Cleansing time!
Somebody once commented that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, but for some, their bodies have become basilicas!
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Today is the Feast of Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. In today’s Gospel (Jn 2, 13-22) Jesus cleansed the temple of vendors and money changers and in anger exclaimed, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” We all need cleansing, not only in our bodies, but also in our character, in our families, in our relationships and especially so, in our country these days, even in the Church.
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What’s this “marketplace” that Jesus was so angry about? It’s simply money, and all the things money can do to a person. Money can contaminate and ruin a person’s life, values, and relationships. When we become involved in the marketplace, we also sooner or late get involved in greed, deceit, and manipulation. Have you turned your life into marketplace? Have you allowed the marketplace in your very home? When money comes into the picture, the purest and cleanest thoughts, convictions, and even values can become obscured. When money talks, people begin to lose their sense of sight, hearing, speaking, and even their sense of feeling.
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“Marketplace” is not so much a place, but an attitude, a way of thinking, where everything has a price and anything can be sold or bought. You know you have the marketplace in your heart when you see everything and everyone from the point of gain and profit. In the marketplace, it is difficult to find friendship, values, self-sacrifice, and yes, even God.
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As we go about our lives, we encounter different levels of good. The first is the level of LOOKING GOOD. This is the level which we are busy with most of the time. What others say is what matters on this level. The second level is FEELING GOOD. This is the level where what we say or feel about ourselves is the center of our attention. The third level is that of DOING GOOD. There is a value outside that makes me do good things. Then there is the level of simply BEING GOOD. This is the level where goodness emanates from a heart that wants to please God. The problem with many of us is that we put priority over looking good and feeling good, over doing good and being good. Just be good and everything else will follow.
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Our task as Christians is to find and keep finding God in the marketplace. We have to keep on pointing to Him, even in the marketplace. It is easy to find God and feel God in a convent or a monastery. But the greater challenge is to be aware, to welcome, and to make present our God in the marketplace.
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At the end of the day when everything is quiet, we will be left alone with ourselves minus our titles, positions, and possessions, minus our masks and put-ons; may we encounter God who loves us without conditions. And at the end of our lives, may we be embraced by God who will whisper to us, “My child, you did not need those masks and luggage when you were still alive. All that you needed was already in you, deep inside.”
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Speaking of housecleaning, many of us would do well to look into our hearts and dispose of many unnecessary and burdensome sins, bad habits, and negative thoughts and feelings. Life is short. Time spent on negative thoughts and deeds is wasted time. A good confession is always a good starting point. When was the last time you made a good confession? When was the last time you made a resolve to confess your sins, do penance and amend your life?
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Still on housecleaning, with Christmas just around the corner, let us take time to get rid of “excess baggage.” No matter how much we rationalize (and we are good at it!), we cannot justify our holding on to so much when a lot of people around us have so little or nothing at all. Please share, and share generously until it hurts, and hurts no more. Remember, we are only stewards, and we are accountable to God in the use and disposal of our time, talents, and treasures. Indeed, to whom much is given, much is required.
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Cleanse our house Lord, especially the Lower House and Upper House in our country, of thieves, moneymakers, and money changers! If only we could! We should! But how? The challenge goes to the executive and judicial branches of our government, and the Church, too, and to the very heart of each one of us. Yes, cleanse our hearts, oh, God!
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A moment with the Lord:
Lord, cleanse us all. We need your Holy Spirit to make us whole and pure. Amen.
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