Making Room for God’s Presence
Catholic Homily for November 21, 2025
Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 19:45–48
Jesus arrived at the temple in Jerusalem with a clear purpose. What He found was a sacred space that had been turned into a marketplace. Money changers were operating their tables, selling sacrificial animals, conducting business – all supposedly in service of worship, but really focused on profit and convenience.
Jesus didn’t argue politely or suggest improvements. He took decisive action. He drove out the sellers and the animals. He overturned the tables. He spoke with the authority of someone who owned the place: “My house shall be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.”
This wasn’t an angry outburst without reason. Jesus was restoring the temple to its intended purpose. A house of prayer had become a marketplace. A place meant for encounter with God had become a place for commercial transactions.
After He had cleared the space and restored its purpose, something beautiful happened. Jesus taught, and “all the people hung on His words.” With the clutter removed and the focus restored, people could actually encounter the Word of God Himself.
Mary’s Gift of Self
On this feast day, we remember Mary being presented to the Lord as a child. In Jewish tradition, the firstborn male child was presented at the temple, but Mary’s parents took her there as well – an extraordinary act of devotion showing they were giving their daughter wholly to God.
Picture a small girl, probably around three years old, brought to the temple by her parents. She didn’t understand all that was happening. She couldn’t have imagined the incredible future God had planned for her. She simply stood there, a child offered to God, available for whatever He might ask.
Mary’s whole life would be marked by this presentation. She became the living temple – the place where God’s presence dwelt most fully. The Word didn’t just visit the temple; the Word took flesh in her womb. She became the dwelling place of God in the most intimate way possible.
All because as a child, she was presented – offered to God without reservation, available for His purposes, willing to say yes to whatever He asked.
God Still Cleanses His Temple
The physical temple in Jerusalem was destroyed centuries ago, but God’s house still stands. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” Our hearts are now the temple where God’s presence lives.
Jesus still comes to His temple – not first to buildings of stone, but to the innermost chambers of human hearts. And when He comes, He does what He always does: He clears away what clutters the space.
What are the things that clutter our hearts and keep God’s presence from being central? They’re often the same kinds of things that cluttered the physical temple:
Noise – We fill our minds with constant input – social media, news, entertainment, other people’s voices. The noise is so loud that we can’t hear God’s still, small voice calling to us.
Bargaining – We try to negotiate with God, making deals: “I’ll pray if things go well,” or “I’ll follow You if You give me what I want.” We turn our relationship with God into a transaction instead of a love relationship.
Self-seeking – We’ve made room in our hearts for pursuing our own comfort, success, status, and pleasure. Prayer becomes just another item on our to-do list instead of the center of our lives.
Compromised habits – We hold onto patterns that pull us away from God – addictions, resentments, lustful thoughts, pride, greed. We rationalize them, minimize them, live with them instead of letting Jesus overturn them.
When Jesus comes to cleanse His temple, He doesn’t do it violently or harshly. He does it with the tenderness of someone who loves us and wants what’s best for us. He wants to make room for something infinitely more valuable than the clutter we’ve been holding onto.
When Prayer Becomes Central
There’s something transformative that happens when prayer moves from the periphery to the center of our lives. The people in the temple didn’t hang on Jesus’ words just because He was a good speaker. They hung on His words because the space had been cleared and their hearts were open to receive Him.
When prayer becomes central:
Commerce becomes charity – Our relationship with money and possessions changes. Instead of viewing them as tools for self-advancement, we see them as resources for blessing others. We naturally become more generous because our hearts have been reoriented toward God’s values.
Habits become offerings – The things we do each day take on new meaning. We don’t just go through routines automatically. We start to offer them consciously to God – our work becomes service to Him, our conversations become opportunities to reflect His love, our daily choices become ways of honoring Him.
Our lives become places of encounter – When our hearts become truly centered on God, other people encounter Him through us. Our presence brings peace, our words bring truth, our actions bring healing. We become living temples where others can meet God.
Three Responses with Mary Today
Present – Offer yourself anew: “Lord, I am Yours; do with me as You will.” Like Mary being presented at the temple, make a fresh offering of yourself to God. Don’t just say this mechanically – really mean it. Tell God that you’re available for whatever He asks, that your life belongs to Him, that you’re willing to let go of your own plans if He has something different for you. This isn’t resignation to fate; it’s a joyful surrender to the God who loves you more than you love yourself.
Purify – Let Jesus overturn one inner table: a compromised habit, a noisy attachment. Ask Jesus to show you what needs to be cleansed from your heart. Maybe it’s a habit that’s pulling you away from God – gossip, excessive drinking, time-wasting on social media, lustful thoughts. Maybe it’s an attachment to something that’s keeping you from following Jesus wholeheartedly – fear of what others think, desire for wealth or status, resentment toward someone. Name it specifically and ask Jesus to overturn that table in your heart. Be willing to let it go.
Pray – Set a guarded time to “hang on His words” and let them shape your next choice. Choose a specific time each day when you will be alone with God – whether that’s early morning, during lunch, or before bed. During that time, read Scripture slowly and prayerfully. Listen more than you talk. Let His words work on your heart. Then, when you face decisions throughout the day, notice how His words guide your choices. Let prayer be the center from which everything else radiates.
Making Room for His Dwelling
Jesus said, “My house shall be a house of prayer.” He wasn’t speaking just about a physical building. He was speaking about His intention for all His people – that our hearts, our homes, our communities would be places where prayer is central and God’s presence is felt.
With Mary’s example before us – her willingness to be presented to God as a child, her openness to becoming His dwelling place – we too can open our hearts to be His temple.
This doesn’t require perfection or special spiritual status. It requires willingness. It requires clearing away what clutters. It requires putting prayer at the center instead of treating it as an afterthought.
When we do this, something remarkable happens. God doesn’t just visit our hearts occasionally. He takes up residence there. His presence becomes our constant companion. His peace becomes our foundation. His love becomes what shapes all our choices.
The people in the temple “hung on Jesus’ words.” They were captivated, drawn, transformed by His teaching. This can be our experience too when we create space in our hearts for Him.
Let Him claim His temple in us. Let Him clear away the clutter. Let Him restore our hearts to their purpose – to be places where He is worshipped, where His word takes root, where encounter with the living God happens daily.
Lord Jesus, like Mary, we present ourselves to You today. Take our lives and make them Your dwelling place. Clear away the noise, the bargaining, the self-seeking that clutters our hearts. Help us put prayer at the center, not at the margins. Overturn the inner tables that keep us from following You wholeheartedly. Give us hearts that long to hang on Your words, that are shaped by Your presence, that become places where others can encounter You. With Mary’s yes, let us say yes to You today and every day. Make us Your temple, Your dwelling place, Your beloved home. Amen.
❤️ Thank You dear friend, hope this reflections touched you. 🙏 Please do not forget to share with your loved ones this november 21 homily.
If you like Catholic Homily for november 21, 2025, do not forget to give your comment below. And please 🫂 join our whatsapp channel for everyday 🔔 update 👇👇👇
Leave a Comment