My Thoughts on 20/11/2020

In my first parish I remember a young man being very indignant that we had set up some tables at the back of the church at the end of Mass to sell something.  I can’t remember what we were selling. In his objection he was citing the words of Jesus that we hear in today’s gospel. “According to scripture my house will be a house of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers den.” Fortunately he didn’t resort to overturning the tables.

In the time of Jesus , the temple in Jerusalem  was the great central place of worship for the God’s people, and the only place where sacrifice could take place.  Today wherever Mass is celebrated is the place of sacrifice, and our churches have remained open during the lockdown as a place of prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. But also we need to remember that through Baptism the Holy Spirit comes to us and consecrates each one of us a temple of worship. Are we doing or saying anything that desecrated this place of prayer? Is my sin and selfishness displacing Gods loving presence in my heart?