19 NOV 2021 - ONLY BY GRACE REFLECTIONS

#JesusCleansesTheTemple #AHeartOfPrayer #LivingHypocriticalLives 19 NOV 2021 - ONLY BY GRACE REFLECTIONS TOPIC: IS YOUR HEART A HOUSE OF PRAYER OR A DEN OF THIEVES? First Reading: 1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59 Responsorial Psalm: 1 Chronicles 29:10BCD, 11ABC, 11D-12A, 12BCD Alleluia: John 10:27 Gospel: Luke 19:45-48 Today’s gospel reading from St. Luke provides a brief description of Jesus’ holy anger at people who have turned His house meant for prayer, quoting from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11, into a den of thieves. We visualize people coming into the Temple to worship. Outside the temple are animals for sacrifice and traders who changed people’s Roman coins into Jewish currency to make contributions to the Temple treasury. Jesus did not have any problem with that. He was peeved and angered by business that could otherwise be done outside being carried out even inside the Temple. There are hints that the Temple priests connived to profit from this lucrative set-up. Our hearts, too, can be described as a house of prayer or a den of thieves. When our hearts are disposed to receive Jesus in prayer, prayer becomes the gateway to a life of holiness. But when our deeds rob our prayers of truth, we let the devil steal our soul from God. This is the 591st installment of our CFC quarantine contemplation series focusing on the daily liturgical readings. But prayer takes on a more intense nature when it has to disrupt the natural flow of things. [NOTE: All the regular reflections are between 3-7 minutes long, enough time for us to ponder what God's message is for us individually and to pray that we may live them out in our lives. This video is also available on   / cfchrist   and Bong Arjonillo’s Facebook page and on You Tube. Just type ONLY BY GRACE REFLECTIONS]