminent role at the Council of Ephesus; he fought bravely against the doctrines of Nestorius, and wrote many learned works explaining and defending the Catholic faith.

Saint Cyril is best known for defending the truth that Jesus Christ is one divine Person with both a fully human and fully divine nature, and for strongly upholding that Mary is rightly called Theotokos ("God-bearer"). He played a central role at the Council of Ephesus, where this teaching was affirmed against error. His legacy is his clear defense of the unity of Christ and the truth of the Incarnation, which remains essential to Catholic belief.

Saint Cyril is counted among the Church Fathers and also as a Doctor of the Church. His reputation within the Christian world has resulted in his titles, "Pillar of Faith" and "Seal of all the Fathers". Cyril died in 444.

Today's treasure taken from Saint Cyril's great sermon Commentary on John entitled "I Am the Vine, You Are the Branches" teaches is that our spiritual life and salvation depend entirely on a living, continuous union with Christ. Using the image from the Gospel, Cyril teaches that just as branches can only live and bear fruit if they remain connected to the vine, so Christians can only have true life, grace, and fruitfulness by remaining united to Christ.

He emphasizes that this union is not merely symbolic but real and life-giving, especially through faith and the sacraments, by which believers share in Christ's own divine life. Apart from Him, we wither spiritually; with Him, we grow, bear fruit, and are drawn into eternal life. In essence, the sermon teaches that everything in the Christian life flows from abiding in Christ and allowing His life to remain active within us.

Our first reading from Revelation (20:1-15), in essence, teaches that history moves toward a final, just judgment where God's authority is fully revealed: evil is permanently defeated, and each person's ultimate destiny reflects their response to God's grace and truth.