A reading of the holy Gospel according to Luke 19:45-48

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer'; but you have made it a den of robbers." And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people sought to destroy him; but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words.

REFLECTION: ' they did not find anything they could do, for all the people hung upon his words.'

God takes our worship very seriously. In the old testament He meticulously described how to worship, where to worship and how to prepare the altar. In today's Gospel Jesus is indignant and very angry as commercialism took over a place for meeting God.

" My house shall be a house of prayer"--"not a den of robbers"!! When we enter our church we should have great respect for Jesus who is present in the Tabernacle . We bow our heads, genuflect , and praise and glorify our Lord, not listen to the latest gossip. God, Himself, is waiting for us. So we dress for royalty, we are visiting our King. We show God how much we love Him by our attitudes, our words and our actions. The Holy Mass is the center and root of our Christian life. Do our actions show that indeed we are present before God.?

The very words of Jesus constituted profound respect for the sacred. He taught with a great deal of zeal. After all, he is the only one who has seen God. His followers listened to Jesus speaking with such authority and clarity. They got their fill of his teachings Every inspired word heard was based on revelation by God.

So the Pharisees did not like that their world was strewn all over the courtyard. It was this action at the temple and the teachings of Christ that increased their hatred of Jesus. They plotted in ways to destroy him. But not this day, as the followers of Christ were drawn to a closer relationship with Christ. When all the turmoil was over the followers would not leave because every word spoken by Christ was a personal communication to them. They were in awe and respect.

When we go to Church , do we seek the companionship of our Lord? Do we converse with him and do we strive to be like him? When we go to Church do we truly understand the readings from the Old and New Testament. Do we believe that Jesus is talking to us through the Gospel?

PRAYER: Dearest Lord, open wide the door to your house. Invite us to enter and worship you. We praise and thank you for your love and compassion. Amen

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