Reflection on Heb 13:14
For here we have no continuing city,
but we seek the one to come.
The Apostle Paul reminds the believers of his day, and us, of a profound truth that we often forget. We have no permanent home here on earth. On the other hand, we need to have and make a home here. Unfortunately, the current decadent culture, which is also massively promoted by the supranational political system with its gender ideology, seeks to break up the basic unit of society, which is the family. The family is made up of father, mother and children; they share a home. The mother has always created the atmosphere of the home. Even the grown-up children, who had their own families, would come home in times of hardship, seeking encouragement and comfort from their aged mother while she was alive. In recent years, sadly, elderly parents are being placed in retirement homes or there is even a growing tendency in Western Europe to terminate their lives as soon as possible through euthanasia, or assisted suicide. All this is brought about by this deadly, decadent ideology, which is spreading en masse and affecting Eastern Europe as well.
A Czech poet sings of home: “With hope or without hope, we always return home.” And he writes about a mother: “The dearest treasure in the world is the heart of a dear mother. He who has lost it is poor, however great his possessions may be.”
Unfortunately, the contemporary mentality influenced by gender ideology, juvenile justice, surrogate motherhood,… is truly a hell on earth. It is necessary to stand up against it and hold on not only to the treasures of faith, but also to the healthy and natural tradition of our ancestors, who had respect for the family, for parents, and especially for the mother.
The Apostle not only reminds us that we have no permanent home here, but he shows that our home is in heaven: “we seek the city to come”. That city is the New Jerusalem, the eternal kingdom in heaven, where all of us who are faithful to Jesus Christ are to be gathered together in one great family of God’s children, as a certain poet once put it: “In the arms of God, from whence we came, in the arms of God we shall meet again. Who would fear, or who would tremble?” In order to meet there, we need to preserve the treasure of faith and remain faithful to Christ, following the example of the heroes of the faith, that is, the saints and martyrs. They intercede for us and await us with our Lord and God’s angels. They pray the Lord to help us in our spiritual struggle in this life not to lose sight of the heavenly Jerusalem. Whenever we hear the words, “Lift up your hearts!”, let us fly in thought to this heavenly Jerusalem. Our Mother, too, whom the Lord gave us at the hour of His death, awaits us in our heavenly home. Let us turn to her daily with confidence and she will never abandon us.
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