Daily Reflection for Wednesday, June 01 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Wednesday’s readings at this link:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060122.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Acts 20: 28-38
Responsorial: Psalm 68:29-30, 33-35a,35bc-36ab
Gospel: John 17:11b-19
Our reflection on Wednesday’s readings:
“Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.” John 17: 17
If I had to name one thing that I dislike doing, it would be saying goodbyes. There is such a sadness that permeates my heart. I can barely speak let alone pray over the people leaving. Both the readings from Acts and John are prayers of goodbye. In the selection from Acts, Paul will not see the church of Ephesus again. In John, the passage is part of the prayer that Jesus prays over his disciples the night before he is betrayed.
This time my heart shifted from sadness to hope. I found hope in the words “consecrate them.” Consecrate means to sanctify or to set apart, make holy. Jesus says, praying to the Father, “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.” St. Paul says, “And now I commend you to God and to the gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all those who are consecrated.” I felt hope because I know from my own experience how the Word of God, as well as the Holy Spirit, have caused a continual transformation in my own life.
I try to do this in my 8th grade Sunday school class and with my family when we can gather. I attempt to plant seeds using the Word of God to consecrate them, set them apart, and make them holy. It is not just reading scriptures with them; I also share how the scripture is relevant to my life. Then I try to get them to think about how it is relevant to their lives. It is the process of reading God’s word and identifying its relevance in our lives that allows room for the Holy Spirit to consecrate or make us holy.
If I could hold it together to speak when I say goodbye, I would say, “While we are apart, stay close to God’s Word so that His Word will make you holy. Make space so that the Holy Spirit can fill it with guidance and transform you into the person that God created you to be. I cannot wait until I see you again!”
Blessings for the journey!
Paula Paul