What is Home?

Written by Meredith Burke on Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reflecting on the theme for this week, “Cast to return home,” I thought about the varying meanings of the word, “home.” Home can mean a physical structure that one returns or does not return to each day. It can mean a community of people who provide support and refuge. It can mean finding a home with God and living out that beautifully complex relationship.

For me, “home” has become all of those things. But the meaning of “home” has also been a source of frustrations and questions. Helping serve at St. Mary’s daytime warming shelter and overnight shelter, I have continued to realize that finding and being “home” can be an incredible challenge and journey. There are many systematic and personal barriers, such as employment and mental health, that can largely dictate where one goes to find “home” in life.

A couple weeks ago, St. Mary’s hosted an event where community members could share their stories of immigration. It was a powerful experience that has led me to reflect on many aspects of American society that I take for granted as a U.S. citizen.

It’s hard to imagine a life of never knowing if “home” even exists. I will never know what it feels like to go to a completely new country to establish a better life but my life not be valued. I will never know what it feels like to be undocumented and live in constant stress, struggle, and fear.

I will never know how it feels to have people who don’t look like me and do not personally know what it’s like to be an immigrant decide my fate and what I can and cannot call “home.”

While I do not know what it’s like to experience homelessness or be an immigrant, that does not mean I cannot stand in solidarity with my fellow brothers and sisters. It means that I must help advocate so that all have a place to call “home.” Because in the end, we all have a home in heaven, don’t we?

Questions for Reflection:
Where do you find “home” spiritually, emotionally, and physically?
How can you be of service to others who may be struggling to find “home”?

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Meredith Burke
Meredith is wrapping up her senior year at UM and is happy to share that she will begin a year of service with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in August. She will be tromping around (but mostly working) at UM’s Botanical Gardens this summer, so you’ll likely see her adventuring around Ann Arbor and at St. Mary’s from time to time. Meredith is St. Mary’s Intern for Social Justice Ministry, and her overall mission is to help make this world a more socially and environmentally sustainable place for all.
Email: merburke@umich.edu