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Sunday November 09, 2025


See


We protect our spaces with velvet ropes and unspoken rules, convinced that order equals reverence. Yet the most violent act of devotion in history was clearing a room—turning tables, scattering coins, naming the corruption that everyone accepted as normal. The marketplace had become temple; the temple had become marketplace. No one questioned it anymore. Commerce wrapped itself in ritual until the two were indistinguishable. We do this too: professionalize our passion, monetize our meaning, trade what matters for what's measurable. We mistake transaction for connection, convenience for care. But real transformation always feels like destruction first. What if the disorder you fear is actually clarity breaking through? What if the structures you're defending have already betrayed their purpose? Sometimes love doesn't preserve—it overturns. Sometimes the way forward requires recognizing what's already been hollowed out, naming it honestly, and building something true from the wreckage.


Listen



Reflect


(John 2: 13-22)


Think about the spaces in your life—your home, workplace, relationships. Where have you allowed something transactional to replace something sacred? What routines or compromises have you accepted because they seemed necessary, even though they've slowly hollowed out what you once valued most deeply?


Jesus didn't politely suggest reform; he disrupted the entire system because it had corrupted what was meant to be life-giving. What would it look like to bring that same fierce clarity to your own life? What compromises might you need to overturn, not with anger, but with love for what could be?


Consider what needs to be rebuilt after the tables are turned. What would it mean to reconstruct your daily patterns around what genuinely matters—connection, integrity, purpose—rather than what's merely efficient or expected? How might this disruption become the beginning of something more authentic?


Pray


God of fierce love and transforming fire: overturn what we've mistaken for reverence but is only routine. Clear the clutter we've called necessary. Restore what we've commercialized, heal what we've commodified, reclaim what we've traded away. Give us courage to dismantle what's hollow, wisdom to rebuild what's true, and vision to create spaces where people encounter life, not transactions.

 
 
 
ree

November 09, 2025



God of life, we praise you for your abiding presence from generation to generation, blessing your people, strengthening us to lives of service, empowering us to witness. Hear the prayers we offer on behalf of your creation:


For the Church: that our hearts may be the dwelling place of God and our lives show forth God's love and presence: let us pray to the Lord.


For the Church of Rome, church of martyrs and saints, of leaders and of fellow Christians: that God will deepen their faith, make their witness of the Gospel dynamic and guide them in offering compassionate service to all who are in need: let us pray to the Lord.


For the grace of transformation: that we who are Temples of the Spirit of God may be a light to society and bear the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, and self-control in our lives: let us pray to the Lord.


For our local Church: that we who are united through one baptism may bear witness to the truth and be a sign to all who are seeking a new life: let us pray to the Lord.


For the Churches of the East, particularly in the Middle East, Africa, and China: that God will give them strength in times of difficulty, protect them from violence, and draw new disciples to join them: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who exercise leadership in the church, particularly Pope Leo, Bishop of Rome, and all Bishops: that God will strengthen and renew them, guide them in being a source of unity in the faith, and inspire them in calling forth the gifts needed by the Body of Christ: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who have been wounded by members of the Church: that God will heal their pain, open their hearts to God's love, and renew their communion with God and the people of God: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who have gathered in faith: that God will continually deepen our relationship with Christ through the Scriptures and the Eucharist: let us pray to the Lord.


For Catechumens and Candidates: that God will continue to draw them into deeper faith and lead them to unity with us around the table of the Lord: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who are suffering for their faith: that God will protect them from harm, help them to remain faithful to the Gospel, and guide them each day: let us pray to the Lord.


For all recovering from natural disasters, particularly the people of Jamaica: that God will give them courage, speed the assistance which they need, and protect them from further harm: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who have served their nation: that God will watch over them and help them to share the values for which they served: let us pray to the Lord.


For an end to the shut-down of the Government: that God will open hears to dialogue and inspire leaders to pursue the common good for all Americans: let us pray to the Lord.


For Peace: that God will open new opportunities for dialogue in all areas of violence, protect the innocent from harm, and inspire new respect for human life: let us pray to the Lord.


For all who have died, particularly all veterans and our family members and friends: that they may share in Christ's peace and be raised on the last day: let us pray to the Lord.


Grant that as we serve you now on earth, so we may one day rejoice with all the saints in your kingdom of light and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2025cq, November 9). Feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110925.cfm

-Cormier, J. (1995). Lord, Hear Our Prayer: Prayer of the Faithful for Sundays, Holy Days, and Ritual Masses.


 
 
 
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