Study and Meditations on this Sunday's Scripture Readings: May 8, 2011

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To help us prepare for this coming Sunday, here are the readings, studies and reflections for this coming Sunday’s Scripture readings. This Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Easter and in this Sundays Gospel Reading we will hear about the Resurrection appearance of Our Lord to the two disciples who were making their way to Emmaus. He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Here are the Scripture readings from the U.S. Catholic bishops website.

My own weekly study can be found here under “Current Study.”

Here are three audio reflections on the readings by Sister Ann Shields, Dr. Scott Hahn and Fr. Robert Barron.

Here are a pair of Catholic Bible study podcasts on the Gospel Reading, each about an hour long:

–Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother
–St. Martha’s Adult Faith Formation
*
The Navarre Bible Commentary *for each reading can be viewed here.

Further study resources for the Readings: St. Charles Borromeo Bible Study can be found here, and Catholic Matters can be found here.

Please consider supporting those who provide these free resources.

Discussion, questions and charitable comments are always welcome. Have a blessed week!

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1st Reading - Acts 2:14, 22-33

Today’s first reading tells of the formation of the early Church as we hear Peter address the people of the day of Pentecost. His address is in two parts: Part 1, which we do not hear today, explains that the messianic times foretold by the Prophet Joel have now arrived; today’s reading is the second part of the address and it proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews crucified, is the Messiah promised by God and eagerly awaited by the righteous of the Old Testament; it is he who has effected God’s saving plan for mankind.

“Pentecost” means “the 50th day”. It is one of three feasts mentioned in Exodus 23:14-17 where it is called simply the harvest festival, the feast of the first-fruits of the grain harvest. In Leviticus 23:15-21 the feast is reckoned by counting seven weeks from the beginning of the grain harvest; it is a day of sabbatical observance. As with the other two feasts mentioned in Exodus 23:14-17, it is a pilgrimage feast: “three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God”. Jerusalem is crowded with pilgrims. The resurrected Jesus had spent forty days instructing His apostles and then ten days ago ascended after telling them “not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father… you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5). The Holy Spirit has come upon them this day and now Peter, the chief apostle and spokesman for the group, addresses the crowd of pilgrims who are outside the upper room, attracted by the sound of the coming of the Spirit.The crowds that had gathered around the Upper Room were full of amazement and anxious for an explanation. They heard the noise “as of a mighty wind” in that part of the city, and then heard the Apostles speaking foreign languages.

Here is the 1st Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
You who are Israelites, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,
which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.
This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,
you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.
But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death,
because it was impossible for him to be held by it.
For David says of him:
I saw the Lord ever before me,
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;
my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,
because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.

“My brothers, one can confidently say to you
about the patriarch David that he died and was buried,
and his tomb is in our midst to this day.
But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him
that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ,
that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld
nor did his flesh see corruption.
God raised this Jesus;
of this we are all witnesses.
Exalted at the right hand of God,
he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father
and poured him forth, as you see and hear.”

 

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From the Navarre Bible commentary:

Peter’s Address (Continuation)
------------------------------

14-36. Even as the Church takes its first steps St. Peter can be seen to occupy the position of main spokesman. In his address we can distinguish an introduction and two parts: in the first part (verses 16-21) he is explaining that the messianic times foretold by Joel have now arrived; in the second (verses 22-36) he proclaims that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews crucified, is the Messiah promised by God and eagerly awaited by the righteous of the Old Testament; it is He who has effected God’s saving plan for mankind.
*
[14a] But Peter, standing with the Eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, *

**14. **In his commentaries St. John Chrysostom draws attention to the change worked in Peter by the Holy Spirit: “Listen to him preach and argue so boldly, who shortly before had trembled at the word of a servant girl! This boldness is a significant proof of the resurrection of his Master: Peter preaches to men who mock and laugh at his enthusiasm. …] Calumny (‘they are filled with new wine’) does not deter the Apostles; sarcasm does not undermine their courage, for the coming of the Holy Spirit has made new men of them, men who can put up with every kind of human test. When the Holy Spirit enters into hearts He does so to elevate their affections and to change earthly souls, souls of clay, into chosen souls, people of great courage …]. Look at the harmony that exists among the Apostles. See how they allow Peter to speak on behalf of them all. Peter raises his voice and speaks to the people with full assurance. That is the kind of courage a man has when he is the instrument of the Holy Spirit. …] Just as a burning coal does not lose heat when it falls on a haystack but instead is enabled to release its heat, so Peter, now that he is in contact with the life-giving Spirit, spreads his inner fire to those around him” (“Hom. on Acts”, 4).

22-36. To demonstrate that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah foretold by the prophets, St. Peter reminds his listeners of our Lord’s miracles (verse 22), as well as of His death (verse 23), resurrection (verses 24-32) and glorious ascension (verses 33-35). His address ends with a brief summing-up (verse 36).

*[22] "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know–[23] this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. [24] But God raised Him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. [25] For David says concerning Him, ‘I saw the Lord always before Me, for He is at My right hand that I may not be shaken; [26] therefore My heart was glad, and My tongue rejoiced; moreover My flesh will dwell in hope. [27] For Thou will not abandon My soul to Hades, nor let Thy Holy One see corruption. [28] Thou hast made known to Me the ways of life; Thou wilt make Me full of gladness with Thy presence.’
*
*[29] “Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. [30] Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that He would set one of his descendants upon his throne, [31] he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. [32] This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. [33] Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.”

