November 18th. A group of dissastified parishioners called a meeting to discuss their grievances. “Our church is mercenary.”  “All they’re interested in is money and power.” Everyone seemed to have a story about the loss of integrity.  They had seen how some priests tried to undermine the good that other priests were doing.  “How can this be God’s work,” Charles asked.  “It cannot be right, we need to take this up with the bishop as it is a very bad example.” Joan stated, “It is enough to make you lose respect for them. Jesus surely would be condemning this kind of thing too.”  

Scripture:  Jesus began to drive out those who bought and sold, saying to them “It is written, ‘my house shall be a house of prayer but you have made it into a den of robbers.’” Luke 19:45-48.  Pope Francis:   I will never tire of insisting that confessors be authentic signs of the Father’s mercy.  We do not become good confessors automatically. We become good confessors when above all we allow ourselves to be penitents in search of his mercy. MV17. In the parable of the Good Samaritan one detail about the passers-by stands out:  they were religious, devoted to the worship of God: a priest and a Levite. This shows that belief in God and the worship of God are not enough to ensure that we are actually living in a way pleasing to God . St John Chrysostom wrote, “Do you wish to honour the body of the Saviour? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honour it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold.  FT 74.