These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.

III SUNDAY OF LENT

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, 
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, 
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables . . . .
(Jn 2:13-25)

The Cleansing of the Temple occurs near the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus in the Fourth Gospel (according to John). The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) place the event at the end of the public ministry and immediately before the Passion Narrative. We who live on this side of the Resurrection have come “to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.”