A Grace Filled Return

We all know someone who left the Church. Perhaps we feel inadequate to approach the situation even though as a believer you know such a decision has eternal consequences.

Jeff Lukich’s ‘The Long Way Home’ is that practical roadmap for such an undertaking. He admits he didn’t leave the Church abruptly over dogma or scandal, he just slowly drifted away until he wakes up in a wilderness he never meant to enter.

Lukich recounts his own 40 years of wandering through the secular desert that on many levels defines our post-Christian culture.

Throughout Scripture, 40 is not an incidental numeral by any means. It marks a season of trial, purification and preparation. It is the number of the desert, the test, the cleansing and of the return.

It is Noah’s flood, Moses on Mount Sinai, Israel’s journey in the wilderness, Elijah’s passage to Horeb and Nineveh’s time to repent. It is the presentation of Jesus in the Temple that took place 40 days after His birth. Moreover, it is the concentrated 40-day fast Jesus endured against Satan’s ceaseless mocking and temptation before beginning His public ministry.

Lukich’s long wandering mirrors that same biblical rhythm where he finally made the conscious effort to turn toward home with courage, clarity and conviction. He writes with disarming personal candor, plenty of experience and acquired wisdom underscoring how no one falls too far or wanders too long for redemption.

The book’s most arresting chapter arises from its engagement with reconciliation.

This finely tuned opus offers a powerful message of possibility and a glimpse into Lukich’s soul serving as a beacon of hope for anyone with the courage and wisdom to return.

Part testimony and part guidebook this uplifting work reminds the seeker that the Church remains open as God never stops calling her prodigals to return and that no distance is too great for grace to reach and that the journey back can commence today.

Lukich’s tome can be contrasted to ‘Rome Sweet Home’ by Scott Hahn (co-authored with Kimberly Hahn) and ‘Rediscover Catholicism’ by Matthew Kelly as they all deal with roaming, grace, return and the Church as home.

Each reversion tale is certainly unique and shaped by more than just words but wounds, wandering and intellect. Lukich makes that connection of finding faith again in his relatable story of trust and vulnerability. ‘The Long Way Home’ offers encouragement not condemnation; answers not confusion and conveys how grace breaks through the world’s pandemonium in personal ways.

His wife Mary Beth follows him into the Church. Minus the epilogue, bibliography, and the appendix that offers plenty of online resources and prayers, the book is a lean and very readable 119 pages. This read is not just for the fallen away but is a practical guide for others within the faith community that offers ways to encourage and guide those making the trek home.

Lukich’s story reminds the faithful that conversion is not a single moment but a lifelong process of seeing, understanding and trusting God more profoundly that is ongoing, daily and often challenging. He underscores how grace works slowly, persistently and creatively and how the Church remains a place where truth, tradition and the sacraments always await those who seek it.

This ongoing conversion is nourished through the sacramental life especially confession and the Eucharist. Lukich, like many before him, cite the Eucharist as the decisive reason for returning. It was the yearning for Christ’s true Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

The Church always harkens the call to her prodigals to return.

Some hear it, while many ignore it but that clarion call remains.

Conversion is the work of grace. Debate can lead people to the threshold of faith, but supernatural faith is ultimately a gift of the Holy Spirit.

God never stops pursuing the wanderer, whether he is gone for forty days or forty years.

Lukich’s return proves that even the longest desert still ends at God’s House.