Weekly Reflections

CCAS Administrative Assistant 5/5/26 CCAS Administrative Assistant 5/5/26

6th Sunday of Easter

May 10, 2026

Jesus will always be with us; if we truly love Jesus, we will act like it…

John 14:15-21

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

Reflections from “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits

Jesus is aware that the imminent loss of his physical presence will be a big blow for his disciples. He reassures them “‘I will not leave you orphaned”. The loss of his physical presence will be made up to them by the sending of the Holy Spirit, who will be with them permanently. I do not need to rely on my own resources but turn to God who promises to help me, ready to send the Holy Spirit. To be open to the spirit, I must quieten first my body, then my heart. In this time of quiet God teaches me to see my world differently; I don’t act in it alone but am accompanied by God’s ever-present Spirit. Again today Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit, whom he calls the Spirit of Truth. This is the Spirit who reveals to me the truth of who I am —a child of God within whom God lives. I hold within myself a spark of the Divine! I sit quietly with this thought in the presence of God. How does this knowledge make me feel about myself? How does it affect my relationships—because within everyone is that same spark of the Divine. How does it affect my relationship with God? I talk to Jesus about these things. Jesus is aware that the imminent loss of his physical presence will be a big blow for his disciples. He reassures them “‘I will not leave you orphaned”. The loss of his physical presence will be made up to them by the sending of the Holy Spirit, who will be with them permanently. In our changing and increasingly secularised society, one can easily feel a sense of loss and abandonment, but the Holy Spirit continues to guide and inspire us into new and creative forms of communicating the Good News in ways that are relevant to today’s world. I do not need to rely on my own resources but turn to God who promises to help me, ready to send the Holy Spirit. To be open to the spirit, I must quieten first my body, then my heart. In this time of quiet God teaches me to see my world differently; I don’t act in it alone but am accompanied by God’s ever-present Spirit. The Father will give you another Counsellor, the Spirit of Truth; you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you/. I know, Lord, that the same Holy Spirit joins me to you as joined Jesus to his father. That spirit dwells in me, an abiding presence whose voice can easily be drowned by my everyday plans and concerns. To be open to the spirit, I must quieten first my body, then my heart. Jesus speaks about being still alive even after his death. Mostly we find Jesus to be alive for us in the love of others. There is an energy of love which is connected to the energy of God, for God is love. This is the working of the Spirit of god, alive in love, care and compassion, and in all other good works. Love is evident in action and any activity can be tiring. I do not need to rely on my own resources but turn to God who promises to help me, ready to send the Holy Spirit. Like a bargain-hunter or a bird-spotter, I train my heart to recognise the ways of God. In this time of quiet God teaches me to see my world differently; I don’t act in it alone but am accompanied by God’s ever-present Spirit. The peace that Jesus promises is not an escape from trouble—the peace that the world gives—but rather the courage to face it calmly. As he spoke these words of peace, he was walking out to Gethsemane and his passion. Lord, that is the peace I seek: to be able to face sorrow and pain without the overwhelming fear that all is lost. Jesus’s farewell discourse to his disciples includes a gift of peace. ‘Peace!’ (Shalom) is the normal Jewish greeting and farewell and Jesus uses it when he appears to his disciples after the Resurrection. Originally it meant soundness of body but it came to signify perfect happiness and the liberation that the Messiah was expected to bring. This wholeness is the aim of Jesus’ mission. But it is not the peace as the ‘world’ understands it. Peace for Jesus is not simply the absence of violence. It is something much more positive, much deeper. Paradoxically, it can exist side by side with times of great turmoil. It is something internal, not external. It comes from an inner sense of security, of a conviction that God is with us and in us and that we are in the right place. It is something that not even the threat of death can take away. Again, I imagine Jesus sitting with me here where I am at the moment. I see him looking at me with love and I hear him saying to me “I am giving you my peace”. How do I feel? I sit with Jesus for a while, allowing these words to sink into my heart. Where in my life do I need the peace of Jesus at the moment? Perhaps it’s in a relationship, or in my work, or just in my own heart, peace with myself. Can I talk honestly now to Jesus about my need for peace, asking him to let his peace touch me where I most need it? Once again, these are extraordinary and moving words. Jesus speaks of peace and comforts his friends, hours before he is arrested and his violent and cruel passion begins. Jesus, a political criminal, will be a victim of the pax Romana. This is the “peace” of the Roman Empire, maintaining law and order. The peace Jesus brings is nothing like this…Jesus’ heart too will be “troubled,” during his moment of anguish, in the garden. But for now, he is the one urging confidence and hope. There is even some humour: “if you loved me you would have been glad...” Once again, we are hearing these words in Easter time, knowing that Jesus’ trust in the Father was fulfilled. ”You heard me say: I am going away and I shall return.” We are reminded of the lovely image of Jesus, the servant, going ahead of us to prepare our rooms, and returning to bring us when they are ready. “The prince of the world” is on his way; the darkness which seeks to extinguish the Light. But the Light is stronger: “he has no power over me.” Jesus speaks from the depths of his heart to his dearest friends. He is facing into his Passion. He wants his friends to know that he is with them, his father is with them. Jesus’ farewell wish is ‘Peace!’ His gift of peace is not a state, but a relationship. It is the fruit of deeply abiding in him. This relationship will never fail. It will enable the disciples to endure suffering and rejection. The peace that Jesus gives is available to me; I have to do nothing to receive it. But maybe that’s the problem – I want to do something to earn what Jesus offers as a free gift. Lord, help me to do nothing in this time of prayer but to be ready to receive what you offer. There is a certain peace and joy that comes from knowing and loving God directly, that nothing else can give. Once we know God as source of being, we love all of creation as expressions of this love and goodness. Creation, including all our beloved, are not rivals for God’s love but expressions of God’s love. If you love someone you would want the greatest good of all for them, which is that they would know the peace that surpasses all understanding—a peace the world cannot give on its own—a peace that comes only from knowing and loving God and God’s presence in creation. I thank you Lord for your being, and the miracle of your presence in my life. Lord, I need your gift of peace! So often I find myself unsure, anxious, worried, angry. Talk to me about how you coped when things were out of control in your life, especially at the end. What kept you going? You seem to have had such a deep sense that your Father was with you, and that he was asking you to reveal the limitless scope of divine love for the world. Help me always to rise from prayer with renewed trust in you as I face the things you want done. May I always act out of love. The peace that Jesus gives is available to me; I have to do nothing to receive it. But maybe that’s the problem—I want to do something to earn what Jesus offers as a free gift. Lord, help me to do nothing in this time of prayer but to be ready to receive what you offer. Jesus’ farewell wish is ‘Peace!’ His gift of peace is not a state, but a relationship. It is the fruit of deeply abiding in him. This relationship will never fail. It will enable the disciples to endure suffering and rejection. Lord, may the prayer of the Sacred Space community shape us to be instruments of your peace in a divided world. As I emerge from prayer each day, may I be more peace-filled than when I began. Throughout the Old and New Testament there are echoes of the words ‘Do not be afraid’ and ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled.’ The evil forces of this world have no power over Jesus, and need have no power over us as his disciples. That is why we need not be afraid. Do I rejoice in the peace which Jesus gives me? Love changes everything, and my troubles and fears are to be put in their place within the limitless love which God has for me. This is the peace Jesus offers, not a life free of challenges or suffering. The peace that Jesus promises is not an escape from trouble—the peace that the world gives—but rather the courage to face it calmly. As he spoke these words of peace, he was walking out to Gethsemane and his passion. Lord, that is the peace I seek: to be able to face sorrow and pain without the overwhelming fear that all is lost. At one of Jesus’ most frightening moments he encourages his friends not to be troubled or fearful. A big message that God gives to us is not to fear. God knows that we are easily made fearful, anxious and troubled. At that moment God walks with us, hand in hand, with deep care, wanting us to be safe. Even when in fear or anxiety, we are safe because we belong to God. In that is our peace. Peace can exist in the heart at times of great turmoil and trouble, pain and illness. The peace of Christ sort of invades us gently and fills the spaces of our personality which are open to peace and often need peace. It is the peace of healing and forgiveness, and the peace which comes from doing what we know to be our calling. Sometimes, even within the toughest times of life, we can sense this peace of Jesus. I repeat Jesus’ promise, making it my prayer for today, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” I quietly review my life, seeing what has helped my peace, recognising what is broken it down. I think of what I need to do to preserve this gift of peace that Jesus has in heart for me. The troubles that concern me sometimes seems so heavy. Jesus does not just want to take them away but wants to give me instead his gift of peace and of trust. Even as I bring my troubles before the Lord I hear Jesus speak to me saying, ‘Peace, rise, let us be on our way.’ I may not recognise the peace that Jesus gives immediately; it is not like the peace that the world gives and a troubled or fearful heart may miss the blessing. I take some time to dive deeper, beneath the surface concerns of my life, to acknowledge the peace about which Jesus speaks. Jesus blesses me with his peace. It makes me feel reassured and secure. The peace that Jesus gives, however, is followed by an invitation to get up and go. When I recall the words of Jesus and am reminded of what he said, the Holy Spirit is at work. I pray that I may be more aware of the quiet working of God’s Spirit in my life. I pray that my thoughts, inspirations and desires be open to the prompting of the Advocate. I might think of myself as a Temple of the Holy Spirit or I might consider Jesus’ more domestic image as he says that God is ‘at home’ with me. I rest with this thought —that God is comfortable and available in my being. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not them be afraid. We can feel the affection and deep care Jesus has for his friends as he approaches the great crisis of his arrest, passion and crucifixion. He himself is anxious and stressed, but he does his best to encourage his friends to be strong in times of trouble. I hear his soothing and caring words addressed to me, as I share my troubles and fears with him. Jesus promises peace, a peace that the world cannot give. We all yearn for inner peace, for peace in our families and in our communities. We are shocked at wars that seem never-ending, where no one seems willing to seek peace. I ask Jesus for the peace he offers me, I ask for the grace to be like him, bringing peace wherever I am.

