Third Sunday of Lent (2023-2024)

There are the Top Ten Must-Read Books for Catholics.

Of course, there is the Bible, the Catechism, the Confessions of St. Augustine, “The Story of a Soul” by St. Thérèse of Lisieux, but also "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas à Kempis.

It is an excellent book for individuals who need guidance and affirmation about living a spiritual life.

Since our childhood we are presented Jesus as Gentle, meek and mild.

We know Him as the one who heals the people, feeding them.

All sorts of “God is love” stuff.

And we truly want to follow, imitate Jesus, right?

But what about imitation of Christ’s anger?

Does it mean if Jesus was angry, and I should be like Jesus, so angry as well…”

Good question!

I do not know about you, but I have had for sure a two moments in my life when I was justified angry.

First, it happened when I was around 12 years old, visiting my grandmother. I would spend every summer with her, staying there for the whole summer.

Once, with my friends, we played in the forest, building forts and playing war.

One day, we saw a neighbor who had hung her dog from a tree. Being just kids, we tried to save him, but she saw us and became truly violent towards us.

We couldn't save the poor dog, but the image of it hanging from the tree is still alive in my memory, and every time it kindles flame of anger.

Another time when I experienced that kind of anger occurred a few years back when I was a vicar here.

With the pastor, we watched the movie "Spotlight."

It is the true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation by Catholic priests in Boston and the cover-up within the Archdiocese.

I read an article about this movie written by a priest, and he said that it should be a mandatory movie for all candidates to the seminary. To know the truth and to learn how to protect venerable.

After the movie I felt betrayed, disgusted, and extremely angry when I learned what the priests did to the innocent children, and if that wasn't enough, how the archdiocese, the lawyers, and even police officers covered it up

That is why, It is so important to have the right reflection on the anger of Jesus in the Gospel.

G.K. Chesterton said: “Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. But Jesus never restrained his anger.”

When we look at all the Gospels, we find three great evils that made Jesus particularly justified angry.

1. One is the abuse of children.

At the beginning of the eighteenth chapter of the Matthew, the disciples approach Jesus and ask him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

He calls a child and says: “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Then Jesus adds: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

Jesus gave a hard warning to those who hurt children or lead them away from him.

2. A second evil that made Jesus especially angry was the love for money and the corruption in the house of God, what we hear in today’s Gospel.

When Jesus arrived in the temple area of Jerusalem, which was crowded with money changers and sellers. To them he said: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of thieves.”

3. A third evil that made Jesus angry was the hypocrisy of religious leaders.

In the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus denounces the scribes and Pharisees—who "do not practice" what they preach and who "will not lift a finger" to help people carry the heavy burdens they have to bear.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Mt 23:27–28

There is one of my favorite readings, which we usually use for funerals.

It comes from the book of Ecclesiastes and says that there is an appointed time for everything: joy, sadness, etc., but also there is a time to be angry; we cannot switch that emotion from our lives.

However, justified anger doesn’t mean division, blame, vengeance, or violence.

Imitating the anger of Jesus (justified anger) means changing our anger into prayerful resolution, being filled with the love of God, focusing on rebuilding what was torn down, and bringing healing.