---

1. During His life on earth Jesus had often presented Himself as the Messiah and Son of God. His resurrection and ascension into Heaven reveal Him as such to the people at large.

In Peter’s address we can see an outline of the content of the apostolic proclamation (“kerygma”), the content of Christian preaching, the object of faith. This proclamation bears witness to Christ’s death and resurrection and subsequent exaltation; it recalls the main points of Jesus’ mission, announced by John the Baptist, confirmed by miracles and brought to fulfillment by the appearances of the risen Lord and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit; it declares that the messianic time predicted by the prophets have arrived, and calls all men to conversion, in preparation for the Parousia or second coming of Christ in glory.

 

[TrueLight]

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,
raised his voice, and proclaimed:
“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.
Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.
You who are Israelites, hear these words.
Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God
with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs…

1. In his commentaries St. John Chrysostom draws attention to the change worked in Peter by the Holy Spirit: "Listen to him preach and argue so boldly, who shortly before had trembled at the word of a servant girl! This boldness is a significant proof of the resurrection of his Master:

The remarkable change Peter went through from being a coward (understandably so) who thrice denied Christ, to this bold preacher of the gospel is one of the proofs of the veracity of Christianity. I’ve always said to non-christians, that the only way such a turnaround would occur is if Peter saw the ressurected Christ.

 

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That’s very true. I love the contrast in character pointed out by St. John Chrysostom.

 

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From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

*14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spoke to them: *

Ver. 14. But Peter standing up, &c. A wonderful change which the Holy Ghost, at his coming, in a moment wrought in the apostles, as we see in the person of St. Peter, who before, when questioned by a silly girl, denied his master, now he values not all the Sanhedrim of the Scribes, Pharisees, and magistrates; he boldly and publicly charges them with the murder of Jesus, their Lord, and their Christ. (ver. 36) (Witham) — As the prince of the apostolic college, and head of the Church, under Jesus Christ, hence Peter speaks in the name of the other apostles also, gives an account of the miracle, and promulgates the evangelical law. (Menochius) — Newly replenished with all knowledge and fortitude, and full of the holy Spirit, he here maketh his first sermon. (Bristow)

*22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus, of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, by miracles and wonders, and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as you also know;

23 This same being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have crucified and put to death by the hands of wicked men:*

**Ver. 22-23. **Jesus, … a man, who suffered as man, though he was both God and man. — Delivered by the determinate decree, or counsel; to wit, by that eternal decree, that the Son of God should become man. He mentions this decree, and foreknowledge of God, to signify that Christ suffered not by chance, nor unwillingly, but what God, and he as God, had decreed. (Witham) — By the determinate, &c. God delivered up his Son; and his Son delivered up himself, for the love of us, and for the sake of our salvation: and so Christ’s being delivered up was holy, and was God’s own determination. But they who betrayed and crucified him, did wickedly, following therein their own malice, and the instigation of the devil; not the will and determination of God, who was by no means the author of their wickedness; though he permitted it; because he could, and did draw out of it so great a good, viz. the salvation of man. (Challoner)

 

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Other thoughts and commentary on the 1st Reading:

** 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven: **Peter, whom Jesus had made the Rock on which he was building his Church, was already recognized by the other Apostles and disciples as their official leader and head. It was he, therefore, who addressed the people and explained the events that had happened and were now happening

**raised his voice, and proclaimed to them: **Notice the change worked in Peter by the Holy Spirit: he preaches and argues boldly whereas only some 50 days earlier he had trembled at the word of a servant girl. Notice that it is Peter who speaks for the whole group with no dissension from any of the other apostles.

**"You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem. Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.

22 You who are Israelites, hear these words. Jesus the Nazorean: **Or, Jesus of Nazareth. The name by which he was especially known to the Jews who opposed him. The lowliness of the village from which he came stressed his unimportance in their minds.
**
was a man commended to you by God with mighty deeds, wonders, and signs, which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know: **The miracles Jesus had worked “in their midst” (the curing of the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead after four days in the tomb, had taken place in and beside Jerusalem), were proofs offered to them by God that Jesus was what he claimed to be—the promised Messiah and more, the real Son of God. The overall concern is to show that God is directing history at its every turn.

**23 This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God, you killed: **The chief priests and the Pharisees “planned” to end Jesus’ influence among the people by putting him to death. Judas “planned” to betray him to them at the opportune moment. What they did not know was that the death of Jesus in all its details was “planned” by God from the beginning. “He was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (see the account of the agony in the garden in all 4 Evangelists). God’s fore-ordination of Jesus’ death does not diminish the people’s guilt. God triumphs through human actions rather than despite them.

using lawless men to crucify him: Peter tells the Jews (that is, their leaders) that they went so far in their hatred of Jesus that they called on “lawless men,” that is, Gentiles (who knew not the law of Moses), to put him to death on the cross.

**24 But God raised him up, releasing him from the throes of death: **The resurrection was the crowning act in the drama of the Incarnation. Unwittingly, but nevertheless guiltily, because of their personal, wicked designs, the Jewish leaders had helped to carry out God’s eternal plan for mankind’s salvation.

**because it was impossible for him to be held by it: **The resurrection was part of God’s plan for Christ in his human nature. He could not remain dead, since his death was the door to eternal life for all men and he himself was to be the first to come through that door.

