Reaching for Heaven

As you grow older, you’ll find that life takes on a new rhythm, one where you can shed the responsibilities that once consumed your days. The hours at work and the bustling activities of parenthood or other vocations have now transformed into something different—a fresh chapter of life, filled with new opportunities for reflection and growth. It’s your time to pivot and focus on how God will judge your life and how to make a final push for getting to heaven.

Through personal stories, humor, and practical advice, Michael Amodei—a lifelong Catholic with a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary and the University of Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish—shares fourteen practices to help enrich your spirituality as you strive for heaven.

In Reaching for Heaven, seasoned book editor Michael Amodei shares what older Catholics need to hear to make the most of their time. “This book is a kind of wake-up call,” he writes, “a chance to become a better Catholic so that when we face that one-on-one with Jesus, we don’t have to fear what is coming.”

He contends that even a small investment in time and energy thinking about your golden years can have a rich payoff as you remember the past, act in the present, and plan for the future. He builds on his own spiritually rich memories—including his view from the fifty-yard line at Notre Dame Stadium—to show how you can invent your own life plan by selecting from spiritual habits and practices that have formed and strengthened Catholics for centuries. By creating both short- and long-term goals, you can

• cultivate a deeper prayer life by praying the Liturgy of the Hours;
• get more out of scripture by taking a class or participating in a group Bible study;
• make a pilgrimage to a holy site or shrine (Amodei recommends the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto either in France or at the University of Notre Dame);
• correct past wrongs and heal past injuries not only by apologizing to someone you’ve hurt but also by making amends;
• strengthen family bonds by writing notes to tell family members what you appreciate about them; and
• draw closer to Mary by consecrating yourself to her.

He guides you to use the power of memory to shape your understanding of who God is and who you truly are by putting what you learn into practice incrementally over time to achieve the optimal plan for meeting Jesus face to face. This plan can lead you towards Judgment Day with confidence, knowing that you’ve lived a life dedicated to love, service, and spiritual growth.

The book includes questions for reflection. It is an excellent resource for personal or small-group study. Additional resources are also available online.