The New Temple
Lent's third Sunday
Announcements for March 6, 2021:
We're wiping out $1,500,000 of medical debt in Morris and Sussex Counties. You can make a massive difference -- Check it out here.
There are no changes to our Mass and Confession schedule this week.
All of our announcements are now online. Keep tabs on that page for all up-to-date information.
Please be in touch with me if you need anything at all, or if you'd like to share any questions or concerns.
Dear Saints,
This weekend's Gospel recounts Jesus' cleansing of the temple.
Jesus' action, to put it mildly, was highly provocative. His driving the merchants and money changers out of the temple area didn't clear the way for worship - exactly the opposite! Jesus shut down the temple trade so that the activity of the temple would grind to a halt.
The whole thing is terribly complex, but the best way I can think to condense it for you is to say that the temple was meant to be a place of restoration: it's where man offered worship God and was made fit to serve him. Briefer still, the temple was meant to be the animating center of prayer and love.
Jesus condemned the temple when he tipped over tables. Its corrupt rulers and regime, bent on their own profit and purposes, was under the judgment of God and was destined for destruction.
Jesus, the New Temple, is the fulfillment of what the Temple in Jerusalem foreshadowed. Raised from the dead, Jesus' incorruptible rule brings God's plan and purposes to life as the animating center of prayer and love for his community of forgiven sinners.
All that is to say that Jesus has charted a course to humanity's restoration, and it is nothing other than the way of self-giving love. By trusting and following him in all things, we lean into the meaningful lives of worship and mission to which we have been called.
I look forward to seeing you very soon, my friends.
Christ's Peace,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ
PS Check out this information sheet from RIP Medical Debt and join our campaign today.
Preparing for Mass?
Check out this weekend's readings:
Third Sunday of Lent
Christ Driving the Money Changers out of the Temple
Valentin de Boulogne, c.1618