God Bless the children receiving First Communion today and their families!

Cleopas and his companion were disciples of Jesus who put their hopes in Jesus.  But those hopes were dashed on Calvary.  They were returning home to get on with their lives.

Although Jesus walked with them, they did not recognize His presence.  Jesus’ explanation of Scripture to them hit home but they were still blind to who was making Scripture come alive for them.  Only after they invited Jesus to stay with them were their eyes opened, for they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.  Luke clearly wants His readers to interpret this scene in terms of the Eucharist.  Just as Jesus revealed His presence to these two disciples in Emmaus,  so He reveals Himself and gives Himself in the Eucharist wherever it is celebrated.

Grasping the reality of the risen Jesus is more than a matter of seeing an empty tomb and hearing that He lives; it is even more than understanding how this fits into God’s plan as revealed in Scripture.  It is ultimately a matter of a personal encounter with Him who is raised and now lives, an encounter that takes place in a privileged way in the Eucharist.

 

God Bless
Msgr. Powell