I saw something on the internet that read, “You can’t truly refer to yourself as an adult until you catch yourself getting really angry when the grocery store changes their layout.” I chuckled when I read this, because, if true, it means I’m adult. I can’t stand when the thing I went to buy at Meijer’s has changed aisles!
We treasure funny things, don’t we? I think we’d all admit that grocery store layouts are not the highest on our list of things we value, but it’s certainly on the list. We have other things we treasure, like family and friends, which have no monetary value. And then we actually do treasure…treasure, something of value. A man recently buried $1 million in treasure across the State of Michigan after his jewelry store went out of business due to COVID-19. The treasure is buried from Detroit to the UP, and for $49, you get clues to help you find it.
To what extent do we treasure or value our faith? Obviously, if you’re here, you do treasure it to a certain extent. And I would echo that sentiment for those watching on Facebook live. There are concerns, very valid concerns, being expressed that people won’t come back to Mass in the same numbers as before the pandemic. Now, to be clear, many of our parishioners have very valid reasons for not attending Mass. It’s probably not an exaggeration to say that a super-majority, around 66%, or our parishioners are in the very vulnerable age group where COVID-19 is more likely to be fatal. And I would encourage those people to stay home. But people with lowers risks are starting to go to restaurants, and beaches, in larger and larger numbers, and yet not going to church. And that reveals precisely what they treasure more.
When we started to open up to Mass, there were a few people who were even crying they were so happy to be back to Mass. And even those who weren’t crying expressed their joy to be able to worship God in church, which is infinitely better than watching it stream online.
But not that long ago, we pared down our Mass schedule, due to a diminishing crowd, and I had parishioners, some very faithful, who left because I dropped their Christmas Mass, or because the weekend Masses that parishioners chose was not convenient for them (this doesn't include those who have commitments at the time of our new Mass schedule). I know change is hard, and I can promise you that I have been required to make more changes here than I ever would have wanted to. But, especially across the US, there is this growing phenomenon of Catholics treasuring their convenience more than their own parish, or even their faith. People have used, are using, and will use, the excuse that their pastor isn’t doing what they want as the “reason” that they will no longer be Catholic. And that concerns me, both as your pastor, and as a priest who preaches the Gospel.
Because both our parish and our diocese are in for some changes over the next few years. By June 2024, 4 years from this past June, we hope to ordain 10 seminarians as priests. By that same time, we could have 24 priests currently working in the Diocese who could take senior priest status (“retire”) at or beyond the age of 65, with 4 of those coming from Genesee County. Three of those four in Genesee County are over the age of 65 right now. We will not be able to have the current configuration of priests that we have now for much longer in the future. Most priests in the near future will be serving at least 2 sites, and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that some churches will close. Priests will still do all we can to provide the sacraments and pastoral care to the faithful, but it may not be at the time people prefer, or at a time that is as convenient as it has been in the past. To be clear and transparent, I am not aware of any plans for any parish, including St. Pius X, across the Diocese of Lansing; so don’t go saying that we’re closing. But even I can work out that the math of priests retiring versus priests being ordained is not going to allow the status quo to continue.
I don’t say this to depress us, but to remind all of us that, as we go through these changes, we have to hold on to the treasure of our faith. If our preferred Mass time is our great treasure, or our convenience is our great treasure, then we will fall away when difficult times come. COVID-19 has made us re-evaluate what our great treasure is in our lives. I saw this when I went to Woodhaven on 15 July, to see residents gather outside, socially distant, to receive the Eucharist for the first time since March. It was beautiful to see the treasure that they had in the faith and the Eucharist, and how much it meant to them.
We are also looking at times across our country which remind me of what I learned about in school of the time of the French Revolution, where many faithful Catholic priests, consecrated men and women, and laity were executed at the guillotine because they would not swear allegiance to the new secular religion of France. As our statues of saints are toppled, our churches are set ablaze, and our religion is mocked and ostracized, we will have to decide what we treasure more: our faith or our quiet life, or even simply our life period.
My hope is that we remain faithful, no matter what the cost, to the treasure that we found in Christ and in the one Church He founded. We pray for the grace of perseverance not to abandon our parish or our faith because we have fewer Mass times, or they’re not when we want Mass to be. There are many things we desire and want, like a grocery store that keeps the same layout. But is Christ truly the one we treasure above all else?