From House to Home: Finding Belonging in a Broken World

A house is a place you live—a structure that provides basic shelter. It’s where your physical needs are met, but beyond that, it’s undefined. A house can exist without warmth, belonging, or connection. A home, on the other hand, is something deeper. It goes beyond walls and a roof. It’s a place of rest, peace, and love. It’s where our souls are nourished.

We know that in our world today material poverty often compromises housing for many families, who struggle to pay bills, find their next meal, and keep the lights on. A father might be absent, and a mother works tirelessly, arriving home late at night, while children grow up far too quickly, forced to carry burdens beyond their years. However, even in the midst of the hardship, these houses can often be filled with a love and affection and surpasses the financial hardship. The house isn't much, but the family somehow makes it a home.

On the flip side, households with financial stability are often stricken by a tremendous spiritual and emotional poverty. These homes might look perfect on the outside, with fancy vacations, expensive schools, and every luxury money can buy, but they lack connection, warmth, and true love. Relationships become transactional, and the ache of loneliness finds its way in.

A home, though, is something entirely different. It’s often not tied to a place but to a feeling, a presence, or sense of peace. Sometimes, we find home in a chapel, on a quiet trail, in the stillness of a sunset, or even in the corner of a coffee shop. It’s the peace that comes in the quiet moments, with birds chirping, coffee brewing, or the wind brushing your face.

But more often than not, home is found in people. Sometimes, it’s your family, but in a world where family brokenness is increasingly common, that’s not always the case. Still, God sends us the gift of others—friends who become family, communities that welcome us, and strangers who step in during moments of need.

The Challenges of Finding Home

The concept of "home" is something I’ve grappled with for years. Even before I made my international move, life had taken me on a whirlwind journey across the U.S. Through a job that required constant travel, I spent a year of my life on the road traveling 2-3 weeks out of each month. I loved the flexibility and the thrill of discovering new places, meeting new people, and learning about different cultures.

As much as I enjoyed the adventure, though, I began to notice a longing deep within me. I witnessed so many beautiful communities and homes during my travels, yet I didn’t feel I had one myself. Sure, I could fit in anywhere for a time, but my connections were fleeting. They never had the chance to grow roots.

Eventually, I settled down in a new city and state with a job that allowed me to build routines and invest in relationships. I finally had the stability to integrate into a community. Yet something still felt off—I never felt at home. That lingering sense of dissatisfaction led me to seek God’s will more deeply, ultimately leading me to move to Europe, where I found the home I had been searching for.

I wondered if I should return to my home state, where I grew up. But even as a child, I had dreamed of leaving. I wanted to live beyond the borders of my small town. Yet after years of moving, I felt the weariness of being a perpetual foreigner—not just abroad, but even within my own country.

Moving, whether across the U.S. or overseas, presents the same challenges: finding people you can depend on. It’s in the small, everyday moments—needing help with a broken lightbulb, figuring out where to buy something, or being stranded with car trouble. It’s in the bigger moments too—sickness, grief, or just the longing for a friend to share tea and a rom-com with. These moments, which we often take for granted, build the foundation of a true home.

My Journey to Finding Home

In the time of waiting for my international move, I was blessed with the gift of what I call my spiritual family. By God’s grace, I was connected with a Catholic family who lived close by. In addition to a stint living at their house when my housing situation left me without a place to lay my head, this family opened their home and heart to me, providing me with accompaniment and affection as I was trying to find my way. Amidst feeling alone and lost in the world, this family was like a lighthouse, always pointing me toward Christ and reminding me to seek Him above all things.

I could write a whole book about the virtuous qualities I saw in them that positively impacted my life and my pursuit of holiness. But above all, I think it was just the ability to be real with them. In that time, I remember feeling so worried and confused—Will I ever find my place in this world? Allowing them to see me in my doubts and confusion and receiving their assurance that they were with me every step of the way ultimately gave me the courage to trust in God’s plan, even when I couldn’t see the whole picture.

Through experiencing this loving accompaniment and witnessing God’s presence in their marriage and family, God not only gave me strength to eventually move to Madrid and find my current home, but He also restored my understanding of His vision for marriage and family. The opportunity to witness authentic Catholic family life gave me a model to aspire to for my own life and purified my heart of the many false images I had of love and of God. Living with my spiritual family provided the formation I needed to one day step into the Sacrament of Marriage and begin my own family.

The Domestic Church: A Call to Build Homes

These experiences have deepened my conviction about the importance of the Domestic Church. While evangelization often focuses on catechesis and the Sacraments (both of which are essential) to integrate souls into the Church at large, we also need an evangelization that integrates people into the family of God in practical ways.

The family—the Domestic Church—is under attack in our world today. As the enemy sows division and brokenness, countless souls are left with a distorted understanding of love, family, and even God Himself. But by the grace of God, the family can also be part of the healing.

This means our idea of home must expand. Marriages and families need to become places of welcome and accompaniment, where others are invited to experience love and belonging. It’s through the little acts of hospitality—offering a meal, lending a listening ear, or simply being present—that we reflect the love of Christ.

In these small, intentional acts, we create homes that not only nurture our own families but also extend the reach of the Gospel. The home is where the true face of God is revealed and made tangible to souls. Complimenting the much needed intellectual formation of souls, the emotional and spiritual formation that unfolds in the everyday interactions of family life embodies the teachings of the faith in our current reality. Through the domestic church, the gospel becomes less of an etherial concept and more of a living experience that is being represented in the ordinary aspects of life.

So, what’s the difference between a house and a home? A house shelters the body. A home, rooted in Christ and His love, shelters the soul. A true home mirrors the heart of God: a place where everyone is seen, known, and loved. Let’s be the kind of people who build homes—both within our own families and for those God places in our lives.