Father Prince's Gospel Reflection
The Fifth Sunday of Easter:
A student at a Catholic college was hospitalized after a car wreck. A group of nuns from the college stopped in to see her. They said that they had been praying for her. The campus minister had mentioned her at the morning mass, and at afternoon chapel, and the sisters said that they prayed for her all the time. The student said to the nuns, “Thank you very much, but will it count? You see, I am not a catholic.” The oldest nun reassuringly touched her hand and said, “Don’t you worry, dear. We just say the prayers. Then God can do whatever he wants with you.”
We human beings need to have a sense of place, need to feel that there is plenty of room, a place for us we can call our own. Beyond that, human beings need to know that they belong somewhere, that they are wanted there, that there is some place in this wide world where they fit in. Robert Frost said, “Home is the place that when you go there, they have to take you in.” That’s because home is where we belong, and belonging includes people, a sense of family. It isn’t just about place; it is about the people in that place.
But there is more. There is a human need to be welcomed, to know that not only is there a place for us, not only do we belong, but are wanted there. We need to know that we are not intruding where we are not wanted. To be welcomed means that we are a part of things that it is right that we are there. Unfortunately, so often in this world, those needs go unmet. The homeless have no place they can call their own, no place that is “theirs.” The migrants all over the world do not live anywhere near where they grew up. They move across the country at the drop of a hat. Where is home for them?
Our need for place, belonging and welcome is rarely met in this world. However, God is a better host, welcoming more and showing more hospitality that we can ever offer. The disciples didn’t belong; they didn’t have a place. However, they did have a promise from Jesus. It was the promise of ultimate hospitality. “In my Father’s house, there are many dwelling places.” The promise of the Lord is that there is a place like a house with many rooms, even if we don’t feel like we fit in, even if we feel lost and homeless, and even if we feel forsaken. It is ready for us, and there is somebody who will take us there.
Is heaven a place? A state of mind? An idea? Some other plane of existence? We don’t know, either what it is or what it will be like. The most we can say about heaven is precisely what Jesus told his disciples – there is room for all of us, for everybody in the world and we will be received warmly. Because of this precious teaching, we need to affirm and reaffirm the basic Christian hospitality. In Jesus Christ, God offers us a place; therefore we ought to offer a place to others.
Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Thank You!
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