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17; Psalm 66; 1 Peter 3: 15-18; John 14: 15-21

When we preachers tell one another, “I am preaching on Sunday,” the usual response is, “What’s the Gospel?” That’s fine, but the scriptural possibilities for preaching are much richer than just one passage. So today, let’s broaden our scope and look at the riches of another Scripture: the Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading. The Acts of the Apostles is attributed to Luke the Evangelist. It is important for contemporary readers because it shows how faith moves from belief into action. It is the bridge between the life of Jesus and the life of the Church. Without Acts, Christians might know what Jesus taught, but we would have far less guidance on how disciples actually lived those teachings in real communities. Acts shows believers how the Church began and how it continues to grow. Acts is not just a document about a long-gone past; rather, it reminds modern Christians that the Church was not born fully grown and perfect. It grew slowly through prayer, mistakes, discernment, and courage. These are not ancient values once needed but no longer applicable. Leaders like Peter and Paul struggled and disagreed—sounds familiar? Yet, they also learned to trust the Holy Spirit. That is reassuring for believers today who experience many challenges in the Church. There is a strong message of hope for us in Acts because it teaches that growth often happens through tension and perseverance. Acts emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in everyday life. It is a constant reminder to contemporary readers that Christianity is not just about rules and fixed traditions; it is about a living relationship with God’s Spirit. The Spirit guides decisions, strengthens courage, and inspires compassion among us. When we are in conflict, seek wisdom in prayer, hope to reconcile differences, or serve the poor, we are participating in the same Spirit-led mission described in Acts. Acts calls us to be witnesses, not spectators. One of its most important messages is that every believer has a role in the mission of the Church. In Acts, the Gospel spreads not only through apostles and Church leaders but also through ordinary people – families, merchants, refugees, and converts. Acts is important for contemporary believers because it reminds us that faith is perseverance in the face of struggle. Early Christians faced misunderstanding, persecution, and internal disagreements. Many were expelled from their families. Their story encourages us today, especially when we feel discouraged by division, secular pressures, or personal hardships. Acts reminds us that God works through imperfect people and difficult circumstances to accomplish surprising, good. The Acts of the Apostles is important to modern believers because it tells us: the Holy Spirit is still active; the mission of Christ continues; and hope and courage are always possible. Acts is not time-bound. It is not just the story of the first Christians; it is the story of the Church still being written in our own time. We can also see the link between Acts and today’s Gospel. Jesus speaks tenderly to his disciples as he prepares to leave them. He tells them that love is not just a feeling, but a way of living. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Love shows itself daily in the choices we make how we treat others, how we forgive, and how we remain faithful even when it is difficult. Jesus also promises that we are not alone. He says his Father will send the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to remain with us. For those who come to worship each week, this is comforting— a reminder that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives: in our families, in our parish community, and in the quiet moments when we seek guidance. Even when we feel uncertain about the future, God’s Spirit dwells within us, strengthening our determination to live as disciples. Finally, Jesus says, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” These words speak to every believer who has known loss, confusion, and disappointment. Our faith tells us that Christ is present—risen and alive—working with us through every season of our lives. He encourages us to trust his presence and let it shape how we love one another. In the Acts of the Apostles, when the deacon Philip the Evangelist casts out unclean spirits, the story is not only about dramatic exorcisms. It is also a proclamation that the power of Jesus brings freedom, healing, and joy wherever people are bound by forces that diminish their humanity. For us today, in the name of Jesus Christ, “driving out evil spirits” usually means confronting the real forces that enslave hearts, communities, and societies. Most Christians are not called to perform formal exorcisms—that ministry in the Catholic Church is carefully entrusted to trained priests—but every Christian is called to resist evil and promote healing. What might “unclean spirits” mean today? What are the destructive forces that take hold of people and communities? For example: hatred and violence; despair and hopelessness; racism and prejudice; greed and the exploitation of others; fear that paralyzes us; shame that convinces a person they are beyond forgiveness. How can we “drive out” these spirits today? Not primarily by dramatic gestures, but by faithful, everyday discipleship in the spirit of Christ: by prayer, inviting God’s presence into places of darkness; by truth, challenging lies and injustice; by compassion, standing with those who suffer; by forgiveness, breaking cycles of resentment; by community, refusing to leave people alone in their struggle. In short, the Acts of the Apostles is important for contemporary believers because it tells us: The Holy Spirit is still active. The mission of Christ continues. Courage and hope are always possible. It is not just the story of the first Christians—it is the story of the Church still being written in our own time.

