REFLECTION:

When I was reading today's first reading from St. Paul to the Philippians, the first thing that came to my mind was an accounting term: Profit and Loss.

Now, I'm not an accountant, but as a pastor, especially with the responsibilities of the parish and school, I've become more familiar with financial statements, budgets, and particularly the Profit and Loss Statement.

For those who may not be familiar with it, a Profit and Loss Statement basically tells you how well you're doing financially. What's coming in? What's going out? Are you gaining or losing money?

And when I read today's first reading, I thought to myself, St. Paul is basically giving us a Profit and Loss Statement of his life!

He begins by listing all his accomplishments. He was circumcised on the eighth day, belonged to the people of Israel, came from the tribe of Benjamin, was a Pharisee, and was faithful to the Law.

In other words, Paul had quite an impressive résumé!

If he were preparing his Profit and Loss Statement, all these things would have been listed under the PROFIT column. These were the things that gave him status, recognition, and a sense of accomplishment.

But then Paul says something interesting: "Whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ."

Wait a minute! Everything he worked for, everything he was proud of, he now considers a loss?

Why?

Because Paul discovered something far more valuable: knowing Jesus Christ. And notice, Paul doesn't say knowing about Jesus. He says knowing Jesus Christ, his Lord. There's a difference!

We can know a lot about someone without actually having a relationship with that person. And I think that's where today's reading challenges us.

Because, like Paul, we all have our own Profit and Loss Statements.

We have our accomplishments, our education, our careers, our titles, our possessions. And there's nothing wrong with any of those things. But sometimes we become so focused on what we're gaining in this world that we forget to ask ourselves: What is happening to my relationship with God?

We might be gaining financially but losing time with our families. We might be gaining recognition but losing our humility. We might be gaining success but losing our peace, our prayer life, or even our relationship with Christ.

And here's the interesting thing: sometimes what we consider a loss can actually be a gain.

The time we sacrifice to help someone. The pride we surrender when we ask for forgiveness. The opportunities we give up because we choose to do what is right.

The world might consider those losses, but in God's eyes, they can become spiritual gains.

So perhaps today, St. Paul is inviting each of us to do a little accounting of our own lives. If God were to ask us to prepare a Profit and Loss Statement of our spiritual life, what would it look like? What have we gained? What have we lost? And most importantly, where does Jesus Christ fit into all of it?

Because at the end of the day, the greatest profit in life is not what we have gained, but whom we have gained: Jesus Christ.



And that, my brothers and sisters, is what really counts.