**25 For David says of him: **Peter now cites Psalm 16: 8-11, in which it was foretold that Christ could not remain in Hades, the abode of the dead, but would be released from it. Peter goes on to show in the verses that follow (29-36), that David was still in Hades, still in his tomb, and that his words in this Psalm 16 were a prophecy fulfilled in Christ.

Jewish tradition is that David wrote all the psalms. Psalm 16:8-11 is quoted; it’s only use in the New Testament. The tradition of Davidic authorship of the psalms and the divine pledge of David’s everlasting dynasty (2 Samuel 7:12-16) play a key role in the Scripture proofs of Saint Luke’s proclamation of what God has done in Christ for the salvation of men.
**
‘I saw the Lord ever before me, with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. 26 Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted; my flesh, too, will dwell in hope, 27 because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

29 My brothers, one can confidently say to you about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day: **1 Kings 2:10 tells us that David is buried in Jerusalem. Since David has died, the psalm cannot apply to him. This argument is following a set pattern: (1) Scripture says; (2) the words apply either to the one speaking in the text or to another; (3) they do not apply to the speaker; (4) therefore they apply to another, namely Jesus. Similar patterns occur in Acts 8:30-35 and 13:35-37.
**
30 But since he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne: **The ideology of Davidic succession is quoted from Psalm 132:11-12 to indicate of whom David prophesied in the Psalm.

**31 he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that neither was he abandoned to the netherworld nor did his flesh see corruption.
**
**32 God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses: **The statement of verse 24 is reaffirmed and a statement of apostolic witness is added.
**
33 Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear: **What we have here is Saint Peter, the masterful teacher, demonstrating that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah who was foretold by the prophets by reminding his listeners of our Lord’s miracles (verse 22), as well as of His death (verse 23), resurrection (verses 24-32) and glorious ascension (verse 33).

 

[Fidelis]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing Acts 2:14, 22-33

**The signs of the kingdom of God

547** Jesus accompanies his words with many “mighty works and wonders and signs”, which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.268

268. Acts 2:22; cf. Lk 7:18-23.

**Jews are not collectively responsible for Jesus’ death

597** The historical complexity of Jesus’ trial is apparent in the Gospel accounts. The personal sin of the participants (Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate) is known to God alone. Hence we cannot lay responsibility for the trial on the Jews in Jerusalem as a whole, despite the outcry of a manipulated crowd and the global reproaches contained in the apostles’ calls to conversion after Pentecost.385 Jesus himself, in forgiving them on the cross, and Peter in following suit, both accept “the ignorance” of the Jews of Jerusalem and even of their leaders.386 Still less can we extend responsibility to other Jews of different times and places, based merely on the crowd’s cry: “His blood be on us and on our children!”, a formula for ratifying a judicial sentence.387 As the Church declared at the Second Vatican Council:

• . . . [N]either all Jews indiscriminately at that time, nor Jews today, can be charged with the crimes committed during his Passion. . . [T]he Jews should not be spoken of as rejected or accursed as if this followed from holy Scripture.*388

385. Cf. Mk 15:11; Acts 2:23, 36; 3:13-14; 4:10; 5:30; 7:52; 10:39; 13:27-28; 1 Thes 2:14-15.

386. Cf. Lk 23:34; Acts 3:17.

387. Mt 27:25; cf. Acts 5:28; 18:6.

388. NA 4.

**CHRIST’S REDEMPTIVE DEATH IN GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION

“Jesus handed over according to the definite plan of God”

599** Jesus’ violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God’s plan, as St. Peter explains to the Jews of Jerusalem in his first sermon on Pentecost: "This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God."393 This Biblical language does not mean that those who handed him over were merely passive players in a scenario written in advance by God.394

393. Acts 2:23.

394. Cf. Acts 3:13.

**“You will not let your Holy One see corruption”

627** Christ’s death was a real death in that it put an end to his earthly human existence. But because of the union which the person of the Son retained with his body, his was not a mortal corpse like others, for "it was not possible for death to hold him"470 and therefore "divine power preserved Christ’s body from corruption."471 Both of these statements can be said of Christ: “He was cut off out of the land of the living”,472 and "My flesh will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see corruption."473 Jesus’ Resurrection “on the third day” was the sign of this, also because bodily decay was held to begin on the fourth day after death.474

470. Acts 2:24.

471. St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 51, 3.

472. Isa 53:8.

473. Acts 2:26-27; cf. Ps 16:9-10.

474. Cf. 1 Cor 15:4; Lk 24:46; Mt 12:40; Jon 2:1; Hos 6:2; cf. Jn 11:39.

Concluded on the next post…

 

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633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, “hell” - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.480 Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into “Abraham’s bosom”:481 "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Savior in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell."482 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.483

480. Cf. Phil 2:10; Acts 2:24; Rev 1:18; Eph 4:9; Pss 6:6; 88:11-13.

481. Cf. Ps 89:49; 1 Sam 28:19; Ezek 32:17-32; Lk 16:22-26.

482. Roman Catechism I, 6, 3.

483. Cf. Council of Rome (745): DS 587; Benedict XII, Cum dudum (1341): DS 1011; Clement VI, Super quibusdam (1351): DS 1077; Council of Toledo IV (625): DS 485; Mt 27:52-53.

**THE RESURRECTION - A WORK OF THE HOLY TRINITY

648** Christ’s Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. The Father’s power “raised up” Christ his Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son’s humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as “Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead”.515 St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God’s power516 through the working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus’ dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship.

