All is Loss

For many people throughout the world, this year has been a year of loss. The present plague prevents people from gathering and imposes other restrictions on our free-wheeling behaviours. This year, we have cancelled our family Thanksgiving, which we normally hold this weekend.

In most places, Mass attendance has been dispensed by our bishops, and in many places access to the sacraments remains restricted or reduced. But in my little corner of Tacoma, there have been other losses as well. Over the past two years, my parish of Holy Rosary lost everything.

Our pastor, Father Wagner died. Our beloved and beautiful parish church building was closed down with the threat of it falling to the wrecking ball. We have been denied a pastor for almost a year now. Our tabernacle was stolen, and the Eucharist profaned. We’ve had months of plague-induced distance and desolation. The end of our Eucharistic processions. It’s as if the devil himself was putting obstacle after obstacle in the way of our parish, stealing everything away piece by piece – even the Eucharistic Jesus Himself – and slowly tearing us down to nothing.

In addition to these, our school which had been the beating heart of our parish for more than a century, was taken from us and moved out to the suburbs.

Finally, our parish itself was dissolved, leaving us a scattered and orphaned flock.

But, as it turns out, our parish is just the first of many in our city to face closure. Archbishop Etienne sent a letter to the parishes of Saint Ann, Visitation, Saint Rita, Saint John of the Woods, and – strangely – our already suppressed parish of Holy Rosary. It appears that these parishes will either be clustered or merged – the letter is not clear on this point.

In retrospect, how rich we once were! In the midst of these crippling losses, what can we do? Perhaps we should use this moment to reflect on Saint Paul’s words to the Philippians. He spoke of his rich heritage as a righteous circumcised Pharisee, blameless under the Law. But he continued:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

(Philippians 3:7-11)

The things of this world are straw and dust, whether they are righteous or just or not. Are the good things worth fight for? Absolutely. Anything that brings us closer to Christ and in service to the mission He has entrusted to us are worth fighting for. In fact, we must fight for them.

But at the same time, we must be careful not to make idols of them, to somehow count them more worthy than our worship and service to Christ.

Whatever happens, today’s Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe reminds us that Christ is King, not just of here and now, not just of the earth and all time, which wither away like the grass¹, but of cosmos and eternity.

All is loss, except Christ.

Today I also learned that the Holy Rosary school building will be converted into a homeless shelter.

While I am disappointed that this building will no longer build our future and further the Great Commission by providing education and catechesis to the next generation of Catholics, I am undeniably pleased that the building will see some use, and in particular to aid the poor. After all, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches, nay, thunders:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left,
‘Depart from me, you accursed,
into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
a stranger and you gave me no welcome,
naked and you gave me no clothing,
ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say,

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison,
and not minister to your needs?’

He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you,
what you did not do for one of these least ones,
you did not do for me.’

And these will go off to eternal punishment,
but the righteous to eternal life.”

(Gospel of Saint Matthew 25:31-46)

Christus Vincit! Christus Regnat! Christus Imperat!

1. See Psalm 130:15-19 and 1 Peter 1:24-25.