Mark 11:16

And He would not allow anyone to carry vessels through the temple. He speaks of those vessels which were brought in for the sake of trading. Moreover, far be it that the Lord would cast out from the temple the vessels dedicated to God, or prohibit them from being brought into the temple, where He provided an example of His future judgment; but rather He eliminates the impure and profane vessels from the temple and prohibits them from being brought in any longer, as He not only drives away and expels all the reprobates from the Church, but also, to prevent them from entering again to disturb the Church, restrains them with an eternal scourge. But also in the present time this is the true house of the Lord, that is, the purification of the hearts of the faithful, so that not only does the divinely inspired compunction remove the sins that were present, but also, lest these sins return, the divine grace persevering in them may help.

(ubi sup.) He speaks of those vessels which were carried there for the purpose of merchandise. But God forbid that it should be taken to mean, that the Lord cast out of the temple, or forbade men to bring into it, the vessels consecrated to God; for here He shows a type of the judgment to come, for He thrusts away the wicked from the Church, and restrains them by His everlasting word from ever again coming in to trouble the Church. Furthermore, sorrow, sent into the heart from above, takes away from the souls of the faithful those sins which were in them, and Divine grace assists them so that they should never again commit them.

He calls moneychangers, changers of a particular sort of money, for the word means a small brass coin. There follows, and the seats of them that sold doves.

But if a man by sinning gives up to the devil the grace and purity of baptism, he has sold his Dove, and for this reason is cast out of the temple. There follows, And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.

Further, He calls the temple, a den of thieves, on account of the money gained there; for thieves always troop together for gain. Since then they sold those animals which were offered in sacrifice for the sake of gain, He called them thieves.

Which also turns to the greater condemnation of the Jews, because though the Lord did this so many times, nevertheless they did not correct their conduct.

John also narrates the expulsion of the money changers by Jesus, but he speaks of this at the beginning of the Gospel, whereas this one (Mark) speaks of it toward the end. Therefore one must think that this (latter) expulsion was the second, which serves to the greater condemnation of the Jews, since they did not repent despite the Lord having acted thus with them on more than one occasion. He calls the Temple a "den of robbers" on account of the covetousness of the money changers. For the robber race is given over to plundering. And since the sellers in the Temple also traded in sacrificial animals for the sake of gain, they too were called robbers. The "money changers" were engaged in the exchange of money. The Lord presents the prophet Isaiah as well as their accuser, who says: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" (Is. 56:7). Let us therefore pray that we too may not be cast out of the church! For many come to our church as well in order to sell what is good and buy what is bad. There are also those who, arranging and managing church affairs, have tables full of money: they do everything out of greed. Overturned also are the seats of those who sell doves, that is, the thrones of hierarchs who sell spiritual gifts, for the dove is an image of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord cast out such a bishop from his bishopric, for cursed is he who ordains for money. In like manner, he also sells his dove who sells to the devil the grace and purity received in baptism. For this reason he too is cast out of the Church.