April 18, 1999 |
The Third Sunday of Easter is the beautiful story of Jesus appearing to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. It is unique to St. Luke's Gospel. The appearance of the Risen Christ to the two disciples not only is an announcement of the Resurrection, it is also a teaching about the presence of Christ in the Breaking of the Bread. Doubtlessly, the early Church listened to, and preached this story often to proclaim the reality of the Risen Lord in the "Breaking of the Bread." As with all Scripture, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, and went through several editions or reductions before reaching its final version in approximately 85 A.D. Dr. Reginald Fuller notes that
"In its present form, the story reflects on the pattern of early Christian worship. The self-manifestation of the Risen One takes place through the two events of the exposition of the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread. These two events take place in every liturgy; word and sacrament are integral parts of a single coming of Christ to His own. The Gospel is a wonderful occasion to reflect on the presence of Christ in Word and Sacrament. He is present in the Assembly, His Word (that is why the Gospel Book is carried in and incensed), and 'especially in the Eucharist species' as the Second Vatican Council reminds us."
In this very rich and meaningful Easter season, as we as a parish community prepare for such wonderful Sacramental events such as First Communion, the Ordinations of Larry Brunette and Carlos Bohorquez to the priesthood, and Corpus Christi, let us all reflect the reality of Christ's presence in the Eucharist.
It is not hard for those of us who have had a member of our family die to relate to the feelings of the apostles and disciples after the crucifixion. What is mind-boggling to us is the resurrection. The incredulous joy they must have felt is an experience that we can only imagine. The Risen Christ wants us all to share in this joy so He sent the Holy Spirit that we might come to know and believe. By the power of the Spirit we too can sing ALLELUIA, HE IS RISEN! He goes before us to bring us to himself. ALLELUIA !
God our Father, we know all your children are precious in your eyes, yet we beg you specially to bless the people of our own country with the gift of faith and hope of salvation. We pray for those who preach the gospel in America in her great cities and little villages, who bear you witness in a thousand different places. Give them courage, Lord, when they are weary, and peace in the midst of the struggle. May their sound go forth through all the land, until America is what she dares to dream, one nation under God.
In the Easter accounts that we read these Sundays none is more striking than the story about the Road to Emmaus. The disciples are distraught because they are confused about the events that took place in Jerusalem. In Him whom they put their trust was killed; all seemed to have come apart.
There are times in every person's life when nothing makes sense, and this happens even when one acts responsibly. We are invited to enter this story and recognize that God is ever faithful. He never abandons those whom He loves.
Jesus relates the whole of salvation history to the two disciples and in the process they begin to make the connection. We, too, need to see the links that make up the chain that is our story.
They finally recognized Him in the BREAKING OF THE BREAD. The gift of the resurrection is not something we imagine or interpret, to suit our needs. The whole of the events invites us to accept that, not only is it real, but that, "in the breaking of the bread," we encounter the Risen Lord.
In our participation we anticipate the banquet of eternal life. The Eucharist is the definitive sign of the victory of life over death and our hope for life.
Fr. Ron
The letter from the Dating Service began: "Welcome, new single, to Grandview! Just fill out the enclosed form and romance is on its way!" How did they find me? And where is romance on its way from? The form lists places that are good to meet fellow singles. One that isn't listed is at "the breaking of the bread."
Today we hear the beautiful story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus and how they recognized the Risen Lord in "the breaking of the bread."
You and I have been recognizing Him in the Eucharist for years. The more you attend, the more meaningful it becomes. The more you attend, the more you get to know the people you are worshipping with. The more you attend, the more you feel called to enter into the life of the Parish, and soon you understand that parish is family. (I just may suggest to the Dating Service that they add the weekly Eucharist to their list of places to meet people.)
Invite others to this weekly "Breaking of the bread" and, as a friend of mine always says, "Come early and often yourselves!"
Father Murphy
Once again, I wish all of you continued Easter blessings of peace and joy! When you read this, I will be almost ready to conclude my sabbatical retreat. Our group of priests went to the town of St. Francis, Assisi to make our retreat. Indeed, what a special place, as anyone knows who has been there. St. Francis loved God more than anything in his life. All his wealth, his secure life, his future, was all worthless to him when compared to the love of God. Through God's grace, Francis was able to respond so completely to God's life, that he gave all he had away and desired to love God in absolute and complete poverty, chastity and obedience.
We who live in these modernistic and materialistic times can only marvel at Francis' complete trust in God's providence. Our culture and times bombard us with the idea that the more things we have, the more security we possess, the happier we will be. Francis knew better. He understood that God is our only treasure; God is our ultimate security; God is the first and final cause of our joy. I believe that the life and message of Francis in imitation of Jesus is a message our world desperately needs to hear, a world that continually turns in on itself instead of turning to God.
Have you heard the invitation of St. Francis to simplify your life? For most of us, that will not mean giving everything away as he did, for most of us have to live amidst the tensions of the things of this world and those of the world to come. But I think it does mean that all of us are called to value a simpler more genuine lifestyle, to recognize that all we have is a blessing and gift and that we are merely stewards. Our call is to be grateful for all that we have and to be generous in sharing it with the less fortunate. If indeed, we live by that moral standard, then we can truly call ourselves sons and daughters of the Troubador of Heaven, St. Francis.
