"Thirst"
Sanctified In The Truth
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Before his Crucifixion, Jesus prays to the Father about his faithful: “They do not belong to this world, just as I do not belong to this world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (Jn.17:17-18 NRSV). A paraphrase of this sacred passage is the following: “You are in this world, but not of it.”
God’s word is like leaven in our minds and hearts. Each of the Evangelist gives an account of the Paschal Mystery, the Good News, but only in John’s Gospel appear language nuances critical for understanding The Word.
For example, in the above, “world” denotes different, but related meanings. World can mean the physical reality, God’s creation pronounced good by God (Gen.1:25). But after the Fall sin unsanctified human nature, so The Father sent Jesus to atone for our sins. In this article we will look at our world through Jesus’ eyes; we will establish the sacred significance of “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
First, we ask what does “sanctify” mean in Scripture? The word signifies ‘‘to set apart for a special use, or to make pure” (AI Overview). At out Baptism the Holy Spirit initiates a share in the Divine Life. This does not mean we become gods, but we begin our faith journey to the Father.
This journey is a lifelong process spearheaded by the grace of the Holy Spirit. But the current world view (how we explain reality) is not an easy one for a Catholic, indeed all believers. Modernity’s denying the Transcendent seems to be the norm in world politics and economics; only the Holy Spirit can lead us through this morass for the Holy Spirit sanctifies us in the truth.
First, we seek the Lord through prayer. For most Catholics this means the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory be to the Father. But sanctification is not rote prayer. The prayer we speak of, however long, is rooted in hesed, the loving kindness of and for the Lord. Prayer transforms us in body, mind and Spirit; holistic prayer is our divine powerhouse that sanctifies us.
Though a rich tradition of contemplative prayer exists in the Church, the Holy Spirit links prayer to action ranging from the sacrifice of Maximilian Kolbe in Auschwitz to the protester for the minimum wage.
God’s Word anchors the above kindness: “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least who are my family, you did it to me” (Mt. 23:40).
Second, I will share a personal sanctification, one I have alluded to before, but without the full detail. In the early seventies I was part of a university prayer group. We were on retreat in a cottage on Lake Erie. Though I had received the Baptism in the Spirit, vocation still troubled me: a lingering scare from a vocation director if I did not enter a seminary, I would be very unhappy.
Sitting in a prayer circle before a blazing fire place, I opened my Jerusalem Bible at Philippians 4:1: ”I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord…There is no need to worry, but if there is anything you need pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God…. will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”
For the first time in my life, I felt this Word had my name on it. My devotion to prayer and Eucharist deepened. The seminary threat disappeared as my love for my girlfriend deepened into a happy marital commitment for fifty-two years.
In sum, sanctified in the truth speaks to the godlessness of modernity and to personal obstacles to a genuine call to the right vocation.
We are in the world, scarred by modernity, but as St. Benedict has written, “Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; the love of Christ should come before all else.” Such is being sanctified in the truth.
References
Rule of St. Benedict 4, quoted in Living with Christ, Novalis: Montreal, May18, 2026.
The Holy Bible NRSV, Nashville: Catholic Bible Press, 1995
The Jerusalem Bible, Garden City: Doubleday and Company,
Bernard J. Callaghan
bandscall@eastlink.ca
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