A Lenten Collect to Respect that which is Holy

Holy Father, who resides in pure and unapproachable light, keep us from profaning those things which you have set aside as holy, and do not let us twist that which is sacred into something for our personal gain, that we would not tarnish those things that are meant to point us to you and your brightness, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, world without end. Amen. ‘In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”‘ – John 2:14-16 Are there things that God has set aside that you are tempted to treat with less honor or respect than you ought? How do you think God feels when you treat them that way? Could he be inviting you to return to him and to receive what he offers through those sacred times, places, and vessels?