Tag: Emmaus

Friday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let the house of Israel say, “His mercy endures forever.” Let those who fear the LORD say, “His mercy endures forever.” The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 21:1-14)

Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way. Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Jesus appears on the shore to the disciples, but at first they don’t recognize him. He asks if they have caught any fish. When they tell him no, Jesus instructs them to cast their net on the right side of the boat, and they catch an enormous number of fish. Recognizing Jesus, John says, “It is the Lord.” Peter then jumps into the water to meet Jesus, and the other disciples follow. As they reach the shore, they find a charcoal fire with fish and bread that Jesus prepared for them. He invites them to bring some of the fish and to have breakfast with him. Recognizing who it is they sit with, no one asks “Who are you?” This is the third time Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection. As if to return to daily life, Peter and the others get back to their occupation. In his appearance as the risen Christ, Jesus demonstrates that they can’t go back to where they were, that their lives from that moment on will be anything but ordinary.

God, help me understand where the disciples were after the resurrection of Jesus. They were lost, going back to what they knew rather than incorporating into their lives what they had learned from the teachings and works of your Son, and through his resurrection. Give me the grace to see that Easter is not an event in the past but is the living person of Jesus, alive in the glorified body and present in the Church. John says of their attempt to return to ordinary life: “but that night they caught nothing.” Lord, teach me in the ordinariness of the day to hear your voice and with joyful recognition take heart, saying, “It is the Lord.” From the sequence from today’s readings: “Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning! Amen. Alleluia.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “O LORD, our Lord, how glorious is your name over all the earth! What is man that you should be mindful of him, or the son of man that you should care for him? O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:35-48)

He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

Gathered together in Jerusalem, the disciples who had encountered Jesus on the road to Emmaus share their experiences. Even as they speak, Jesus appears among them. “Peace be with you,” he says to them. The disciples believe at first that they are seeing a ghost, but Jesus assures them of his physical presence and invites them to touch him and see his wounds. As if to further reassure the disciples, he asks for something to eat and eats the baked fish they give him. In his presence and in opening their minds to understand the Scriptures, Jesus reveals how his passion, death, and resurrection are part of God’s plan for salvation. “You are witnesses of these things,” he tells them, reminding them of their identity and commissioning them to proclaim repentance to all the nations.

God, help me throughout the day hear the first words of Jesus as he appears to the disciples: “Peace be with you.” Startled by what they believe is a ghost, the disciples go from terror to being “incredulous for joy and were amazed.” Help me put aside the distractions and worries of the day—figments of the imagination—to see with eyes of faith that you are truly with me at all times whether or not I comprehend it. Open my mind, Lord!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“The risen Jesus appears to the disciples in the upper room” flickr photo by Nick in exsilio https://flickr.com/photos/pelegrino/4669927869 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-SA) license

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the nations his deeds. Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. Rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 24:13-35)

As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

As two of Jesus’ disciples are walking toward Emmaus, discussing recent events about him, a man they don’t recognize asks what they are talking about. In their sadness and disappointment, they explain to the man that they thought Jesus would save Israel but was instead crucified. Jesus explains all of this to them in terms of how the Messiah had to suffer according to the Scriptures. While he stays with them, Jesus breaks bread, and the disciples immediately recognize him. And then he disappears. Returning to the Eleven in Jerusalem, they tell them that the Jesus has been raised and appeared to Simon, and the two disciples share their story of recognizing Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

God, help me see Jesus your Son with the eyes of faith when he appears in the needs of others. The disciples were discouraged but quickly regained their hope as they begin to realize that what Jesus said about dying and rising was true. Give me the grace to strengthen my faith in the resurrection and confront any doubts I have that prevent me from trusting in your mercy and almighty power. From the sequence of the readings: “Death and life have contended in that combat stupendous: The Prince of life, who died, reigns immortal.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.