515. Rom 1:3-4; cf. Acts 2:24.

516. Cf. Rom 6:4; 2 Cor 13:4; Phil 3:10; Eph 1:19-22; Heb 7:16.

**
659** "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God."532 Christ’s body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys.533 But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity.534 Jesus’ final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God’s right hand.535 Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way would Jesus show himself to Paul “as to one untimely born”, in a last apparition that established him as an apostle.536

532. Mk 16:19.

533. Cf Lk 24:31; Jn 20:19,26.

534. Cf. Acts 1:3; 10:41; Mk 16:12; Lk 24:15; Jn 20:14-15; 21:4.

535. Cf. Acts 1:9; 2:33; 7:56; Lk 9:34-35; 24:51; Ex 13:22; Mk 16:19; Ps 110:1.

536. 1 Cor 15:8; cf. 9:1; Gal 1:16.

THE SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE LAST DAYS

Pentecost

731 On the day of Pentecost when the seven weeks of Easter had come to an end, Christ’s Passover is fulfilled in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person: of his fullness, Christ, the Lord, pours out the Spirit in abundance.122

122. Cf. Acts 2:33-36.

788 When his visible presence was taken from them, Jesus did not leave his disciples orphans. He promised to remain with them until the end of time; he sent them his Spirit.218 As a result communion with Jesus has become, in a way, more intense: "By communicating his Spirit, Christ mystically constitutes as his body those brothers of his who are called together from every nation."219

218. Cf. Jn 14:18; 20:22; Mt 28:20; Acts 2:33.

219. LG 7.

**1287 **This fullness of the Spirit was not to remain uniquely the Messiah’s, but was to be communicated to the whole messianic people.94 On several occasions Christ promised this outpouring of the Spirit,95 a promise which he fulfilled first on Easter Sunday and then more strikingly at Pentecost.96 Filled with the Holy Spirit the apostles began to proclaim “the mighty works of God,” and Peter declared this outpouring of the Spirit to be the sign of the messianic age.97 Those who believed in the apostolic preaching and were baptized received the gift of the Holy Spirit in their turn.98

94. Cf. Ezek 36:25-27; Joel 3:1-2.

95. Cf. Lk 12:12; Jn 3:5-8; 7:37-39; 16:7-15; Acts 1:8.

96. Cf. Jn 20:22; Acts 2:1-14.

97. Acts 2:11; Cf. 2:17-18.

98. Cf. Acts 2:38.

 

[Fidelis]

A meditation on the 1st Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **Easter is the season of hope, of encouragement and of consolation for every true Christian. It recalls to his mind the fact of Christ’s victory over death—a victory which in God’s eternal plan was not for him alone, but for all men who believe in him and try to follow him. The true Christian knows that his bodily or physical death is but a necessary prelude to the new and unending life God has prepared for him. The few verses of St. Peter’s sermon, preached to the Jews in Jerusalem on that first Pentecost Day, bring this consoling thought to our minds, and it is a thought which should influence and direct our way of living every day of our lives.

It so affected St. Peter’s audience that day that 3,000 joined the Apostles (2:41), and this was an audience which up to then paid little or no heed to the “man” who had been crucified, some seven weeks earlier on Mount calvary.

How much greater should not its impact be on us, who already know who Christ really was, and who know the meaning his resurrection has for us?

However, let us not forget, that in the audience, too, were men who shut their ears and their minds to the facts told by St. Peter, men who continued to oppose Christ and revile him, and who did their utmost to put an end to his faithful followers. But in vain. Christ had triumphed, the Church he had founded would triumph, and millions of his faithful followers down through the centuries, have entered the eternal kingdom which his life, death and resurrection opened to them.

While we have still today, thank God, millions who are striving to follow Christ and to make their way to heaven, we have millions too (apart from those who through no fault of theirs have not heard his “good news,” and for whom God will provide), millions who, like those unrepentant Jews of Jerusalem, shut their ears and their minds to the facts of the Incarnation and to its relevance to them.

Death, even eternal death, has, they proclaim, no fears for them; yet in their every action they are proving their love of life by their attachment to the very limited comforts and consolations which the fleeting life of this earth can give them. Are they not in their theories contradicting their own very actions, and contradicting the natural desire to continue living—a desire which the Creator instilled in every intelligent being, and which God arranged to satisfy, through the merciful mystery of the Incarnation?

Charity, true love of God and neighbor, demands that we pray frequently and fervently that God will open the eyes of our fellowman to the light of the true Christian faith, that they too may profit by the Incarnation, that they too may rise to a life of eternal happiness. As for ourselves, let each one of us be another St. Peter in our own small way, by letting the light of faith, which God has given us, shine brightly before all men in our words and especially in our deeds.

 

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2nd Reading - 1 Peter 1:17-21

This week we delve a little farther into the 1st letter of Peter. Peter was originally called Simeon in Hebrew (Simon is the Greek form of the name). Jesus reamed him Kepha (Hebrew/Aramaic) or Petros (Greek), transliterated in some texts as Cephas. Simon Peter was a native of Bethsaida, a city of Galilee on the northeast shore of Lake Tiberius (Genesareth/Sea of Galilee). Like his father John and his brother Andrew, he was a fisherman. We know that he was married because Jesus healed his mother-in-law who was living in Capernaum (Matthew 8:14).

Today we hear Saint Peter call us to holiness. The Christian has attained the honor of being God’s child, his son or daughter. Peter summarizes God’s plan for man’s salvation, which comes about in Christ: from all eternity it was God’s design to save men through Christ; this design was made manifest “at the end of times”; when our Lord offered Himself as an expiation for the sins of men, and then rose from the dead and was glorified.

Here is the 2nd Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

Beloved:
If you invoke as Father him who judges impartially
according to each one’s works,
conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning,
realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished lamb.

He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible commentary:

The Blood of Christ Is Our Ransom
---------------------------------

**17-21. **The Christian has attained the honor of being a son or daughter of God. The sacred writer summarizes God’s plan for man’s salvation, which comes about in Christ: from all eternity, it was God’s design to save men through Christ; this design was made manifest “at the end of the times”, when our Lord offered Himself as an expiation for the sins of men, and then rose from the dead and was glorified. This is a further reason why Christians should grow in their desire for holiness.

“You were ransomed” (verse 18): the image of ransoming used here to explain Redemption is probably taken from sacred manumission (common at the time in Asia Minor and Greece) whereby slaves were set free through a sum of money being deposited in the temple. When exhorting Christians not to return to their former sins, St. Paul also stresses the great size of the ransom (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:20 and note). The amount of the ransom, St. Ambrose points out, “was not reckoned in terms of money but in terms of blood, for Christ died for us; He has set us free with His precious blood, as St. Peter also reminds us in his letter …]; precious because it is the blood of a spotless Lamb, the blood of the Son of God, who has ransomed us not only from the curse of the Law, but
also from that never-ending death which impiety implies” (“Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam”, 7, 117).

“The blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (verse 19): in the sacrifice of Jesus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah about the Messiah’s expiatory suffering; and it also finally completed the liberation of the Israelite first-born in Egypt though the blood of the paschal lamb (Exodus 12; cf. Introduction to this letter). So, when in the New Testament the figure of the Lamb is applied to Christ, this is a way of referring to the atoning sacrifice of the Cross and, also, the spotless innocence of the Redeemer (cf. note on John 1:29).

*[17] And if you invoke as Father Him who judges each one impartially according to his deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. *

**17. “**If you invoke as Father”: this may be a reference to the saying of the Our Father, which Christians may have recited at the Baptism ceremony from the very beginning. We do know (cf. the “Didache”, or “Teaching of the Twelve Apostles”, an anonymous text of the apostolic era) that Christians used to pray the Our Father three times a day (cf. 8, 3). Frequent reflection on the fact that God is our Father fills us with peace and joy and stirs us to act as befits children of such a Father, knowing that God sees us and judges our actions. Therefore, divine filiation can never be taken as a kind of safe-conduct which allows us to be casual about our duties: "Worldly souls are very fond of thinking of God’s mercy. And so they are encouraged to persist in their follies.

“It is true that God our Lord is infinitely merciful, but He is also infinitely just: and there is a judgment, and He is the Judge” ([St] J. Escriva, “The Way”, 747).

*[18] You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. [20] He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake. [21] Through Him you have confidence in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. *

**21. **The resurrection of Jesus is the basis of Christian faith and hope and is the main proof of Jesus’ divinity and His divine mission (cf., e.g., 1 Corinthians 15 and notes on same). The Apostles were, first and foremost, witnesses of our Lord’s resurrection (cf. Acts 1:22; 2:32; etc.), and the proclamation of the Resurrection was the core of apostolic catechesis (cf. the discourses of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles).

Jesus Christ rose from the dead by His own power, the power of His divine person (cf. “Creed of the People of God”, 12); the “St. Pius V Catechism” points out that “we sometimes, it is true, read in Scripture that He was raised by the Father; but this refers to Him as man, just as those passages, on the other hand, which say that He rose by His own power relate to Him as God” (I, 6, 8).

Brotherly Love
---------------------
[22] Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart. [23] You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; [24] for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, [25] but the word of the Lord abides for ever.” That word is the good news which was preached to you.

22-25. Fraternal love is one of the main signs of holiness. Jesus said that this love would be the distinguishing mark of Christians, and the Apostles often repeat this teaching in the instruction they impart (cf., e.g., 1 Cor 13; Jas 2:8; 1 Jn). The new people of God, Vatican II says, “are reborn, not from a corruptible seed, but from an incorruptible one through the word of the living God (cf. 1 Pet 1:23); the law of this people is the new commandment to love as Christ loved us (cf. Jn 13:34)” (“Lumen Gentium”, 9).

 

[Fidelis]

From the 1859 Haydock Commentary:

He exhorts to holiness of life, considering the holiness of God, and our redemption by the blood of Christ.

*17 And if you call on the Father, who *without respect of persons, judgeth according to every one’s work, converse in fear during the time of your sojourning here:

18 Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers:*

Ver. 18. From your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers. St. Peter teacheth what St. Paul repeats in many places, that it was in vain for them to hope to be saved by the ceremonies and precepts of the former law, to which their forefathers had added many unnecessary and groundless traditions. They could only hope for salvation by believing in Christ, by the price of whose precious blood they were redeemed from their sins, as they had heard by the word of the gospel preached to them. His doctrine is the same with that of St. Paul, of St. James, of St. John, and of the other apostles, that to be saved it is not enough to have faith or hope in Christ, but it must be a faith joined and working by charity, obeying the law of Christ in the spirit of charity with a sincere and brotherly love of every one, without setting our hearts upon the vanities and corruptible things of this world, remembering that all flesh is as grass, or the flowers of the field, which wither and pass away in a very short time. Thus presently vanish all riches, honours, pleasures, and all the glory of this life, but the word of God and his promises will bring us to happiness which will last for ever. (Witham)
*
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled:

20 Foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but manifested in the last times for you,

21 Who through him are faithful in God, who raised him from the dead, and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God:*

 

[Fidelis]

Other thoughts and commentary on the 2nd Reading:

**17 Now if you invoke as Father: **Calling upon a father as witness is swearing an oath (*kaddush *in Hebrew) it is recognizing a covenant bond in which we are all children of God. When the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray he gave them the “Lord’s Prayer,” which begins by invoking God as “Our Father.” This became one of the liturgical prayers of the Christian assemblies from the very first days of the Church. The Didache (The Teaching of the 12 Apostles), a 1st century writing, tells us that the “Our Father” was recited three times a day.

him who judges impartially: It is true that the Lord our God is infinitely merciful, but He is also infinitely just: and there is a judgment, and He is the judge. While God is a true loving Father, he is also a just judge, and we prove our true sonship by our actions in relation to him and our neighbor.

**according to each one’s works: **So much for the erroneous doctrine of salvation by “faith alone”. Divine sonship can never be taken as a kind of safe-conduct which allows us to be casual about our duties. *Faith without works is dead (*James 2:26).

conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning: We are adopted sons of God here on earth—a period of exile from our real home—but we shall get the inheritance promised us only if we serve God reverently and truly during this period of trial. Fear means reverence and due respect in this context.

**18 realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors: ** Before their conversion to Christianity they were all pagans or Jews. Neither Judaism nor paganism could ever have made them sons of God and heirs to heaven, but Christ had earned this right and title for them.

**not with perishable things like silver or gold: **The Jews could redeem their sacrifice by paying 15 to 20 per cent more than the cost of the animal. The animal sacrifice was not effective; although it could show contrition for sin, it could not gain absolution sufficient for entrance into heaven.

**19 but with the precious blood of Christ: **The sacrifice of Jesus is effective, it allows us to approach the Father and gain absolution for our sins. Christ assumed human nature, and gladly offered his human life by shedding his blood on the cross, in order to open to us eternal life.

*“If the unfortunate Jews observe the Sabbath in such a way that they do not dare to do any secular work on it, how much more should those who have been ‘redeemed, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ’—pay attention to their price and devote themselves to God on the day of His resurrection, thinking more diligently of the salvation of their souls?” *[Caesar of Arles (A.D. 542), *Sermons

, 73,4]

**as of a spotless unblemished lamb: **This is a Passover reference which carries over into the Eucharist. Just like the original Passover sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Eucharist must be eaten to be effective. He who had no sin became a “sin-offering,” that is, a true sacrifice for us sinners.

20 He was known before the foundation of the world: The eternal decree of God, before the universe or man was created, had planned an eternal life for man, the masterpiece of creation, the one creature in the universe who through his spiritual gifts had the “image” of God in him. God always knew what was going to be required, but He, in His infinite respect for our free will, let us come to this point in salvation history by our own deeds and actions.

**but revealed in the final time for you: The whole period of time that passed between creation and the coming of Christ, the completion and perfection of creation, was looked on as a period of waiting, of preparation. Christ’s coming marked the end of those periods—“the fulness of time," as St. Paul calls it. No other such world-changing event will ever again come until the end of time.
**
21 who through him believe in God: Because of Christ we have learned of God’s infinite love and mercy for us, and it was by raising Christ from the dead that God proved that Christ was his Son in human nature and restored to him the glory of the Godhead of which “he had emptied himself,” while living on earth among us.

**who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God: **The resurrection of Jesus is the basis of Christian faith and hope and is the main proof of Jesus’ divinity and His divine mission (see 1 Corinthians 15). The apostles were, first and foremost, witnesses of our Lord’s resurrection; and the proclamation of the resurrection was the core of apostolic catechesis. Jesus the Christ rose from the dead by His own power, the power of His divine person. The Saint Pius V Catechism points out that “We sometimes, it is true, read in Scripture that He was raised by the Father; but this refers to Him as man, just as those passages, on the other hand, which say that He rose by His own power relate to Him as God.”

The next verse reads “Since you have purified yourselves by obedience to the truth for sincere mutual love, love one another intensely from a (pure) heart.” Everything depends upon living the life of Christ: Because of all he has already done for us we can firmly trust and feel secure that we will attain heaven, the reward earned for us by Christ through God’s mercy and love

 

[Fidelis]

Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs referencing 1 Peter 1:17-21:

**517 **Christ’s whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood of his cross,179 but this mystery is at work throughout Christ’s entire life:

- already in his Incarnation through which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;180

- in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our disobedience;181

- in his word which purifies its hearers;182

- in his healings and exorcisms by which "he took our infirmities and bore our diseases";183

- and in his Resurrection by which he justifies us.184

179. Cf. Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14; 1 Pet 1:18-19.

180. Cf. 2 Cor 8:9.

181. Cf. Lk 2:51.

182. Cf. Jn 15:3.

183. Mt 8:17; cf. Isa 53:4.

184. Cf. Rom 4:25.

**“For our sake God made him to be sin”

602** Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers. . . with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake."402 Man’s sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death.403 By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God "made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."404

402. 1 Pet 1:18-20.

403. Cf. Rom 5:12; 1 Cor 15:56.

404. 2 Cor 5:21; cf. Phil 2:7; Rom 8:3.

**Christ’s death is the unique and definitive sacrifice

613 **Christ’s death is both the Paschal sacrifice that accomplishes the definitive redemption of men, through “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”,439 and the sacrifice of the New Covenant, which restores man to communion with God by reconciling him to God through the “blood of the covenant, which was poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”.440

439. Jn 1:29; cf. 8:34-36; 1 Cor 5:7; 1 Pet 1:19.

440. Mt 26:28; cf. Ex 24:8; Lev 16:15-16; 1 Cor 11:25.

 

[Fidelis]

A meditation on the 2nd Reading for practical application from Catholic Matters:

**APPLICATION: **St. Peter’s message to us today is this: we are sons of God because of his infinite mercy in sending Christ to us as our brother. So we can rightly call God our “Father.” But we must behave as true, loyal sons, during our “time of exile” on this earth, for our merciful Father is also the absolutely just God who will judge each one of us “impartially according to our deeds” when we lay down our earthly life.

The fact that we are adopted sons of God, and thus co-heirs of Christ to the eternal kingdom, is the foundation, the title-deed, to our future possession of the promised inheritance. But we must live our lives in accordance with the conditions laid down in those title-deeds. We must follow Christ all through our earthly life if we are to join him in the eternal kingdom.

Our Lord himself put this very emphatically and clearly when he said : “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24). This does not mean that life must be one long martyrdom, but it means that we must keep our human passions and unlawful earthly desires under control. Millions of Christians in the past have done this, and nobody could say they lived a miserable life on this earth. There are millions of Christians today who are keeping the laws of God and living as loving and grateful “sons of God,” and they should be and are the happiest men and women on earth.

Look around and see the non-practicing Christians; they have more than they can use of the wealth of this world, but they are unhappy because they want more. The sixth and seventh commandments have been long since ignored and forgotten by them, but the troubles of body and mind brought on by their illicit actions remain with them all their earthly lives. They spend their energies striving for financial and political power, only to find they have been chasing rainbows. They may live in luxury, but do they live in peace with their own consciences? They can hardly refuse to admit that one day soon they must leave all they had spent their life acquiring; and their being buried in a gold casket or coffin, in a marble vault, will not guarantee them any future happiness.

Every good Christian realizes what St. Peter tells us today: this life is but a period of exile. We are on our way to our true home, and any trials we have to meet on the way are examinations we have to pass in order to graduate into that everlasting home. But the crown of glory which awaits us is worth a thousand times more than all the crosses and trials this earthly life can inflict on us.

St. Peter reminds us, too, that it was not with gold or silver or any other earthly goods that this future life of happiness was bought for us, but by the life and sufferings of Christ, whom God had “destined before the foundation of the world” to be our mediator and Savior. God thought of us from all eternity—he is still thinking of us and of our true happiness. Surely, we have enough sense, and enough interest in our own welfare, to think of our own future and to live the few years of exile as true, adopted sons of God, and thus make ourselves worthy to be with our heavenly Father for all eternity!

 

[Fidelis]

Gospel Reading: Luke 24:13-35

* Today’s gospel takes place on Easter Sunday (as do all the resurrection appearances of Jesus that are dated in the gospels), after the appearance of Jesus to the women at the tomb (Mark 16:1-8; John 20:11-18).

* Two of Jesus’ disciples are making their way to a town called Emmaus. One of the disciples who is named, Cleopas, is thought to be the brother of Jesus’ foster-father, St. Joseph (John 19:25). Both may have been members of “the 72” sent out on mission by Jesus in Luke 10:1.

* Jesus, who at first conceals his identity from them, finds them disconsolate at having their hopes dashed at recent events. That they misunderstood Jesus’ person and mission is evident by their referring to him as merely a “prophet” (verse 19).e.

* Jesus chides them for being “slow of heart” to understand him and proceeds to lead them through salvation history, showing how his whole life was foreordained by the Old Testament. It isn’t until Jesus reveals himself in the Eucharist, however, that they truly know him for who he is.

Here is the Gospel Reading as we will hear it this Sunday:

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
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.
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?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

 

[Fidelis]

From the Navarre Bible commentary:

The Road To Emmaus
------------------

13-35. In the course of their conversation with Jesus, the disciples’ mood changes from sadness to joy; they begin to hope again, and feel the need to share their joy with others, thus becoming heralds and witnesses of the risen Christ.

This is an episode exclusive to St. Luke, who describes it in a masterly way. It shows our Lord’s zeal for souls. “As He is walking along, Christ meets two men who have nearly lost all hope. They are beginning to feel that life has no meaning for them. Christ understands their sorrow; He sees into their heart and communicates to them some of the life He carries within Himself.”

“When they draw near the village, He makes as if to go on, but the two disciples stop Him and practically force Him to stay with them. They recognize Him later when He breaks the bread. The Lord, they exclaimed, has been with us! And 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?"' (Luke 24:32). Every Christian should make Christ present among men. He ought to act in such a way that those who know Him sense the aroma of Christ’ (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:15). Men should be able to recognize the Master in His disciples” ([St] J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 105).

[13] That very day two of them (disciples) were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, [14] and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. [15] While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. [16] But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. [17] And He said to them, “What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. [18] Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, “Are You the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” [19] And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, [20] and how our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. [21] But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. [22] Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning [23] and did not find His body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive. [24] Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.” [25] And He said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [26] Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” [27] And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Continued on the next post…

 

[Fidelis]

13-27. Jesus’ conversation with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus gives us a very good idea of the disillusionment felt by His disciples after His apparent total failure. Cleopas’ words summarize Christ’s life and mission (verse 19), His passion and death (verse 20), the despair felt by His disciples (verse 21), and the events of that Sunday morning (verse 22).

