Heaven ... and Home ... is a Person

This morning as I drove to my doctor's appointment (finally time to get the ankle checked) I listened to Father John Riccardo's homily on the Prodigal Son. (If for some reason you can't access the link here, you can also find it on my Facebook page.)

One of the most striking impressions: That heaven is not a place, but a Person (God). Just as home is not about a place, but about loved ones ... and in a special way, about the mother who is the heartbeat of that home.

Last year, we gave up television for Lent. We had planned to do that this year as well ... until it struck me one day how much of our time we spend saying unkind things to one another: bickering, tattling, criticizing, or saying things that two seconds later we wish we hadn't.

So this year ... instead of giving up something, we're taking ON something: kindness. Compassion. Each time I catch them saying something or doing something nice, they get five minutes toward a weekend movie. Each time I hear an unkind word or snarky attitude, we empty the jar and start over.

I get a jar, too! Because, as Father John so kindly pointed out, heaven (and home) is about knowing intimately the heart of the person who loves you most. And I want the three people in this world who know me best ... to KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt just how much they are loved!