The following is an appropriate story for Super Bowl Sunday. Its setting is sometime in the distant future:

One day John Elway, the former quarterback of the Denver Broncos, passed away after living a long and full life. When he got to heaven, Jesus met him at the pearly gates, took him inside, and proceeded to give him the grand tour of God’s eternal kingdom. At one point they came to a house—a very nice, but rather small house—with a slightly-faded Denver Broncos’ flag in the front window.

Jesus said, "John, this is where you will live for all eternity. I really hope you like it. Remember, not everyone up here gets his own house."

John said, "Thank you very much, Lord," and was feeling rather good about things, until he happened to look down the street. There he spotted a green and gold sidewalk, which led up to a 3-story mansion with beautiful white columns and a cheesehead in every window. And there, in front of this magnificent building, stood a huge flagpole with a big Green Bay Packer flag flying from it.

John looked at Jesus and said, "Lord, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to sound ungrateful, but I’d really like to know something. I was an all-pro quarterback; I won two Super Bowls; and I even went to the Hall of Fame. So please tell me: Why does Brett Farve get a better house up here than I do?"

Jesus looked at John and chuckled. He said, "John, John, John, you completely misunderstand. You see, that’s not Brett Farve’s house, it’s mine!"

Now, there’s part of me that would love to be able to tell you that this little story is 100% true. But I honestly can’t do that, because the story isn’t true. And believe it or not that’s actually very good news—not only for Denver Bronco fans, but also for Green Bay Packer fans like me—and for everyone else!

Because heaven is more than what’s described in this story—much more! As hard as it may be for some Packer fans to believe, heaven is even better than a beautiful mansion with cheeseheads in every window! As St. Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 2: 9, "Eyes has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love him." Heaven is more glorious than anything we can possibly imagine with our finite human minds. And so that line from 1 Corinthians 7, which we heard a few moments ago in our second reading, shouldn’t scare us. Paul says there, "The world in its present form is passing away." That, of course, is a fact: we’re not here forever; we’re on this earth only for a short time; and the physical world as we know it will come to an end at some unknown point in the future.

But for those who love God, a magnificent kingdom in its fullness awaits immediately after death (or perhaps after a final period of purification in purgatory). In either case, heaven is the end result, and that’s extremely good news.

But heaven is not automatic! This is a truth which has either been forgotten or ignored by those in the modern world who think that everyone (except Hitler and a few others) will get into the kingdom. The truth of the matter is that heaven is a gift, a gift which has been bought and paid for in full by Jesus Christ. But this is a gift that we each must accept; Almighty God will not force it upon us. The Lord respects our freedom too much.

And exactly how do we accept it? Well Jesus gives us that answer in one line of today’s Gospel text from Mark 1. There he says, "Repent, and believe"—repent, and believe in the Gospel! That’s how you get to heaven.

Sounds simple? Well, on the one hand, it is; but on the other hand, it’s anything but simple. What does it mean to repent? To repent means to turn away from sin and get baptized if you haven’t been already. And if you have been baptized, it means to receive the sacrament of Confession whenever you commit a mortal sin. And believing means more than just saying, "I believe in God; I believe in Jesus Christ." Biblically, to believe means to order your whole life toward God. Thus if I say I believe in God, that means I must intend to obey God and serve God make God the Lord of every aspect of my life (public AND private)—and that, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, is not easy!

Now since this is Catholic Schools Week, the next logical question is: Where are we to learn this? Where are we to learn how to repent and believe and give our lives to God? Where, in other words are we to learn those lessons that will put us and keep us on the road to heaven?

Well, of course, we’re to learn those lessons in church; and yes, we’re to learn them in Catholic school (or CCD); but that is NOT to be our first or primary place of instruction!

The first place we’re supposed to learn the meaning of Christian discipleship is within our own families! The family—by God’s design—is supposed to be a kind of "school for heaven."

That’s a definition you’ve probably never heard before, but it’s true nonetheless: the family is to be a "school" in which we learn how to get to heaven!

So, how’s your school doing these days?

Every school gets evaluated, sooner or later, doesn’t it? St. Pius X School was evaluated a few years ago by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. (And, by the way, our school did very well in that evaluation!)

Well, here are a few questions to consider in evaluating your family’s "school for heaven." We’ll operate on the "honors system" today and allow you to grade your family yourself.

By the way you interact with one another in your home, are the members of your family—especially the children—learning forgiveness or vindictiveness? Do you tend carry grudges toward one another, or do you work out your differences in a Christian manner? If you’re learning to forgive, you’re one step closer to heaven; if you’re learning to be vengeful or vindictive, you’re one step closer to "the other place."

Think now of the conversations you have around the dinner table. What do those conversations typically focus on? Do they normally center on money and things? Or do they focus on other people and their needs? If they focus on money and possessions, then your family "school" is teaching selfishness and materialism as opposed to selflessness and charity.

What does your family tolerate in terms of the language you’re allowed to use in your home, the music you can play, the television programs you can watch, the web sites you can visit, and the clothes you can wear?

The answers to those questions will determine whether your home is a school for respect, purity, and modesty—or whether your home is like Ozzie Osbourne’s!

And from what your family typically does on a Saturday night or Sunday morning (excluding Easter Sunday and the Sunday that begins Catholic Schools week), is your family school teaching that the worship of God is primary? Is it teaching you that meeting Jesus Christ in word and sacrament at Mass is more important than getting an extra hour of sleep, or skiing, or basketball, or hockey, or a vacation? From the lame excuses I often hear as to why people miss Sunday Mass, it seems that many family schools are currently teaching that anything and everything is more important than worshipping the Lord!

In today’s responsorial psalm, the psalmist (the writer of the psalm) says, "Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior."