As I type this blog, the Vikings are playing the Steelers in Ireland. Many of the commentators talk about all the things the teams are doing to feel at home. I remember the year I spent away at graduate school, I worked to make my new surroundings feel comfortable like things back at my Monastery. Turns out, feeling at home is important to us all.
As a Christian, feeling at home on Earth involves understanding that this world is not my real home, while simultaneously finding a sense of peace and belonging. I want it to feel like home even if it isn’t my true home. I’ve heard it time and time again that we are pilgrim people on a journey toward our true home in Heaven. So how do I have an “at home feeling” if this place is just a pit stop on this journey?
First, I acknowledge that this world is imperfect. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” Acknowledging that earthly life includes trials and tribulations can help me accept that a perfect, at home feeling is not possible here.
Next, I have to set my sights on heaven, my true and eternal home. When I regularly meditate on this reality it puts my earthly anxieties and longings into perspective. I realize that my feeling of being at home will come to fruition when I am with God in heaven.
Also, I remember God is here with me in my struggles. He is with me in my search for an at home feeling. I gain a bit of the inner peace I long for just knowing that God is with me now. Feeling at home can happen anytime I remember that I am in the presence of God
Most importantly to feel at home, I receive the Eucharist frequently. Receiving the Eucharist transcends time and place, fostering a deep sense of feeling at home.
Heavenly Father, I feel the ache of separation and the longing for a genuine sense of feeling at home with You. Please send Your Holy Spirit to dwell with me, to be my comfort and to remind me that I am never truly alone. Lift my heart to You and give me the assurance that feeling at home will be my eternal joy once I see You face to face. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