Prayerfully yours,
Father Kemme
1. ACTS 2:14, 22-28.
We hear today part of a sermon of St. Peter as given on the first Pentecost Sunday, the first day the Apostles proclaimed their faith in public. Listen carefully to this sermon, for it is the earliest record we have of the belief that Jesus Christ is Lord and is risen from the dead.
APPLICATION: Risen from the dead, Jesus is now the means of salvation even for those responsible for his death. They need only to call on his name.
2. 1. PETER 1:17-21.
After a long life of witnessing to his belief in the Risen Lord, St. Peter wrote on that belief to the early Christians. He focused on the price Jesus had paid for his faith and hope in God. They (we)are reminded that God is our Father who also loves us. He is also a Father who takes us seriously and expects us to show our love in return.
APPLICATION: Through Jesus, God has delivered us from futility and granted us the entrance into eternal life.
3. LUKE 24:13-35.
The story we read from the Gospel today is a story of faith being born on a short trip
(7 miles) from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus leads two disciples to faith by explaining Scripture and by revealing himself in the breaking of the bread.
APPLICATION: God sometimes chooses the everyday doubts and despair of our lives to enable us to experience faith. Jesus is with us throughout our lifetime trials.
Fr. Eugene R. Sinz
It is essential to recognize that the renewed liturgy calls for different ways of expressing reverence than most of us learned before the council. In those days we expressed reverence primarily by what we didn't do: We didn't talk in church, didn't set foot in the sanctuary, didn't touch the chalice, and didn't chew the host, for example.
Today's liturgy calls for a different approach. Reverence is a matter of recognizing and responding to the presence of Christ during the liturgy. As Christ reveals himself in the assembly as it gathers, in the priest who presides at Mass, in the word proclaimed and in the meal of his body and blood, we are called to respond with reverence at every stage of the liturgy. Reverence for Christ's presence in the assembly requires hospitality to those who gather with us. Reverence for Christ as the true leader of our worship, acting through the presider, calls us to enter into the liturgy wholeheartedly. Reverence for Christ speaking to us through the proclamation of the word demands attentive listening with open ears and open hearts. Reverence for Christ in the eucharistic meal calls us to recognize him in the bread and wine and in all the members of the body of Christ who share the meal with us.
THEME: ON THE JOURNEY: In our mobile, disposable world, it's hard to teach our children the value of things that last. Young people go away to college. They settle in areas far away from where they were raised. When they get there, they eat instant dinners on plates they throw away. Skilled craftsmen are fewer than in generations before us. There's no one left to repair things--if there is anything left worth repairing. We buy cheap and then rather than fix it, we discard it to buy a new one. We don't really mind doing this because we get tired of the old one anyway. When it breaks, we're glad to get something fresh, new, and different.
The readings today focus on things that last. Silver and gold are pretty durable, but even they don't last like the Blood of Jesus.
The Individual Aspect of Penance... In the last years much has been done to highlight in the church's practice - in conformity with the most ancient tradition of the Church - the community aspect of Penance and especially of the Sacrament of Penance. We cannot, however, forget that conversion is a particularly profound inward act in which the individual cannot be replaced by others and cannot make the community be a substitute for him. Although the participation by the fraternal community of the faithful in the penitential celebration is a great help for the act of personal conversion, nevertheless, in the final analysis, it is necessary that in this act there should be a pronouncement by the individual himself with the whole depth of his conscience and with the whole of his sense of guilt and of trust in God, placing himself like the psalmist before God to confess: Against you...have I sinned (see Psalms 51:6).
In faithfully observing the centuries-old practice of the sacrament of penance - the practice of individual confession with a personal act of sorrow and the intention to amend and make satisfaction - the Church is therefore defending the human soul's individual right. [It is] man's right to a more personal encounter with the crucified forgiving Christ, with Christ saying, through the minister of the sacrament of reconciliation: Your sins are forgiven (see Mark 2:5); Go and do not sin again (see John 8:11).
As is evident, this is also a right on Christ's part with regard to every human being redeemed by Him. [It is] His right to meet each one of us in that key moment in the soul's life constituted by the moment of conversion and forgiveness. By guarding the sacrament of Penance, the Church expressly affirms her faith in the mystery of the Redemption as a living and life-giving reality that fits in with man's inward truth, with human guilt, and also with the desires of the human conscience.
Blessed are those who hunger and thrist for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (see Matthew 5:6). The Sacrament of Penance is the means to satisfy man with the righteousness that comes from the Redeemer Himself. [RH n. 20]
One Sunday a pastor told the congregation that the church needed some extra money and asked the people to prayerfully consider giving a little extra in the offering. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns. After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000. bill in the offering. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he'd like to thank the person who placed the money in the offering. A very quiet, elderly, saintly lady all the way in the back raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much and to thank her he asked her to pick out three hymns. Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed to the three handsomest men in the building and said, "I'll take him, and him and him."
