Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The temple of God is meant to be a house of prayer (cf. Isaiah 56:7), not a den of thieves (cf. Jeremiah 7:11). That is why Jesus, when he came to the temple in Jerusalem, drove out those who were buying and selling things (cf. Luke 19:45-48). Thus, churches, to this day, must take care not to become places for the buying and selling of things.
You, too, must cautiously avoid turning your own soul into a place for the buying and selling of things. Of course, there is a time to buy and a time to sell, but there is also a time to pray, and, when you are praying honestly, you are nothing but a beggar turning to the most high God of all. You make an investment of yourself into your prayer. Maybe you invest all of yourself, and maybe you invest only a distracted little part of yourself, but whatever you have, you invest. And what do you get out of it? Not an exchange. Not something you negotiate. You are only a beggar.
Real prayer, according to St. Peter Canisius, SJ, (1521-1597), “is a devout effect of our mind toward God, whereby we do faithfully demand whatsoever things are wholesome for us and others; whereby we do praise and celebrate the grace and power of Almighty God; or by any manner of means, exhibit ourselves devout before that sovereign and eternal Majesty. So that hereunto belongeth not only beseeching, but also adoration, oblation or sacrifice, invocation, praise and thanksgiving” (185, Large Catechism, Tradivox Vol. 9, Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 2022).