The Seventh Wednesday of Easter

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.

We do not belong to the world and so it hates us. Instead, we belong to Jesus and through him we belong to the Holy Spirit and our Heavenly Father. Part of belonging to Christ is choosing good over evil and being protected from the Evil One. Another part is being detached from the world and instead being consecrated to God and His Divine Truth. We also are sent into the world to bear witness to our faith through our thoughts, words, and works, to bring hope to all we meet, and to know, love, and serve God and all His children. To help us with these things, Jesus consecrated himself for us on the cross and through the reception of Christ’s Body and Blood, we are sanctified and made into a Holy People, bearing the Good News to all the nations.

Do we belong to the world or to God? Do we give thanks and praise to God for all the times He has kept us from the Evil One? Are we consecrated in the Truth of the Gospels?

O Lord, your word is truth. Consecrate us in it.

Amen.