Photo was taken at Glensouth, Banteer, Co.Cork (Irl)

The Glen River shows lovely movement around a rock.

Thought on Sunday – March – 11/03/2012

The following reflection is by Triona Doherty

If Jesus was to enter your church building this Sunday, what do you think his reaction would be?
How would he feel about our buildings, our liturgies, our parish activities? Would he find that our churches are houses of prayer, that our communities are living embodiments of his message of love, welcome and forgiveness?
Would he be happy with how we worship? How would he feel about our new Missal translation and our attempts, and sometimes struggles, to implement it? Would he allow political parties to collect money at our church gates? How would he treat the beggar sitting at the gate? The people involved in various ministries? Those who sit up the front, and those who stand at the back? What would anger Jesus in our church today? Many people interpret this Gospel passage as evidence that even Jesus experienced anger, that anger can be justified in certain circumstances. It was certainly an understandable anger that Jesus unleashed that day in the Temple, when he saw the abuses going on and the twisting of what the Temple was meant for.
Aren’t we angry? Recent years have seen an outpouring of raw anger directed at the church, which no one would suggest is unjustifiable. We are disillusioned, hurt, at times filled with rage at the scandalous revelations about the failures of the past. Would Jesus be angry too at the distortion of the gospel message which has sometimes taken place within our church?