On the day of Jesus’ resurrection, two of his disciples were walking to the village of Emmaus. They were talking sadly about everything that had happened to Jesus in the past few days. As they were walking, Jesus himself came up and walked with them, but they did not recognize him. He asked them what they were talking about, and they told him about all the things that had happened. Jesus listened to them and then began to explain the Scriptures to them. At the end of the day’s journey, the disciples urged Jesus to stay with them and have dinner. And as Jesus broke the bread, their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and then he disappeared. The disciples immediately ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples that they had seen Jesus, saying, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?” The story of the Emmaus encounter is a reminder that even when we don’t recognize him, Jesus is always with us. He is always willing to listen to us and to help us understand his love for us through his death and resurrection and in the Eucharistic memorial.

God, help me see what is relevant in today’s Gospel reading. Jesus your Son says to the disciples of his passion, death, and the glory of his resurrection: “How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke.” Although walking with your Son and hearing him speak, they do not recognize him in their downcast state. Not until they see him break bread before them at dinner and look back over what he said to them were their eyes opened. And then, John tells us, he vanishes from their sight. There is no accident in the disappearance of Jesus immediately after the disciples recognize him. Their hearts burning within them transform their despondency into joy, and their setting out at once to the eleven replaces their slowness of heart, telling the others: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” Just as your Son was present to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, he is the risen Christ alive today. God, strengthen my faith today in the real presence of Jesus, alive in the Eucharist.

Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to me today; make my heart burn while you speak to me. Stay with me, Lord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Thursday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

And Jesus said to the disciples, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, or the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

In today’s Gospel, continuing from yesterday’s reading, Jesus appears to the disciples in the room where they had gathered and greets them with “Peace be with you,” showing them his hands and feet to prove that he is not a ghost. By eating a piece of baked fish in their presence, Jesus further shows them that he is truly present to them in both body and soul. Jesus tells them that everything that had happened to him had been prophesied in the Scriptures and that he had to suffer and die in order to rise from the dead and bring salvation to all people. He also tells them that they are witnesses of these things, and that they are to go out and proclaim the good news of his resurrection to all nations. Jesus gives them confidence by telling them that they are witnesses to the resurrection of the Son of God. Later, in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter himself says to people that they were witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection.

God, help me trust in your Son; increase my faith so that I understand that he always seeks to give me confidence in him and in your word. At table with the disciples in Emmaus, Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread. In his appearance to the other disciples, Jesus strengthens their faith, first by addressing their fears and uncertainty and then by telling them that they themselves witnessed the fulfillment of the scriptures through his dying and rising. In the same way, Jesus comes to me through the reassurance of the scriptures and the sacraments, bringing with him the true peace of his presence.

Be with me today, Lord, as I strive to remember you and put aside the desire for things that are not of you and that fail to lead to you. This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Wednesday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”

As two of Jesus’ disciples are going to the village of Emmaus, Jesus approached them and walked with them, but they didn’t know it was the Lord. Jesus enters into their conversation about the events of the past week and hears in their voices that they are downcast and discouraged. Just as Mary saw the empty tomb, some members of the group also saw the empty tomb, but Jesus did not appear to them. Because of lack of faith, they are uncertain about what has taken place. They say, “But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” Not until Jesus speaks to them of the prophets and Scriptures that referred to him did they begin to recognize that this is no ordinary man. When Jesus stays with them and they eat together, they come to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. After Jesus vanishes from their sight, their faith in him restored, they say, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”

God, help me understand the richness of these Easter Octave Gospel readings. Just as Jesus meets Mary Magdalene along the way, he also meets the two disciples heading toward Emmaus. In their uncertainty, as they struggle to understand what has happened in the last week, they see Jesus meeting them where they are. Their encounter with him leaves them with hope restored and faith strengthened. Your Son, the risen Christ, is no less present to me as he was to them. Help me open my eyes to him as I strive to hear your voice throughout the day. In the breaking of the bread, the disciples recognized Jesus. Through your word, through the sacraments, and through the Eucharist, grant me the grace to see the glory of your presence today and every day.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it. Alleluia, alleluia.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY