Our Father's Houses

Yesterday, since I was back in Western PA for the weekend, I had the chance to go to Sunday Mass at my hometown parish, St. Alphonsus Church in McDonald.

It was the first time I had attended my old parish's new 8:30 a.m. Mass -- the only Sunday morning Mass (where once there were two) since St. Alphonsus and the parish in the next small town over began to share one pastor.

Ironically, as I was dwelling on the changes that have taken place at the church building where I was raised, yesterday was the day when Catholics celebrate the "Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran" in Rome (pictured above). It's another one of those feasts that trumps the observation of "Ordinary Time" when it falls on a Sunday.

The Gospel at Mass found Christ fighting for the sanctity of his place of worship -- but, in the end, reminding us that His Body is really what's at issue.

I recently heard an interesting saying on this passage: "Remember that when asking 'What Would Jesus Do?', the answer on rare occasions may be to get a little angry and overturn some tables."

From John Chapter 2:

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.

Deacon Greg and A Concord Pastor have excellent homilies for this Sunday.