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By Marrick Reeve
“The source of my hope is the promise of eternal life in heaven,” I responded to the interviewer. If you had asked me the same question before this Jubilee Year of Hope, an uncertain “I’ve never thought about it before” would have left my lips. As Pope Leo XIV closed the Holy Door, I spent time reflecting on this year of pilgrimage – a pilgrimage of the heart towards the loving heart of the Father. One full of pebbles, thorns, and blisters in my metaphorical shoes. A journey from “what is hope” through “why is hope so hard” to “my hope is in Jesus, and He does not disappoint.”
This year has not been one without trials or tribulations. It started with a devastating pregnancy loss. I struggled to find God amid my grief and pain. A little life, who was (and still is) so very loved, was here today and gone the next. In Mo’s short, short life on this earth, one that only I knew intimately, the Lord spoke. He directed my eyes towards Heaven and eternal life with Him. He reminded me that He is a God of love and mercy, and that I could trust His faithfulness to me.
I dove headfirst into the Catechism, which isn’t my usual source of comfort. I was drawn to the three states of the Church: the Church Militant, the Church Suffering, and the Church Triumphant. “At the present time, some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating ‘in full light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is.’ All of us, however, in varying degrees and in different ways, share in the same charity towards God and our neighbours, and we all sing the one hymn of glory to our God. All, indeed, who are of Christ and who have his Spirit form one Church and in Christ cleave together.” (CCC 954)
Cleave together. Cling together. A profound unified bond. A comfort that only God would think to provide: that even after death, we pilgrims here on earth who are journeying towards Heaven, are still unified and bonded with both the Church Suffering (those being purified) and the Church Triumphant (those worshipping God face to face). We are still connected to those who have gone before us, no matter how long their life was here on earth. Not only that, but “To the offering of Christ are united not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the glory of heaven.” So at each and every Mass, those faithfully gathered are unified with those who have passed away, and we worship God together. At each Mass, I encounter my sweet babe through the Eucharist, and we glorify God together. Each time I receive the Eucharist and am in union and communion with the Body of Christ, I am also in union and communion with my little saint – and not just my little saint, but every saint who looks upon the face of God. What a holy, glorious, and beautiful mystery that the veil between heaven and earth is so very thin!
The source of my hope is the promise of eternal life in heaven. Although I have yet to taste the full sweetness of eternity with such a loving Father, every time I go to Mass or every minute I spend in Eucharistic adoration is a foretaste of what is to come.
As I was driving along the highway this summer, storm clouds were to my right, and I could see the rain pouring down in the distance. The sun, beaming to my left, set up the perfect conditions for a rainbow, yet I could not see one. Rainbows have been a consistent theme of God’s faithfulness to me, and it was disheartening to see the ingredients but no result until the Lord spoke into my heart: “This is what hope is.” I may not be able to clearly see the fullness of the life to come, but God has promised it to me – to us. As Pope Leo XIV said in his homily on the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (and closing of the Holy Door), “in [God’s] presence nothing stays the same. This marks the beginning of hope, for God reveals himself and nothing remains unchanged.” May my heart continue to look beyond what my eyes can see, and may I encounter the Body of Christ as often as possible. May I leave those encounters changed, glorifying the Lord with my life.
Marrick is a former youth ministry coordinator and NET alumna. She currently spends most of her time at home caring for her son, hanging out at local coffee shops, grabbing lunch with a friend, perusing the weekly grocery flyers, and dreaming of traveling.
