MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 4 JUNE
June 4, 2025
FEAST OF SAINT BONIFACE, MARTYR, APOSTLE OF GERMANY – 5th JUNE
June 5, 2025
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
4 JUNE, 2025
John 17:11 b-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!
REFLECTION
In this deeply intimate portion of Jesus’ high priestly prayer, we witness His heartfelt intercession for His disciples. Jesus knows He is about to leave them and entrusts them to the Father’s care: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name.” This protection is not merely physical but spiritual—preserving unity, truth, and sanctity in a world that is often hostile to the light.
Jesus acknowledges that His followers are not of the world, just as He is not. Yet, He does not ask the Father to remove them from the world but to keep them from the evil one. This reveals our mission: to remain in the world as witnesses of truth, transformed and sanctified through God’s Word. The sanctification Jesus speaks of is a setting apart—a consecration for a holy purpose. As His disciples, we are to be carriers of truth and love, bearing the mark of divine distinction through the Word that shapes and guards our hearts.
Jesus’ prayer reminds us that our identity is anchored in heaven, though our feet walk the earth. We are called to live in unity, protected and set apart, carrying the light of truth in a world darkened by falsehood.
PRAYER
Holy Father, thank You for the powerful name by which You protect us. Though we live in a world filled with distractions and dangers, keep us united in Your love, as Jesus prayed. Guard our hearts from the evil one and strengthen us to walk faithfully in Your truth.
Sanctify us by Your Word, O Lord. Let its truth shape our thoughts, actions, and character. May we be set apart—not by arrogance or pride—but by the grace and holiness You work in us. Help us to live as reflections of Jesus, bringing light and peace to those around us.
Lord, we belong to You. Keep us in Your name, guide us by Your truth, and send us into the world with the courage to live for You. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen
