stay! 5 & 6
“Please stay! Please, please stay!”
When was the last time you longed for someone to stay? Perhaps they were moving away and you knew that their departure would leave an enormous hole in your heart aching to be filled. Or perhaps you were having so much fun at an event you never wanted that happy feeling to end.
The men on the road to Emmaus had that feeling after being with Jesus for only a short while. He opened the Scriptures to them and they realized that He had the Something Greater they were seeking. Their hearts were set ablaze. After begging Him to stay, “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.”
Even today, Jesus opens our minds to understand the things of Him in Scripture. Ask Him to do this for you! Praises be to God, John 14:26 states that it is the Holy Spirit that teaches us: “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.”
And UNLIKE the two on the road to Emmaus, Jesus does STAY WITH US! How? In the breaking of the bread! Praises be to God, we get to actually receive Jesus every time we take the Holy Eucharist! “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Matthew 26:26
Take full advantage of Jesus’ staying power! Pray! Ask the Holy Spirit to come and open your mind and heart to understand Holy Scripture. And take the Eucharist. (I, and millions of others, do it daily! It is True Sustenance in a crazy world.) Don’t miss out on all God has for you. He longs for you to STAY close to Him.
Walk with Him now from Resurrection to Pentecost on the Via Lucis:
FIFTH STATION:
The Risen Lord is Recognized in the Breaking of the Bread
All: We adore You, O Christ and we praise You!
Because by the Wood of the Cross and the Light of the Resurrection,
You have redeemed the world!
Reading:" ...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'" (Luke 24: 29-32).
Reflection: The encounter on the road leads to the table, the breaking of the bread and the total gift of self. Recognition of the Risen Lord is always linked with the Eucharist. At the heart of our Christian life is this meal of Word and Eucharist which we celebrate every Sunday. The Risen Lord presides over all our journeys, wishing to set our hearts on fire in generous service to all people in need, near and far. The gift we have received is the gift we share. Humbly, we set out on the various roads of our lives to respond to all the hungers of the human family.
Prayer: You are truly blessed, O God of holiness: You accompany us with love as we journey through life. Blessed too, is Your Son, Jesus Christ, who is present among us, and whose love gathers us together. As once He did for His disciples, Christ now opens the Scriptures for us and breaks the bread. May the Eucharist we celebrate guide us to the fullness of Christ's life. We pray in the power of Christ's Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
All: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. When Thomas, first the tidings heard,
How they had seen the Risen Lord, He doubted the disciples' word. Alleluia.
SIXTH STATION:
The Risen Lord Appears to the Community of Disciples
All: We adore You, O Christ and we praise You!
Because by the Wood of the Cross and the Light of the Resurrection,
You have redeemed the world!
Reading:"'Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have,' And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet" (Luke 24: 38-40).
Reflection: The disciples on the road to Emmaus quickly returned to the other disciples in Jerusalem with "burning hearts." Their despair had been reversed and they were eager to convince the others that Jesus was alive. Jesus the Christ is always eager to gather the community of disciples at the table of faith and to show them that He has risen with His wounds glorified. All our wounds will one day be glorified. We seek to understand how the Risen Lord invites us to be "wounded healers," recognizing now that the Lord desires us to be ambassadors of reconciliation, while we ourselves are being forgiven and healed.
Prayer: God of unchanging power and light, look with favor and mercy on the entire community of Your Church. Bring lasting salvation to the human family, so that the world may see the fallen lifted up, the old made new, and all things brought to perfection, through Him who is our origin, our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
All: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. My wounded side, O Thomas see;
Behold My hands, My feet, said He. Not faithless, but believing be. Alleluia.
Pope Francis, the Catholic Church and I want to hear from you! :) The Church longs for us to have relationship and conversation! Whether you are CATHOLIC or PROTESTANT we need your feedback!
By God’s grace, I have been chosen by the Archdiocese of Washington to go to the USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders in Florida in July! Please be a part of this conversation! Tell me what you want me to say!
EMAIL ME HERE!
Or go to: www.sharewithFrancis.org. and share with us your thoughts. Thank you and please pray for us!