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel Reading: And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him.

Reflection: Jesus also promises that we are not alone. He says the Father will send the Advocate, the Spirit of truth, to remain with us. This is a comforting reminder that the Holy Spirit is active in our lives—in our families, in our parish community, and in the quiet moments when we seek guidance. Even when we feel uncertain about the future, God’s Spirit dwells within us, strengthening us to live as disciples.

So, we ask ourselves:

How do my daily actions show my love for Christ?
When have I sensed the guidance or comfort of the Holy Spirit in my life?
Is there someone I am being called to love more patiently or generously this week?

Closing Prayer: Lord Jesus, you promised never to leave us alone and to send your Spirit to guide and strengthen us. Help us to show our love for you by the way we live and care for others. Fill our hearts with your peace and make us faithful witnesses to your presence. Amen.

PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

OPENING PRAYER

Lord, I need not rely on my own resources if I turn to you who promises to help me, ready to send your Holy Spirit. Open my eyes and heart to recognize your Spirit working within me, sustaining me. Allow me to see your Spirit working within those around me, and free me from judgment about how they individually respond to that Spirit. Help me to understand what it means to keep your great commandment to “love others as I love myself”.

COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

From ‘First Impressions’, a service of the Southern Dominican Province

Jesus is about to pass to God and he is concerned for the disciples’ well- being; how will they get along without him? In addition, they are in need of consolation in the light of what he is telling them about his departure. They won’t have him with them in the same way; he won’t be there when they need encouragement, prodding, advice or comfort during difficult times. Today’s gospel is part of his farewell speech and reflects his awareness of what is about to happen to him and his concern for those he is leaving behind. This is his last will and testament and he wants to leave them something of great value; but not an inheritance that will rust, wear out, get stolen, cause a squabble, or be irrelevant for future generations of believers. He wants, in a manner of speaking, to leave his descendants the family jewel, the pearl of great price, the unfailing treasure. He is like the parent providing for the children’s future well- being; he is giving them something that will remind them of him, help them to grow together, but also get them through difficult times First, he instructs them: “keep my commandments.” That will be the memorial they will raise in his honor after he is gone—not a tombstone, granite monument, wall mural or triumphant arch. Not even a grand cathedral can be as eloquent a testimony of our love for him. Very simply, before they set about forming a building committee, he wants them to show reverence for him by keeping his commandments. Which commandments? Let’s do a little background and then approach this question. Some have a rather harsh image of God. They envision a distant God, ruling over everything and everyone from an on-high vantage. This God is a ruler and tester, expecting us to live up to a set of regulations and requiring us to pass the “final exam” which weighs our accomplishments against our transgressions. In this perception, Jesus’ role was crucial: to go before God and assuage God’s anger over our sins. God was deeply offended by our sin and Jesus was our Advocate before a fearsome God. We needed him to get us on the straight and narrow and die to appease an angry God. God and the Son are kind of like a “good cop, bad cop” duo. Jesus is our “good cop” persuading us in a nice tone of voice to change our lives. If we don’t, we get the “bad cop” who will shout, pound the desk, threaten us with punishment and scare us to reform. In this perspective of our situation before God, the Advocate is seen as our ongoing intercessor before the throne of God. In other words, the Advocate becomes our next lawyer after Jesus leaves, our defense attorney before the throne of the Judge. Scratch the surface and we will find that in the way some speak about God and how they pray---- a lot of people in our congregations still hold these notions of God. Another perspective is necessary, one that fulfills the hope Jesus has for us in the gospel, especially in this last discourse section in John’s gospel (chapters 14-17). There he promises to take us to a place of intimate union with God. Maybe we need the Advocate, not to argue our case to God, but to argue God’s case to us. The Advocate Jesus will send his followers, will intercede on God’s behalf and remind us of God’s love for us and help us live Jesus’ way of love for others. The Advocate will persuade us and enable us to do what Jesus tells his disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Jesus’ commandments are about love; we are asked to love as he loved. At the table he had just demonstrated this love by his washing the disciples’ feet; he will further demonstrate his self-giving love the next day by giving his life on their behalf. Such love will require an enormous bigness of spirit and persevering commitment. These days, battered and struggling, we pray for the healing of all those harmed by the sickness and crimes of our past and present. We pray too in this breaking-open- time that we have the courage to face the truth and make whatever changes we must make in our society and in our church. We are encouraged this day in Jesus’ promise that we are not left as orphans. We need a loving and strong parental hand to guide us on our path to become the community that faithfully reflects Christ’s loving and caring presence in the world. In almost every verse of today’s gospel passage Jesus assures us that we will not be left on our own—“another Advocate to be with you always”...”You are in me and I in you”... “reveal myself to him/her.” Jesus is just like a mother giving last orders to her children before she leaves the house (“no fighting, go to bed on time, wash your dishes, not too much television, do your homework, etc.”). A person’s last words before parting usually sum up the essentials. These are Jesus’ last words and he repeats himself because he wants to make a point, “No matter how bad it gets or how severely you mess up remember, I will not abandon you.”

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion? Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow.

Reflection Questions

I think of a time in my life when I felt “orphaned”—left out or abandoned by friends or loved ones, or maybe even a colleague or professor.

What, in our society, writ large, creates a sense of abandonment?
Is there anything in my current life right now that makes me feel abandoned and alone?
Is this a time to pray?

What in our present world, cannot accept the “Spirit of Truth”?
What has to happen for this to change?
What in myself do I have to change?

Jesus said: “Because I live, you also will live.” Do I believe this?

Do I find Jesus’ love for me in the love of others?

Jesus, in his last discourse to his beloved disciples, promised to send his Spirit--also known as the Paraclete, which could be translated as comforter, advocate, counselor, helper. (Paraclete is never translated as a bird; I’m jes’ sayin’). Which of those translations of the term Paraclete speaks to me the most?

Paul never met Jesus, yet he felt the strong presence of the Spirit of Jesus within him, which made his extraordinary missionary work possible.
How do I access the Spirit of God within me?

Have Iever felt the presence of God in my life, assuring me that I am not alone?
What signs around me help meto be aware of God’s presence in my life?
Is it ever too late to recognize the presence of God in my life?

Do I have hope?
Can I explain why I do so?
What voices and motivations in my life keep me from hearing the voice of your Spirit within me?

What is my motivation for living as I should—fear of God, or love of God? What is the difference?

Do you read a difference between the phrase “Keep the Commandments”, and the Phrase “Keep my commandments”?? If so, how would you list the commandments in each category?

Which of Jesus’ commandments is the hardest for you? Which is the easiest?

What would qualify a person as a “real Christian?”
What daily practices would they have to observe?
What basic knowledge must they have?
Does keeping Jesus’ commandments mean the absence of bad behavior or something more?

Father Paul O’Reilly, S.J., once wrote: “Love is not in words; it is in actions”. Do you agree?
How does that impact your understanding of the commandments we are to keep?

The reverend William Sloane Coffin once said: “If we fail in love, we fail in all things.” Do I agree or disagree?
In what ways did I love today?
In what ways did I not love today?
What can I do about the “not loving” part?

For John, faith is to be in a loving relationship with Jesus. What is my understanding of faith?

What is the role of prayer in my personal life?
What is the role of guilt in my personal life?
What is the role of “doing” Jesus’ commandments in my personal life?

CLOSING PRAYER

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Lord, the peace that I seek is not necessarily freedom from care, although that would be nice. The peace you give is the ability to face uncertainty, disappointment, failure and sorrow without the overwhelming fear that all is lost.. Strengthen me in adversity and in joy so that I may live in your love through attention to and fulfillment of your command to love unconditionally. I pray that others may experience your presence and comfort when they are facing adversity or loss. May I be a presence and comfort to them as your representative on this earth.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Weekly Memorization
From the gospel for today’s session….I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: (Adapted from “First Impressions”) Jesus isn’t speaking about how we feel towards others. How could he command us to "feel" love for another? How could we maintain such a feeling for those we barely know; people not in our family? It’s a lifetime effort to act lovingly towards those we do feel love for, so how could we possibly have and convey those feelings toward others who are strangers? Even enemies? Jesus’ teaching is not merely about liking a person. Rather, he wants us to make an act of our will and do what is for another’s good. It’s not about liking everyone because, I don’t know about you, I don’t! How can we mere humans, who have a mental list of those we love, those we like, and those we dislike, ever live up to Jesus’ commandment of love? We already know the answer to that: on our own, we can’t. But Jesus makes some promises to us today that make what he asks of us possible. Jesus is soon to depart, but the Spirit he sends back will never leave us on our own, “I will not leave you orphans.” How often do I, in my personal prayer life, address myself to the Spirit, who is with me always? Towards whom, in my life, do I find it difficult to act lovingly? How do I continue to love this person as Jesus would? Have I ever called out to Jesus for help and in my heart felt the presence of his Spirit standing with me, to help me be the kind of loving person I am called to be? I pray in thanksgiving for those moments of comfort and strength.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: (Adapted from “Sacred Space” 2023, a service of the Irish Jesuits) I imagine Jesus sitting with me here where I am at the moment, I see him looking at me with love and I hear him saying to me: “I give you peace”. How do I feel? Where in my life do I need the peace of Jesus at the moment? Can I talk honestly now to Jesus about my need for peace in relationships, work, or just in my own heart? “I give you peace”. I sit with Jesus for a while, allowing these words to sink into my heart.

A Meditation in the Ignatian Style/Imagination: I read Luke 8: 22-25 (Jesus calms the storm). In this story, Jesus has been standing in a boat to teach the crowds because there are so many people along the shore of the lake who have come to see and hear him. I imagine how tired Jesus must be after trying to come up with parables to explain his message and then projecting his voice for several hours to so many people. Then I imagine that I am one of the disciples to whom he gives orders to go to the other side of the lake. As I start rowing, what does Jesus do? I try to picture the size of the boat, the look of the sky above as the storm blows in. I imagine the sound and feel of the wind, the waves, the water coming inside the boat. Is the water cold? Am I wet? afraid? What is Jesus doing now? Why do I wake him? Am I afraid we will drown if the boat goes down? Do I want him awake to share my fear? Do I think he can do anything to help? What does Jesus do when he is awakened? Am I surprised? How do I feel when he turns to me and asks why I am frightened? What kind of faith did he expect me to have? I reflect on the times I have been in a panic and turned to God—did I think God would ignore my well-being unless I begged for help? Did I ever stop to consider that God is watching out for me always, whether I know it or not?

POETIC REFLECTION

Janet Lewis, in The Dear Past, looked to the Last of the Mohicans as inspiration for a prayer of trust when we are spiritually, physically or emotionally lost. See if it somehow reflects the thoughts of today’s readings.

Four Hymns
Let us lift up our grateful Hearts to Thee
Who are the light of all who strangely roam.
Thy rod, thy staff, shall ever comfort be,
Thy love shall never fail to guide us home.
In our own hearts we find a wilderness,
lurking despair and hidden cruelty;
From mindless fear, from blind revengefulness
Shield us so that we may come unharmed to thee.
Lord God, who art the sum
of mercy and of love,
Though we are far from home,
And lost the way thereof,
Let us not blindly roam
But to thy kingdom come.
All loving God, in my most deep despair,
As I am Thine, receive my trembling soul.
For in Thy will, in Thy will only rest
Hope and salvation and acceptance blest.

CCAS Administrative Assistant 4/27/26 CCAS Administrative Assistant 4/27/26

5th Sunday of Easter

May 3, 2026

Jesus asks us to trust in God and trust in Him.

John 14:1-12

Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself,so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way." Thomas said to him, "Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip said to him, "Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father."

REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL

From Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits

I read the passage carefully, two or three times. Does anything stand out? Perhaps I am struck by Jesus’ desire that I should believe in him. I am invited to look at the depth or perhaps the lack of depth of my own faith in Jesus. Whether my faith is strong or weak, I discuss it honestly with Jesus now. Or perhaps I notice that Jesus’ desire is that I should be with him where he is. How does it make me feel to hear those words? Again, I talk to Jesus about my feelings, and then I sit in silence for a while to listen to him. Everything that Jesus did was through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is astounding that the Father gives us this same Holy Spirit so that we can do the works that Jesus did. As Saint Paul said, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Jesus is the first born of the new creation—the Holy Spirit inspired community. In our lives through surrendering to the gift of his Spirit we are called to become his body and are destined to do great things. “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.” Jesus sees how the disciples do not understand him and asks for their trust, inviting them not to let their hearts be troubled. Jesus looks on me with the same compassion, recognising my hesitation, my doubts, my questions. He says to me, ‘Peace!’ reminding me that I have a place in his heart now, a place there for me forever. The gospel presents Jesus as the guide in life, as the “way, truth and life.” The Christian centre is the person of Christ. Our work for Jesus and our love for people, no matter what our calling in life may be, flow from this. This centre always holds, it cannot be unhinged. It is a deeply personal relationship. We are led by Jesus “one by one,” known by name, not as just one of a group. We follow Jesus as one we know, not as we might follow a stranger. We have come to know him by studying his life and times, getting to know the places and events of his life, becoming familiar with the gospels and getting to know him in the heart in prayer. This is the way of keeping our centre of conviction focussed and our motivation strong. As this happens freedom grows and we begin to find him everywhere. I am invited today to look again at the Gospel passages that have been presented to me over the past two days. I notice how I am feeling as I see a passage I have so recently prayed with. I name the feeling. Perhaps I feel resistant to looking at the passage again? Or perhaps I see it as an invitation from the Holy Spirit to go more deeply where the passage leads me. I let go of any resistance and open my heart to God’s loving presence and action in me through his Word. I read the passage carefully, two or three times. Does anything stand out? Perhaps I am struck by Jesus’ desire that I should believe in him. I am invited to look at the depth or otherwise of my own faith in Jesus. Whether my faith is strong or weak, I discuss it honestly with Jesus now. Or perhaps I notice that Jesus’ desire is that I should be with him where he is. How does it make me feel to hear those words? Again, I talk to Jesus about my feelings, and then I sit in silence for a while to listen to him.

PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

Presence of God: Jesus, As I come to you today, fill my heart, my whole being, with the wonder of your sacred presence. Help me to become more aware of your presence in my life, and more receptive to that presence. I desire to love you as you love me. May nothing ever separate me from you. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Freedom: Jesus, Grant me the grace to have freedom of spirit. Keep me from being bound by desires and actions that are not good for me or others. Cleanse my heart and soul that I may live joyously in your love. (1-2 minutes of silence)

Consciousness: Where am I with God? With others in my life? What am I grateful for? Is there something I am sorry for, words or actions that have hurt others, and which I now regret? I take a moment to ask forgiveness of God and of those whom I have hurt. God, I give you thanks for your constant love and care for me. Keep me always aware of your presence in my life. (2-3 minutes of silence)

OPENING PRAYER

From Thomas Merton in The Sign of Jonas

You have made my soul for Your peace and Your silence, but it is lacerated by the noise of my activity and my desires…..But I was created for Your peace and you will not despise my longing for the holiness of Your deep silence, O my Lord, you will not leave me forever in this sorrow because I have trusted in You and I will wait upon Your good pleasure in peace and without complaining any more. This, for Your glory.

COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

From “First Impressions” a service of the Southern Dominican Province

Jesus is addressing his disciples; it is his Last Discourse. His tone and words convey a calm before the storm. Jesus is reflective, concerned and gentle as he instructs his disciples for the last time. He must give both them and the future community (us) courage for what is immediately going to happen to them. He is like a parent who soothes the anxiety of his/her children by telling them, “There, there, everything is going to be alright.” What is going to happen to him will be painful, but in the long run, it will be for their benefit, for he goes to prepare a place for them. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” I have often read this passage at the bed of a dying person or a funeral. It is very comforting to hear Jesus’ promise of a dwelling place for his disciples. A place with God is awaiting us and the knowledge of that place of security with God is both comforting and encouraging. But in the theology of John’s gospel, what is promised and waiting for us--- has already begun. If Jesus has prepared a dwelling place for us, it is available to us now. His disciples do not live detached from the world, but are touched by it and face its challenges daily. We try to be a sign of Christ in a world that is tumultuous and often feels like a foreign land. Each of us has a special calling to live our unique lives in our family, job, school, and service to those in need. No two of us live in exactly the same way and so no two “dwelling places” are the same, for each of us has a special share in God’s life. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” Though we face confusion, ambiguity, struggle and challenge to our faith, we still dwell and share life with the divine. Jesus has not left us orphans on our own. By his death, resurrection and breathing of the Holy Spirit on us, Jesus has, in a manner of speaking, moved over and made room for us in God. Jesus’ promise speaks to the itinerants among us---and we are all itinerants who have stopping-off places at various moments on life’s journey. We first live our lives with our parents, then we set out on our own. Many “stopping-off places” follow: we start a career or go to college, marry, have children, work out relationships, face the challenges of sickness and old age. Each stage of our lives we carry much with us that life has given; both in blessing and injury. But each new moment also offers us another “dwelling place” where we experience the life of God for us and in which we receive help as we strive to live the “way” Jesus taught us. (“I am the way and the truth and the life.”) There are no guarantees in life—except that as we move through the changing landscape, we do so in Jesus’ assurance that we dwell with God. Jesus has gone ahead so that he can come back and take us to God—now. Like the disciples, we too can feel left behind trying to figure out the mess we are in and the seeming absence of God. These words of Jesus today assure us that God is not just up ahead waiting for us. We already dwell with God. That much is secure in our unstable world. In addition, anything we undertake to right the wrongs of our world, we do with the faith that God is up close to us---dwelling with us.—by Jude Siciliano, O.P.

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS

Reflection Questions

How does this gospel speak to these stressful times?

Is it a demonstration of lack of faith if we are “deeply troubled” about things?
Was Jesus ever “deeply troubled”?

Do you believe that Jesus understands your confusion and anxiety about the future? A return to the Father does not happen at death; it happens now if we align ourselves to the will of God. Do you look on this gospel text as more about life after death or more about life here and now?
What do you think of when you read the phrase ‘my father’s house”?
Is it heaven?
Is it anywhere God is present?

Some have suggested that this gospel, which says “ I will come back again and take you to myself” not only applies to the second coming of Jesus ( Parousia), but also the coming of Jesus for us personally when we die. What do you think?

This passage is calling us to a radical trust in the goodness and love of God. How hard is this?
Has anyone ever betrayed your trust in him or her?
How does that affect your trust in God?

Do you see Jesus as the face of God, or do you see God as something quite different—a judge, maybe?

Jesus says that if we believe in him, we will do the works that he does. What are those works?
How can we complete those works, since we do not possess His power or His goodness?
How does the Spirit fit into this consideration?

Do you ever feel like Thomas: “We do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?
Does Jesus’ answer to Thomas comfort or challenge you?

One commentator suggested that Philip’s ’problem was not that he did not know the Father, but that he had not realized that he knew the Father because he knew Jesus. What do you think?
What then does Jesus show you about the Father/

Has there ever been a time when someone trusted you to help him or her and you came through?

Describe a situation in which you trusted in the Lord. What did you expect to happen?
How did it turn out?

Was there ever a time when you prayed for a certain outcome and it did not happen that way?
How did you feel?
What was the final outcome?
What did you learn?

From Father John Harrington, S;J.,:
How do you try to keep Jesus’ memory alive?
How might the church today be more effective in keeping Jesus alive?

From “First Impressions” 2023:
Thomas said to Jesus, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” Jesus invites his disciples to come to him and put their lives into his hands. We do that by living in relationship with him, listening to his teaching and following his way. In my daily life, in what ways am I choosing Jesus as “my way”?
What other “ways” am I tempted to choose?

CLOSING PRAYER

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Lord, I am trying so hard, in the face of my everyday problems, to focus on the knowledge that you love me and want what is best for me. I really do have faith in you, and I believe you when you say the Father feels the same way, that the Father wants me to be close and safe, both in this world and the next. I can readily imagine a parent wanting the best for her child, feeling sad when that child is sad, and wanting to be with that child forever. Help me, Jesus, to apply that knowledge to my relationship with my divine Abba, my loving Father God. Help me to remember your words: “I am going to prepare a place for you/”. See you then…..

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Weekly Memorization
Taken from the gospel for today’s session: Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Meditations
A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action (adapted from First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province): Thomas wants to know the traveling directions to where Jesus is going, “how can we know the way?” But Jesus is using “way” to mean his way of living. Jesus has, as he promised, returned to God, and has been “glorified.” He chose the way to God through suffering and death. The way others have rejected, Jesus chose as his and he invites his disciples to follow. His is the way of giving and sacrifice and because of what he did and who he is, we too can live his “way” to the Father. Believing in him and his way assures us that, in some real sense, we have already arrived into God’s presence. And Jesus has told us that where he is going, we already know the way. How would you define the “way” of Jesus in this present life we are living? What concrete actions can I take this coming week to try to follow the “way” of Jesus?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: (From Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, by Thomas Merton) One thing above all is important: “the return to the Father”. The Son came into the world and died for us, rose and ascended to the Father; sent us His Spirit, that in Him and with Him we might return to the Father. To “return to the Father is not to “go back” in time, to roll up the scroll of history, or to reverse anything…. It is a going forward, a going beyond, for merely to retrace one’s streps would be a vanity on top of vanity, a renewal of the same absurdity in reverse. Our destiny is to go on beyond everything, to leave everything, to press forward to the End and find in the End our Beginning, the ever-new beginning that has no end. To obey him on the way , in order to reach Him in Whom I have begun who is the key and the end—because He is the beginning. Like the Jesus as portrayed in John’s gospel, Merton seems to be approaching the mystical in this passage as he encourages us to let our restless hearts be still and focus on God as our lodestar. In that way, we are partaking in eternal life right now. What distracts us? What worries and concerns, what regrets and failures keep us from focusing on the presence of God in our midst at this very moment? Is this gospel passage a comfort or a challenge?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: What “troubles” your heart these days? One could easily wonder, as the disciples must have, a couple days after their dinner with Jesus when the authorities were looking for them—“So where is Jesus when we need him? Is he who he says he is? Why doesn’t he show himself and help us end the sufferings in the world?” What aspects of Jesus’ person, teaching and activity are most important for you? Reread this gospel today and try to see that Jesus is with us, even if we cannot see Him, and see that He has gone before us to prepare a welcome for us. Share with Him your hopes for a life with God.

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship (Adapted from “First Impressions, a service of the Southern Dominican Province): Do I trust that God is my father, and the father of all of us? Do I believe that heaven exists because God is there? Is God’s name holy to me? Do I really trust that God will give me whatever of this world's goods I need, or do I worry a lot about money, possessions, security? Do I believe that God forgives me? Do I forgive those who have hurt me, or do I still carry old resentments and pain into my relationships? Do I believe that God would never ‘tempt’ me to sin and thus lose eternal life, or do I believe that God sets traps for me so that I must constantly prove my love? Do I believe that my God, my Father, will deliver me from evil; that God, my Father, is my strength and my salvation? And finally, I recite the Lord’s Prayer, praying each phrase as an affirmation of my trust in the Lord, rather than as a series of petitions.

POETIC REFLECTION

Read the following poem by the late Denise Levertov, a former professor at Stanford. Try to remember a really foggy day in the bay area and see if you can recapture the trust expressed here.

Morning Mist
The mountain absent,
a remote folk-memory,
The peninsula
vanished, hill, trees,—
gone, shoreline
a rumour.
And we equate
God with these absences Deus absconditus.
But God
is imaged
as well or better
in the white stillness
resting everywhere,
giving to all things
an hour of Sabbath,
no leaf stirring,
the hidden places
tranquil in solitude.
—from Evening Train

CCAS Administrative Assistant 4/21/26 CCAS Administrative Assistant 4/21/26

4th Sunday of Easter

April 26, 2026

Jesus came to give us life more abundantly.

John 10:1-10

Jesus said: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers." Although Jesus used this figure of speech, the Pharisees did not realize what he was trying to tell them. So Jesus said again, "Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly."

PREPARATIONS FOR THE SESSION

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

OPENING PRAYER

From Thomas Merton in Entering the Silence

Good Shepherd, You have a wild and crazy sheep in love with thorns and brambles, But please don’t get tired of looking for me! I know You won’t. For You have found me. All I have to do is stay found…..

COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

Pre-note: Many listeners have been put off by this imagery, thinking that the passage is telling us how stupid and needy we are. And sometimes we have been treated as such. However, the focus is really on Jesus here, on his caring and loving nature. All of us at one time or another have felt protective of someone else, and most of us, at one time or another have been gently and lovingly cared for. So once we get past our indignation at being treated like sheep, then we can focus on an image of Jesus (and God) that goes beyond fear, obedience, docility, reward, punishment and all those words that keep us from embracing true realization of God as our loving Abba. Only then an we see Jesus as someone constantly looking out for us. Only then we can take great joy and comfort in this passage. This relationship is really what the shepherd imagery is all about. We now jump from post resurrection narratives back to John 10--to a speech Jesus made to the Pharisees earlier in his ministry right after he cured the man born blind. This “jumping around” is common in the lectionary where readings are not necessarily sequential, but are often organized thematically. But why insert this speech here? John Harrington, S.J, said: through his resurrection the slain Lamb has become for straying sheep “the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” This startling transformation is a neat summary of what Christians believe about the paschal mystery. I also think it is to remind us that Jesus’s whole life had a mission, a purpose.

