Jesus prayed with great fervor in the holy Temple.  As we hear in today’s Gospel, He defined the Temple as a “House of Prayer” and “His Father’s House.” He went up to the Temple first with His parents and family members to celebrate all the great feasts, and then later with His disciples. The scene in which He drove the money changers from the Temple is a testimony to how important the

Temple was to Him, and the need for it to be reserved as a place of prayer.  He customarily came to the Temple as a worshipper and teacher; yet, that day on which He chased them from His Father’s House ~ He was Judge and Master. What about the Temple? Although God is present everywhere and cannot be confined within the walls of a structure built by man, He instructed Moses to build Him a Tabernacle where He would dwell among the Israelites. Once the Jewish people were established in Palestine, King Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem, where people went to render public worship to God. According to the Book of Exodus (Ex. 23:15), the Israelites were not to enter the Temple empty handed, but to bring a sacrifice. To make this easier for people who had to travel a certain distance, a veritable market developed in the Temple courtyards with animals being bought and sold for the sacrifice. Originally this may have made sense, but seemingly as time went on commercial gain became the dominant purpose of the market; probably the priests themselves and Temple servants benefited from this trade or even operated it. As a result, the Temple looked more like a livestock market than a place of worship. Moved by zeal for His Father’s House, Jesus could not tolerate this deplorable abuse, and in righteous anger He ejects everyone to show people the respect and reverence that is due to the Temple. We, too, should show respect to the Father’s House where the Eucharistic Sacrifice is celebrated and where Jesus Christ is truly present in the Tabernacle. For us it means proper dress, genuflections, reverence to the Eucharist and Tabernacle, and a sense of awe. Are you consumed with zeal for the Father’s House?

Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Fr. Wayne