John 2:13-22
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me. At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for those who have no physical home, that God offers them comfort in the heavenly home He has prepared for them.
1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: "Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God."
Today in the Catholic Church is the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. This weekend, I heard in a homily something very interesting (or at least it was very interesting to me):
November 1st: Feast of All Saints Day... The Church Triumphant
November 2nd: All Souls Day... The Church Suffering... The souls in Purgatory
November 9th: Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome... The Church Militant (all of us on earth who struggle with Satan and our own flesh)
I just thought it was interesting.
Speaking of our own struggles, today's reading and today's quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church speak of the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Jesus speaks of this by speaking of His Death and Resurrection. The Catechism speaks of this by pointing to our own sinfulness and showing us that it is through our sin that we will not have a life with Our Lord. It is through our sinfulness that we will not be a part of The Church Triumphant.
The thing is, as humans, we all want to be triumphant. We all want to be a part of the winning team. We are a part of the winning team with Christ alone, because it is through His resurrection that we have attained victory. His rising from the dead was not for His sake, but for our sake.
As we struggle with our own sins as The Church Militant, we must recognize destructive patterns that lead to defeat. St. Paul outlines these in his quote in The Catechism. We also know that Jesus chased those in the temple area out of the temple who were not there to glorify Our Lord. We must be willing to allow Christ to rid ourselves of the things within us that do not glorify God, for it is those things that ultimately draw us from God and lead us to sin.
We know our destination, and we know that we are in our own war. In faith, let us then call to Our Lord, who won our victory for us, and who calls us to share in His triumph. Take care and God Bless.
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