"Making All Things New," Advent and Closing Churches

As I live my life, the closing of Our Lady of Vilnius simmers on the back burner like an unsolved crime.  Not a whodunnit, a whydunnit.  Today these thoughts were brought to a rolling boil by reading a review of cabaret artist Baby Jane Dexter's performance, Review: Baby Jane Dexter is Back With a Vengeance and Pungent Wit.  Here's the trigger, delivered by critic Stephen Holden:

"The show’s spiritual subtext intensified with a revelatory treatment of the Young Rascals’ 1967 hit “How Can I Be Sure,” which she interpreted as a dialogue about faith and doubt. It could as easily have been about God as about a lover, and the evocation of “a world that’s constantly changing” rang truer than ever. Mr. Patterson’s piano arrangement illustrated the musical sophistication of a song that might be a potential standard hiding in plain view."

How can we be sure in a world that is constantly changing?  Soon it will be Christmas and our greatest gift, the incarnation of our God, will be delivered.  As we wonder at the Word Made Flesh, our churches, the incarnation of our communities and love of God, are being sold.  We are supposed to be distracted and consoled by the thematic "Making All Things New."

Our churches are our enduring and still evangelists, drawing the passing eye with their character and beauty.  Does our archdiocese really need to make all things new by selling churches to developers? This process rolls on in tandem with the insults and losses inflicted on us by the values railed against by Pope Francis.  

The song referenced above is not yet available on YouTube, but we can all appreciate Baby Jane's rendition of "Everybody Hurts" as we move into the Jubilee Year of Mercy.