Heaven's Homecoming

     Heaven’s Homecoming is a beautiful look at the many admirable qualities of the elderly faithful and their deep understanding of love, heaven, prayer, and the important role of the priest during their lives and certainly at the moment of their deaths.  Father McKay, who served as the priest at Holy Family Home for 18 years, shares “eulogistic stories” of the aged in his care.  Under the patronage of Saint Jeanne Jugan and her Little Sisters of the Poor, these residents show their humble faith, wonderful humor, and determination to reach their final destination of heaven. 

     All names in the book have been changed to respect the privacy of the residents, but their precious faith, devout prayer practices, hilarious interactions, and prophetic dreams are vibrantly portrayed.  The string throughout the book is the priest’s relationship with each of these individuals, and how each one of them helps him come a step closer to overcoming his fear of death and dying. 
       When my mom handed me the book to read and I scanned the back, I knew I’d read it eventually, but I didn’t put it at the top of my list.  I was expecting that it would be sort of dry, probably not very cohesive, and published more because it is about the residents at a home with the same patroness and religious caregivers as Little Sisters of the Poor than due to its literary prowess or entertainment value.  
     I’m pleasantly surprised at how well this was written.  I absolutely loved these stories, and as is often the case with my favorite funny or moving passages, I just had to share them aloud with my nearest and dearest.  We laughed and cried together.  Even my grandmother, a resident in her upper 80s at the local Little Sisters of the Poor home, chuckled when I read her a few of the stories from it.
     There’s no ISBN, no website, or even a publisher listed on the book, so I’m not quite sure of the best way to get your own copy of Heaven’s Homecoming other than from the Little Sisters of the Poor home for the elderly nearest you, but you can get the Kindle version on Amazon here.