The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
I recently returned home from a sabbatical, a blessed time of prayer and renewal after many years of ministering as a pastor. I had suspected and knew that I would return to the proverbial uncleaned dishes, so I wasn’t surprised by the laundry list of to-dos for the pastor. What surprised and delighted me was the joyful and, at times, tearful reception I received from my parishioners. They missed me, had grieved my absence, and were generally relieved to know their spiritual father was back. This was profoundly humbling. I had journeyed afar, but it was the return home that proved to be a real blessing.
I wonder what Our Lady’s first moments in heaven were like, that first taste of her heavenly reward. After trusting her Son and surrendering all things to him, she had reached her true heavenly homeland. Yes, she would be crowned queen of heaven, but, for a moment, what was it like to be embraced and held by her Son, whom she last held at the foot of the cross? In her earthly life, she had been a New Eve, laboring and working for the kingdom, but now she had been returned to her Son and the other two persons of the triune Godhead who she knew so well. She had never been to heaven before, but in terms of love, she was no stranger. To have a window into that first moment is to be grounded in the love that brought her there.
I’m no saint, but my recent return home has left me rooted in what will ultimately bring me to my heavenly home—a love that recreates me and longs to prepare a place for me. I have only to remain and remember that love that Our Lady never failed to forget or trust completely.
Fr. Ryan Higdon is the pastor of St. Louis Catholic Church, Bishop Louis Reicher Catholic School, and St. Philip Mission in Waco Texas. He has served at St. Mary’s at A&M and College Station, St. Joseph’s in Bryan, and currently serves on the college of consultors for the Diocese of Austin.
