Gospel Reading – John 17:11b-19
Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”
The Gospel of the Lord
The Mass intention is for L H
Reflection:
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus speaks specifically of the ‘world’ and the ‘evil one’. The evil one, who is the devil, is real. He hates us and does all he can to mislead us and ruin our lives. He tries to fill our minds with empty promises, offers fleeting pleasure, and encourages selfish ambitions. He was a liar from the beginning and remains a liar to this day. We see how the devil tried so hard to tempt Jesus during his forty day fast in the desert.
We can see a powerful cultural tendency (a global tendency due to the Internet and media) to become people who are willing to accept anything and everything. There is a danger that we may have lost our sense of moral integrity and truth. Thus, the words of Jesus need to be embraced more today than ever before. “Your Word is Truth.” The Word of God, the Gospel, all that our Catechism teaches, all that our faith reveals is the Truth. This Truth must be our guiding light and nothing else. Remain consecrated in the Truth!
• How much of an influence does the secular culture have on you?
• What are you willing to do to make the necessary changes to live in the light of the Truth?