JESUS WALKS BY OUR SIDE
"That very day two of them were going
to a village named Emmaus,
about seven miles from Jerusalem,
and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing together,
Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
But their eyes were kept from recognizing him."
(Lk 24:13-16)
"Lord, how great you are,
in everything!
But you move me even more
when you come down to our level, ["stoop down!"]
to follow us
and to seek us
in the hustle and bustle of each day.
Lord, grant us
a childlike spirit,
pure eyes
and a clear mind
so that we may recognise you
when you come without any outward sign of your glory."
(St Josemaria, Friends of God 313)
TELL ME ABOUT IT
"And he said to them,
'What is this conversation
which you are holding with each other as you walk?'"
(Lk 24:17)
How gently, how unobtrusively
He strikes up a conversation with us!
He doesn't give the impression of
invading our privacy,
or intruding into the intimacy of our soul.
How well you know us, Lord!
You know which approach works best!
Teach us how to lead others to open up to you, too!
Teach us how to make them tell you about
their joys,
their concerns,
their successes,
their frustrations,
their hopes.
LIGHT FROM THE SCRIPTURES
"...he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
(Lk 24:27)
The Scriptures belong to the Catholic Church.
Sacred Scripture is one of the sources of our knowledge of God.
"...thinking with the thought of Christ.
And we can do this by reading holy Scripture
where the thoughts of Christ are Words,
which speak to us.
In this sense we should follow the "lectio divina,"
listening in the Scriptures to the thought of Christ,
learning to think with Christ,
thinking the thought of Christ
and thus having the same feelings of Christ,
being capable of giving Christ's thought and feelings to others."
(Benedict XVI, Meditation Before the Synod Fathers, Oct 2005)
POWER FROM THE SCRIPTURES
"...he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
(Lk 24:27)
The Scriptures belong to the Catholic Church.
Sacred Scripture is God's word, and God's word is powerful and effective.
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and return not thither but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. "
(Is 55:10-11)
WE ARE FREE TO MAKE HIM STAY OR DRIVE HIM AWAY
"So they drew near to the village to which they were going.
He appeared to be going further,
but they constrained him, saying,
'Stay with us,
for it is toward evening
and the day is now far spent.'
So he went in to stay with them."
(Lk 24:28-29)
Stay with us for it is toward evening,
darkness is coming,
the cold is setting in--
darkness in our mind
coldness in our heart.
Stay with us.
"This Lord of ours never forces himself on us.
He wants us to turn to him freely....
We have to hold him back
and beg him:
'Stay with us!'
"Mane nobiscum, Domine!"
(St Josemaria, Friends of God 313)
RECOGNISING CHRIST
"When he was at table with them, he took the bread
and blessed,
and broke it,
and gave it to them.
And their eyes were opened
and they recognized him;
and he vanished out of their sight."
(Lk 24:30-31)
"Dominus meus, et Deus meus!" (Jn 20:28),
Thomas exclaimed,
and we too exclaim when the celebrant pronounces
the words of consecration.
We recognise Jesus not with our bodily eyes,
but with the eyes of faith.
"Dominus meus, et Deus meus!"
RECOGNISING CHRIST AND BEING INSPIRED BY HIM
"They said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us
while he talked to us on the road,
while he opened to us the scriptures?'"
(Lk 24:32)
We might ask ourselves:
Does my heart burn with love when I read the Scriptures?
Does a word of love come forth from my heart whenever I hear at Mass,
"Verbum Domini"?
Does the reading of God's word inspire me
to whisper a little prayer of petition, or of praise?
Does the silence after the Gospel help me
to gather the crumbs that fall from the Master's table?
PROCLAIMING CHRIST
"And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem;...
Then they told what had happened on the road,
and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread."
(Lk 24:33,35)
Any genuine encounter with Jesus Christ,
whether it be in the Bread
or in the Word,
whether it be in the Eucharist
or in Scriptures
leads us to want to tell others about Him:
"Domine, labia mea aperies,
et os meum annuntiabit laudem tuam."
(Ps 51:17)
And the encounter with Him in the Mass,
in the Table of the Word
and in the Table of the Bread
reminds us once more that we are sent:
"Ite, missa est!"
ADEAMUS CUM FIDUCIA!
"Habentes ergo pontificem magnum, qui penetravit caelos,
Iesum Filium Dei, teneamus confessionem.
Non enim habemus pontificem,
qui non possit compati infirmitatibus nostris,
tentatum autem per omnia secundum similitudinem absque peccato;
adeamus ergo cum fiducia ad thronum gratiae,
ut misericordiam consequamur
et gratiam inveniamus in auxilium opportunum."
"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we have not a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need."
(Heb 4:14-16)
VALE LA PENA!
"I was ordained priest when I was 26 years old.
Since then, 56 years have passed.
When I look back and recall these years of my life,
I can assure you that it is worthwhile (vale la pena)
to dedicate oneself to the cause of Christ and, for love of Him,
to consecrate oneself to the service of man.
It is worthwhile giving one’s life for the Gospel
and for one’s brothers!"
(John Paul II, Homily, To the Youth, 3 May 2003, Madrid, Spain)
DOMINUS CUSTODIET TE
"From whence does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
...he who keeps you will not slumber.
.
The LORD is your keeper ...
The sun shall not smite you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and for evermore."
(Ps 121:1-3,5-8)
LAETARE! GAUDETE! REJOICE!
"If the loved one, love, the greatest gift of my life, is close to me,
if I can be convinced that the one who loves me is close to me,
even in situations of suffering,
the joy that remains in the depth of my heart
is ever greater than all sufferings.
The Apostle can say "gaudete" because the Lord is close to each one of us.
...this imperative in reality is an invitation to become aware of the Lord who is close to us.
It is an awareness of the Lord's presence.
The Apostle intends to make us sensitive to this -- hidden but very real --
presence of Christ in each one of us.
The words of the Apocalypse are true for each one of us:
I knock at your door,
listen to me,
open up to me."
(Benedict XVI, Meditation, First Meeting of Synod on the Eucharist, October 2005)
POSSUMUS!
REGINA COELI, LAETARE! ALLELUIA!
Rejoice, O My Mother!
And help me rejoice with you!
Be the reminder that God walks with us,
that God is with us:
Deus nobiscum!