From First Impressions 2023, a service of the Southern Dominican Province: Have you checked the titles on the non-fiction best sellers’ list these days? If you’re looking for a book here are the titles of four of the top 10 on the list. “Outlive” (about recent scientific research on aging and longevity); “The Body Keeps the Score” (how trauma affects the body and mind); “The Light We Carry” (Michelle Obama’s personal stories about dealing with difficult situations); “Spare” (the Duke of Sussex details his struggles, including the loss of his mother.) Notice anything? Four of the ten best sellers have something to do with spirituality—the interior life. I have a friend who signed up to receive daily brief meditations by e-mail. She says, “It’s the first thing I read at work. I take a breath, read, reflect for a moment, and then get to the hundred e-mails waiting for my immediate response. It’s crazy! My day has begun! But that moment’s reflection helps me keep my head about me, gives me a central focus on how I relate to my coworkers and my work.” It is crazy isn’t it? How busy life is, and how much comes at us each day. There is so much to distract us and keep us from paying attention to what’s really going on in our lives. So says an article on spirituality written a while back in, of all places, “The Wall Street Journal.” (I guess that’s the Bible of sorts for some people.) The article was entitled, “The Sounds of Silence.” And it was about just what the title suggests. It lamented the loss of our interior lives, the absence of some silence, because we are so distracted all the time by noise— especially produced by electronic diversions. You know: I Phones, MP3 players, cell phones, video games, etc. There’s no escaping! Plus, we always seem to be surrounded by sound tracks and video displays which invade our space in malls, elevators, restaurants and other public places. Imagine: a writer in the Wall Street Journal suggesting we need more silence and solitude! He says we don’t have to become monks or nuns; but we do need conditions that help us sort things out, because otherwise, we are distracted and the more distracted we are, the more distracted we’ll become. The bottom line: we have to distinguish what’s “idle chatter” coming at us from the outside, misguiding us (throwing us off center), from what our true inner voice is saying to us. A voice which is trying to keep us focused and on center. There weren’t cell phones and emails in Jesus’ day. But they were a lot like us, also drawn by competing voices. Every generation needs a voice we can trust, to inspire us and help us set the pattern of our lives. Using the image of a caring and guiding shepherd Jesus presents himself to us as that trustworthy voice. He calls his disciples and us today, to be attentive to his voice and separate it from all the other voices that tug on us and draw us here and there. His voice, he says, will keep us together and also guide us on our journey. Using the image of the gospel today—his voice will guard our “coming in and going out.” That describes our lives doesn’t it? We are on a journey. There are very few periods when things are smooth and unchanging for long. We journey through childhood into adulthood; through changes in jobs and careers. We enter into and, sometimes out of, relationships. We pass through periods of health and then illness and, we hope, health again. And of course, there is the inevitable journey we take from youth to adulthood, to old-age and then death. All along we make choices: some are well made, others we wish we could take back and do all over again. There are a lot of voices out there that only distract and scatter us. They really don’t care how, or where we end up, or whether were going around in circles. Perhaps we’ve paid too much attention to them. They don’t have our best interests at heart, as long as: we buy what they’re selling; choose what everyone else chooses; live with the same values as those around us, (the least common denominator); and don’t stand out from the crowd. But the Shepherd, Jesus tells us, wants to gather us. He wants to give us rest from futility and wasted energies. His voice can help us keep our wits about us in our often-misguided world. There’s a lot to maneuver through in life. Lots of big and small decisions to make along the way, some of which can alter our lives and have long-term effects. The question is: what and who will help us make these decisions? Where do we turn for clarity and consistency? Jesus is inviting us again to be more attentive to him because he has invested his life in us. He wants to help us along life’s journey: our journey towards God; our journey to become more trusting; our journey to become more patient with ourselves and others; our journey to become less controlling; our journey to put the past behind us and start afresh; our journey to become more forgiving. There were many hints in John of what this purpose was, and who Jesus was, but there is a hope here that after realizing the importance of the resurrection as an event, we must also realize that it is part of the entire mission of Jesus, and therefore, the mission of all his disciples down through the ages: to care for one another as a shepherd does the sheep, and to bring life in abundance, wherever and whenever we can, to those around us.

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS

Reflection Questions

Have you ever defined yourself in terms of whom/what you were not? (I am NOT a stupid sheep, thank you very much!)
What was the purpose of doing so?

How do you usually respond to the biblical imagery of sheep and shepherds?
Is it helpful?
Or does it put you off?

In Jesus’ time, sheep on the range (as opposed to in the villages) were often penned in after dark, with walls of wood, vines and branches and a small opening for them to get in or out. The shepherd stretched himself across that opening as a “gate” so that sheep could not get out or human and animal marauders get in. Does this idea affect your image of Jesus as the gate of his sheep?
Have you ever thought of Jesus protecting you in times of uncertainty, danger or trouble?

Again, in Jesus’ time, many flocks were penned together, especially in the villages. It was uncanny how the sheep recognized their own shepherd by his voice and followed only him. What in our culture keeps us from hearing the voice of the good shepherd?
How do we distinguish His voice from all of the other voices that clamor for our attention (our prevailing culture, advertisers, messages from our childhood, for example)?

Have you ever been nurtured in your faith life by someone who had your best interests at heart?

How someone speaks to us can be life-giving or harsh and destructive… What has generally been the quality of things spoken to me—harsh and unforgiving, or inviting and nurturing, calling me to growth and to life?
What is the quality of my messages to others?

From “Sacred Space”, a service of the Irish Jesuits: What lifts your spirit, satisfies your soul, gives you lasting peace and fills you with life?
What drains you, steals your energy, leaves you lifeless and empty?
Native Americans have been known to tell their children that deeply imbedded in our hearts are two wolves each wanting to kill the other… the child is meant to ask:” And who wins? The parent wisely answers: “The one you feed the most.”.
What wolf am I feeding?

In what ways am I only half-alive (boredom, pain, loneliness, sadness)?
When have I felt gloriously alive?
What does it mean to me to be alive in Christ?

Walter Burghardt, SJ. said: “Eternal life does not begin at death, it begins when we believe.” Or as John 17 puts it: Eternal life consists in this; that they know you, the only true Go, and the one you sent, Jesus Christ.”
Do I realize I am living in eternal life right now?

Am I called to shepherd any others in my life?
What are the demands of such a calling?
How did I feel about this task?

CLOSING PRAYER

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Lord, today I especially pray for all those whom I have shepherded in this life so far. Help me to nurture them gently, help me to protect them where I can, and end their sorrow and hurts when they have strayed. Help me to be understanding of other’s mistakes, knowing I have made many myself. Give me the wisdom to understand that, unlike you, Lord, I do not always know what is best for everyone. Give me the power to protect those in my care insofar as I am able. Help me to let them run free when I need to give them freedom and the power to make their own decisions, and even their own mistakes.

WEEKLY MEMORIZATION

Taken from the gospel for today’s session.

I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Meditations

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship: One translation of Psalm 23 is: The Lord is my Shepherd, he keeps me from wanting what I can’t have.” “And what you thought you came for is only a shell, a husk of meaning from which the purpose breaks only when it is fulfilled, if at all. Either you had no purpose or the purpose is beyond the end you figured and is altered in fulfillment.” (T.S. Eliot: “Little Gidding’) I make a list of all the things I want at this moment. Then I think of something that I really wanted that I didn’t get; and something that I didn’t even want that somehow came my way. How have these things impacted my life for good or for ill? Have I been able to see the hand of God working things out for the best? I go back to the list of things I want and offer each one to the wisdom of the Shepherd’s providence.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action: Read Psalm 23, then transpose the words so that you are speaking directly to God. ( i.e. Lord, you are my good shepherd, I shall not want. Rich and green are the pastures where you give me repose, etc). Savor each phrase as you speak from your heart to the God who loves you and wants what is best for you, the Lord who wants you to be happy in your relationship with your God. Then Imagine God Speaking the words of this psalm to you directly: “I am your good shepherd, you shall want nothing.” At the end, take time simply to be silent and rest in the immensity of God’s loving embrace.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: What does it mean to you to “have life”? How about “life in abundance”? Does this mean that you should always expect to be rich, healthy, important, successful? Does it mean that you should always love what you do, be excited about your life, be happy all the time? Reflect on these passages that have cropped up throughout the whole gospel of John, which is focused on this gift of life: “In him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (1:4). “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (3:1). “I am the resurrection and the Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (11:25). “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (17:3). “But these are written so that you may believe… and that through believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). What lifts your spirit, satisfies your soul and gives you lasting peace and fills you with life? Insert your definition/expectation of the promise to have life in abundance….remembering to give thanks for all the benefits of abundant life you have received.

