May 3, 2026

Dear Parishioners,

I think it’s safe to say that Jesus’ words from today’s Gospel are consoling: “In my father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”

These words are consoling because we love being home. We all want to be in a place of comfort where we can be ourselves and receive life from our loved ones and the things we enjoy. Work is good, but we enjoy going home at the end of the day. We look forward to the weekend. Travel is nice, but there’s something even better about being back and going to sleep in your own bed. So, when Jesus says he has prepared a home for us, those are welcomed words.

And, yet, I wonder if some might find this challenging. Sorry, I guess I always have to be a pot-stirrer. I guess it wasn’t safe at all to assume the consolation.

Ideally we love home, but home for some people is not a place of comfort and refuge. In fact, it might be the opposite. It’s a place of distress. I think of couples in difficult marriages or children who don’t get along with their siblings or children fighting with their parents. They get out of the house as much as possible, finding any excuse to be away from the pain. They truly have no rest anywhere. So, to hear that Heaven is a home you will never leave can be difficult news.

Or, if home isn’t explicitly traumatic, then simply being still and surrendering to the moment and surroundings is difficult. These are people who always have to be on the move. They struggle to be totally present to the people around them. They need some entertainment, some new activity or new person to occupy their restless minds. So, again, to hear that Heaven isn’t a place you can run from when you get bored can be difficult news.

And, then, there are people who like home, but only on their terms. Sharing a home with someone else can be very challenging because they are particular in their tastes and preferences, and sacrificing their preference is very hard. You might really want to hang a moosehead above the fireplace, but your loved one might instead want a painting of Paris in springtime. Or, you want to watch this show on TV but your family member wants to watch something totally different. My priest friends and I always struggle when we are together to decide what movie we want to watch. I always want action; another guy usually wants comedy; another guy drama. We have to compromise, and that is usually disappointing. Jesus says there are many dwelling places in the Father’s house. There are a lot of rooms, but we’re all under the same roof. You can decorate your room as you wish, but the rest of the house has to be shared by others. Your neighbor who you can’t stand will be there. Same with that dreaded politician, that horrible boss, that annoying coworker. All of you will be in the same living room together having to agree on the same movie to watch, on what to hang over the fireplace. It seems that we are destined, then, for disappointment.

So, we see that “home” is a little more complicated than we thought. Does that mean these apparently consoling words from Jesus are actually depressing?

Obviously not. Though I say that hesitatingly, as I don’t want to dismiss some actual and legitimate fears that people might have of Heaven or struggles with faith. Jesus’ words are always challenging, but there is hope around them. We might not understand them, but our Lord knows best and knows that what he is saying is for our own good. It will be good for us to be in Heaven that is a home, with many people all under the same roof. There is an element of trust and faith that is needed in what Jesus says. We might not like it and it might not even make sense, but we believe it is for our own good and we submit to it.

Having said that, let me attempt to make some sense of Heaven being a home with many rooms (and hence a lot of different people in it, even your enemies). First of all, the talk of “home” is an image or an analogy. Heaven is totally different than anything we can imagine or describe. In heaven, there won’t be mooseheads or paintings, action movies or comedies. There will be only one thing: the way, the truth, and the life. We’ll all be united around Jesus Christ.

Sticking with the analogy, the home in Heaven will be all of us sitting together in the living room not looking at a fireplace or watching a TV. It will be us sitting around Jesus and being with him. It will never get old and there will be no need to get up and run and occupy ourselves with something else. We will never want to leave and we will never have to leave. As we focus on the Lord, we will find ourselves loving even more the people sitting on the couch next to us. We will see that we have no enemies, no differences, no sources of pain. All we have are deep lovers. You will retain the unique parts of your individuality–you won’t lose your identity–but you will fit perfectly in line with someone else who is totally different from you. It will be like Christ radiating us all. Imagine the stained glass windows in our church. They’re all different, but they are all lit by the same light and together form a synchronized whole.

That is Heaven when we die. But we can receive a little taste of this harmony, this peace and love, when we spend time with our Lord and with loved ones who share an interest in the Lord. May you be blessed with that taste of heaven in this life.

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We welcome to the parish the Little Sisters of the Poor who will be speaking after communion at all the Masses this weekend. The Little Sisters of the Poor are a very dedicated and faithful group of religious sisters who do tremendous work for the poor and needy in Chicago and elsewhere around the country and world. I know they are most grateful for our support of their mission.

We will have the second of our First Communion services this Saturday, May 9th at 10am and 1pm. We have over 200 First Communicants. Congratulations to all of our children and their families, and thank you to Anna Mae Parkhill and all the catechists and teachers for preparing our students.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace