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Revelation is a weird text. No doubt about it. I'll let the Holy Spirit reveal to you what He wants you to know about swallowing a scroll. My focus today is going to be on the Gospel.

I actually quoted Jesus's words here a couple weeks ago. "You have made (my house) a den of thieves." The last few months of Family Holy Hours, I've been setting up 2 little card tables with prepackaged "to-go" style snacks and hand sanitizer for the families that attend. It's getting a little too cold for it now, but it was a nice thing for the kids to grab a pouch of fruit snacks on their way to the car. One week I was taking the tables down and I accidentally tipped one over. The people that were still there laughed and I jokingly accused them of turning my Father's house into a den of thieves. Good times...

Anyway, as I was praying with this passage and trying to figure out what I was going to write about this morning, I thought about the difference between a "house of prayer" and a "den of thieves" and the difference between the intentions of those two parties. 

Now this blog is not meant to be accusatory in any way, but I do want to challenge people here and there. So, what are the intentions of those that treat the temple, or the church/the Mass in our case, a house of prayer as opposed to a den of thieves?

I believe the difference is who they're there for. The former are there for God, while the latter are there for themselves. The former are there to worship God in word and in truth, while the latter are there to turn a profit. The former are there to give, while the latter are there to get.

Our personal prayer experience at Mass can be impacted by a good many things: the music, the preaching, the reverence of the priest and the community, the environment, and the list goes on. When all those things perfectly align to make a transcendent worship experience, amazing! It's one of the great joys of being a Catholic. We can feel in our souls the worship we offer to God and it infuses us with goodness, truth, and beauty.

But our experience isn't what matters. The Mass, the entire Catholic faith, is not about you (or me).

Have you heard the very common phrase, "I just don't get anything out of it?" Have those words come out of your own mouth? I've said them, certainly. It can be really hard to sit through what feels like a very painful or boring Mass. You feel like you're just there to tick a box. This is a reality, but Mass isn't about what we get out of it. The Holy Mass is entirely about giving to God what is His due: all of our praise, worship, and adoration. 

When we go to Mass in order to "get something out of it" we're treating the Church as a "den of thieves." I know it's a harsh comparison, and I'm sorry. But I'm right there with you. Whenever I go to a new Church I judge if it's "up to my standards." There's a very specific way that I think the Mass is celebrated best and if it's not like then then it's not good enough... for me. And that's the problem. I, and I think most of us, make worship about what's best for ourselves and not for God. 

"For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" Psalm 51:16-17. God will accept any of our humble worship, so long as our hearts are true. What God wants is that we  give. He desires that we give back to Him what He has first given us. He desires that we recognize His goodness and offer Him thanksgiving, adoration, and praise. He desires that we recognize the ways that hurt Him and offer our contrition and penance. 

It is in that way that we respect the sacrifice of the Mass as "house of prayer" instead of a "den of thieves."

In the words of Bishop Barron, "Your life is not about you."