7 May 2023 | YEAR A(I)

In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. (John 14:2)
What’s your dream home? Maybe it’s a beachfront villa or a cabin on a picturesque mountainside. Maybe it’s a castle high on a hill or a modern apartment in a bustling city. Each of us has a different picture of what is ideal.
When Jesus told his disciples that he was returning to the Father in today’s Gospel, he said he was going to prepare a place for them. And just as it is with our dream homes, those heavenly abodes aren’t one size fits all. In fact, there’s one that is made just for you!
Does this mean each one of us gets our own personal “dream home” in heaven? Yes and no. Heaven isn’t a resort filled with personalized vacation homes. But it is very real, and it’s a place where each of us receives the deep rest and refreshment we need. The Catechism tells us that heaven is “the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (1024). That means that Jesus has each of us in mind as he prepares to bring us to our perfect dwelling place. He knows us through and through. He knows our deepest yearnings. He knows what makes for our ultimate happiness. And he is preparing a place suited just for us.
But that “place” is so much more than a dwelling. It’s where we will find God himself, the One who quenches every thirst and satisfies every longing. Nothing that we currently experience could add to the happiness that we will know when we see the Lord, our God, face-to-face! We will be with him fully and without hindrance. Our eyes will be opened to the beauty and holiness and power of God, and
that vision will take our breath away.
Jesus promised to take us to himself so that where he is, there we also may be (John 14:3). In his presence, everything is fulfilled. And that makes heaven infinitely better than a dream home!
“Lord, thank you for preparing a place for me!”
Source: The Word Among Us https://wau.org