The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge contemplation of the tension between our experience of God in Sacred Places and our need to encounter Jesus in our relationships with those we encounter daily outside our Church.
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| Prepare to go out |
The reading from the First Book of Maccabees describes the cleansing and dedication of the Temple after freeing Jerusalem from the Seleucid Empire, a Hellenistic state.
* [4:59] Days of the dedication: institution of the feast of Hanukkah, also called the feast of Dedication (Jn 10:22). Josephus calls it the feast of Lights (Ant. 12:325).1
The responsorial today is David’s praise to God.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus Cleanses the Temple before Passover.
* [19:45–46] Immediately upon entering the holy city, Jesus in a display of his authority enters the temple (see Mal 3:1–3) and lays claim to it after cleansing it that it might become a proper place for his teaching ministry in Jerusalem (Lk 19:47; 20:1; 21:37; 22:53). See Mt 21:12–17; Mk 11:15–19; Jn 2:13–17 and the notes there.2
Tamora Whitney shares that music can be very powerful. She came to the church through music many years ago.
But I went to Mass. And I loved the music. And soon I was singing for Mass with the choir, with my classmates, and on my own. And I converted to Catholicism when I was a sophomore in college. I sang in my heart, and in the chapel, to God, and he heard me and accepted me. Like Cecilia's husband, I was baptized and converted. And I still love the music at Mass. I think singing is the purest means of praise.3
Don Schwager quotes “The home of sanctity,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God does not want his temple to be a trader's lodge but the home of sanctity. He does not preserve the practice of the priestly ministry by the dishonest duty of religion but by voluntary obedience. Consider what the Lord’s actions impose on you as an example of living... He taught in general that worldly transactions must be absent from the temple, but he drove out the money changers in particular. Who are the money changers, if not those who seek profit from the Lord's money and cannot distinguish between good and evil? Holy Scripture is the Lord's money." (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 9.17–18)4
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 19:45-48 reviews how we can understand the words, “My house shall be a house of prayer.” (Luke 19:46)
The physical structure in which you attend Mass every Sunday—or perhaps daily—is literally God’s house. It’s more than just a building. It is a holy place where you can find Jesus, present in the tabernacle. It is a sacred space, especially during Mass, when Jesus comes to us in the form of bread and wine. Your church may not be in the wealthiest neighborhood. The building may not be designed in the most elegant style. But whatever it looks like and wherever it is, Jesus is present there. Don’t ignore this incredible gift!
In prayer today, thank Jesus for all the different ways he is present to you. May we all treasure every “house of prayer” that Christ has given to us!5
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the feast of Hanukkah commemorating the purification of the Temple after the Maccabean rebellion. Jesus cleansing of the Temple threatened the privilege of the Herodians and Sadducees under Roman rule. Friar Jude reminds us that our acts of worship speak about our faith.
On the Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Franciscan media share that although she is one of the most famous of the Roman martyrs, the familiar stories about her are apparently not founded on authentic material. There is no trace of honor being paid her in early times. A fragmentary inscription of the late fourth century refers to a church named after her, and her feast was celebrated at least in 545.
Like any good Christian, Cecilia sang in her heart, and sometimes with her voice. She has become a symbol of the Church’s conviction that good music is an integral part of the liturgy, of greater value to the Church than any other art.6
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that recently our politics have grown more and more divided with many religious people exclusively focusing on narrow issues of abortion or sexual identity while disregarding the lives of so many—refugees, the poor, the incarcerated, the abused or addicted, people at risk from climate change or pollution. What will it take to come together and work for the common good—not only our personal interests? The old way of doing things just isn’t cutting it for anyone anymore, not on the left or the right. Peter Armstrong, an alumnus of the Living School and seminarian at Yale Divinity School, looks to the Gospels for practical guidance to help something new emerge.
The work of getting to know others different than ourselves, made so difficult by our society’s divisions, is nevertheless the work of following Jesus. . . . Many say that their faith is personal and not to be mixed with their politics. But, in my journey . . . I’ve come to understand that religion has everything to do with politics. Jesus wasn’t executed because he went around healing people; he was crucified as the worst kind of criminal because his Gospel message was viewed as dangerous by the ruling class. In fact, the entire Gospel of Luke is one long lesson in speaking truth to power—to the corrupt elite in Jerusalem. If we Christians claim to have anything to do with Jesus, then we must inherently be engaged with the political issues of our time.7
Our liturgy and music are opportunities to encounter Jesus in the assembly and restore our fullness of life so we might fearlessly be the voice of today’s widows and orphans in the public square.
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