Earlier, Jesus had said to the Jews: “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness to Me” (John 5:39). In saying this He indicated the best way for us to get to know Him. Pope Paul VI points out that today also frequent reading of and devotion to Holy Scripture is a clear inspiration of the Holy Spirit: “The progress made in biblical studies, the increasing dissemination of the Sacred Scriptures, and above all the example of tradition and the interior action of the Holy Spirit are tending to cause the modern Christian to use the Bible ever increasingly as the basic prayerbook and to draw from it genuine inspiration and unsurpassable examples” ([Pope] Paul VI, “Marialis Cultus”, 30).

Because the disciples are so downhearted, Jesus patiently opens for them the meaning of all the Scriptural passages concerning the Messiah. “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?”: with these words He disabuses them of the notion of an earthly and political Messiah and shows them that Christ’s mission is a supernatural one–to save all mankind.

Sacred Scripture contained the prophecy that God would bring about salvation through the redemptive passion and death of the Messiah. The Cross does not mean failure: it is the route chosen by God for Christ to achieve definitive victory over sin and death (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:23-24). Many of our Lord’s contemporaries failed to understand His supernatural mission because they misinterpreted the Old Testament texts. No one knew the meaning of Sacred Scripture like Jesus. And, after Him, only the Church has the mission and responsibility of conserving Scripture and interpreting it correctly: “All that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Vatican II, “Dei Verbum”, 12).
**
28-35. **The Master’s presence and words restore the disciples’ spirits and give them new and lasting hope. "There were two disciples on their way to Emmaus. They were walking along at a normal pace, like so many other travelers on that road. And there, without any fuss, Jesus appears to them, and walks with them, His conversation helping to alleviate their tiredness. I can well imagine the scene, just as dusk is falling. A gentle breeze is blowing. All around are fields ripe with wheat, and venerable olive trees, their branches shimmering in the soft glowing light.

[28] So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, [29] 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. [30] When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. [31] And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished out of their sight. [32] 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?” *

**32. **If you were an apostle, these words of the disciples of Emmaus should rise spontaneously to the lips of your professional companions when they meet you along the way of their lives" (“The Way”, 917).

Concluded on the next post…

 

[Fidelis]

[33] And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the Eleven gathered together and those who were with them, [34] who said, “The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” [35] Then they told what had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
**
33-35. **The disciples now feel the need to return to Jerusalem immediately; there they find the Apostles and some other disciples gathered together with Peter, to whom Jesus has appeared.

In sacred history, Jerusalem was the place where God chose to be praised in a very special way and where the prophets carried out their main ministry. God willed that Christ should suffer, die and rise again in Jerusalem, and from there the Kingdom of God begins to spread (cf. Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8). In the New Testament the Church of Christ is described as “the Jerusalem above” (Galatians 4:26), “the Heavenly Jerusalem” (Hebrews 12:22) and the “new Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:2).

The Church began in the Holy City. Later on, St. Peter, not without a special intervention of Providence, moved to Rome, thereby making that city the center of the Church. Just as Peter strengthened these first disciples in the faith, so too Christians of all generations have recourse to the See of Peter to strengthen their faith and thereby build up the unity of the Church: “Take away the Pope and the Catholic Church would no longer be catholic. Moreover, without the supreme, effective and authoritative pastoral office of Peter the unity of Christ’s Church would collapse. It would be vain to look for other principles of unity in place of the true one established by Christ Himself …]. We would add that this cardinal principle of holy Church is not a supremacy of spiritual pride and a desire to dominate mankind, but a primacy of service, ministration and love. It is no vapid rhetoric which confers on Christ’s vicar the title: `Servant of the servants of God’” ([Pope] Paul VI, “Ecclesiam Suam”, 83).

"Jesus joins them as they go along their way. Lord, how great you are, in everything! But You move me even more when You come down to our level, 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 recognize You when You come without any outward sign of Your glory.

"The journey ends when they reach the village. The two disciples who, without realizing it, have been deeply stirred by the words and love shown by God made man, are sorry to see Him leaving. For Jesus appeared to be going further' (Luke 24:28). This Lord of ours never forces Himself on us. He wants us to turn to Him freely, when we begin to grasp the purity of His Love which He has placed in our souls. We have to hold Him back (they constrained Him’) and beg Him: `Stay with us, for it is towards evening, and the day is now far spent’ (Luke 24:29).

"That’s just like us–always short on daring, perhaps because we are insincere, or because we feel embarrassed. Deep down, what we are really thinking is: Stay with us, because our souls are shrouded in darkness and You alone are the light. You alone can satisfy this longing that consumes us.' For we know full well which among all things fair and honorable is the best–to possess God for ever’ (St. Gregory Nazianzen, “Epistulae”, 212).

"And Jesus stays. Our eyes are opened, as were those of Cleopas and his companion, when Christ breaks the bread; and, though He vanishes once more from sight, we too will find strength to start out once more–though night is falling–to tell the others about Him, because so much joy cannot be kept in one heart alone.

“The road to Emmaus–our God has filled this name with sweetness. Now the entire world has become an Emmaus, for the Lord has opened up all the divine paths of the earth” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 313f).