POETIC REFLECTIONS

Read this poem by Ed Ingebretzen, S.J. This is another way of looking as Jesus as our good shepherd.

A Story That Will Save Us
Tell us a story that will save us
(and that will have been enough)
all the great songs have been prayed
save only one
Tell us a story that will save us
Go down Lord,
& bring us home
May our promises free us
not chain us
May what we desire fill us
not entrap us
May those persons we love finish us
not bind us
Go down Lord,
& bring us home
You are our history, Lord
We neither begin nor end
outside you
May you be for us not weapon,
not answer, but cause of peace
May our questions show us not division
but the smallness of human answers.
Go down, Lord
& bring us home
May our words create
Not destroy
May our hands nurture
Not break
May our dreams lead and encourage us
Not trap us in despair
Go down, Lord
& bring us home
We are anxious about many things
We are lost in many ways
Go down, Lord
& bring us home

A humorous take on Psalm 23 for students:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not flunk;
He keepeth me from lying down when I should be studying.
He leadeth me beside the water cooler for a study break;
He restoreth my faith in study guides.
He leads me to better study habits
For my grade’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of borderline grades,
I will not have a nervous breakdown;
For Thou art with me.
My prayers and my friends, they comfort me.
Thou givest me answers in moments of blankness;
Thou anointest my head with understanding.
My test paper runneth over with questions I recognize.
Surely passing grades and flying colors shall follow me
All the days of my examinations,
And I shall not have to dwell in this university forever.
Amen!

CCAS Administrative Assistant 4/14/26 CCAS Administrative Assistant 4/14/26

3rd Sunday of Easter

April 19, 2026

How do I recognize the presence of Jesus in my life?

Luke 24:13-35

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.

REFLECTIONS ON THE GOSPEL

First Impressions by Jude Siciliano, OP

Acts 2:14,22-33; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35

While we might love the New Testament stories, especially those where Jesus heals or offers forgiveness to needy “outsiders,” there are some that we could label “classics.” Today’s gospel might be called a classic tale. The resurrected Jesus appears to two disheartened disciples, confused and perplexed by the tragic, heartbreaking events of recent days. What happened to these disciples back in Jerusalem confused and disappointed them. It made no sense to them. Perhaps there are events in our families, communities, or the world that confuse us as well. How do we explain events that leave us uncertain? We pray, yet our prayers do not seem to be answered. Our hopes for family, health, unity in our church, or peace in the world do not unfold as we hoped. Still, we keep walking, carrying our disappointments and questions with us. In other words, we are confused disciples on our own road to Emmaus. Let us join the two in the gospel story; perhaps what they discover and learn will help us on our own journey. What is striking in our gospel account is that Jesus comes alongside the two disheartened disciples and, at first, they do not recognize him. He listens to their story, letting them express their disappointment and confusion. Where was their glorious God in the defeat of Jesus? They had hoped he would redeem Israel; instead, Jesus seemed to have let them down. Their dreams were shattered, so they left Jerusalem – the former place of hope – talking about their loss. Many of us can recognize that walk. We have all had moments when our faith felt uncertain; when prayers seemed futile and unanswered; when hopes for ourselves, our families, the church, or the world did not unfold as we had hoped. Like those two disciples, we keep walking, carrying questions and disappointment with us. Jesus often meets us where he met the two travelers to Emmaus – in the course of our own travels. He listens to our sadness; we are invited to tell our stories. We do not hold back as we speak out of our own sorrow. How does Jesus help us come to faith when things seem dire? He does for us what he did for the two: he opens the Scriptures to help us see that God is still at work and has not deserted us to suffering and apparent defeat. Do we expect flashes of light or a thundering voice of God to address our doubts and disenchantment? No – Christ meets us quietly and patiently at surprising moments: in our conversations, daily routines, exchanges with others, and even in our own doubts. At first it may be hard to recognize him in those moments, but later we come to say, “Were not our hearts burning within us?” When did things change for the two on the road? When they said to Jesus, “Stay with us,” and when they sat at table with him. He broke the bread, and their eyes were opened – not in a miraculous or grand display, but in the familiar gesture of broken and shared bread. For Luke’s community, and for us, the message is clear. We encounter the risen Christ in Word and Eucharist, in community and hospitality. They asked him, “Stay with us…,” and he did. Notice what happened next after he revealed himself to them. The two disciples did not stay on their path to Emmaus. They returned to Jerusalem, back to the community they had left. They had encountered the risen Lord, and that encounter sent them back – not only to the community, but to the troubled and confused world they had tried to leave. That might seem surprising. Why not simply go back to their homes, believe in Jesus, and say their prayers? Instead, faith moved them from discouragement to mission, from isolation to community. Faith does that for us too. Our Emmaus story offers us both reassurance and challenge. Christ walks with us even when we do not recognize him. He speaks to us through Scripture and shared prayer. He reveals himself in the breaking of the bread and then sends us back into the world with renewed hope because of the message we have heard and the bread we have shared. As we are told at the end of our Eucharist: “The Mass has ended; go in peace.” Or “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.” So, the question after Emmaus is not only, “Did they recognize Jesus?” but “How will they live now that they have?” The early Christians faced that very question once the excitement of the resurrection encounter settled into daily life. They had to learn how to live their faith in ordinary routines, in challenging circumstances, and sometimes in societies that did not understand them. That is where our second reading speaks to us today. Let us look briefly at our second reading from the First Letter of St. Peter. He is speaking to early Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor. They were living in a pagan culture, often feeling like outsiders because of their faith. They were trying to live Christian lives in societies that did not share their values. Sound familiar? Peter calls them “sojourners,” or “exiles,” not because they were literally foreigners everywhere, but because their deepest loyalty – their true citizenship – belonged to God. In many ways their situation mirrors ours, especially as we try to live faithfully in a world with priorities different from our own. Peter reminds them that they were living between resurrection and fulfillment. Like us in this Easter season, they believed and trusted that the risen Christ was enabling them to live their daily lives in hope. Peter is speaking to believers like us who are trying to be faithful in a complicated world. They had to decide what truly lasts and what fades away. So do we. The resurrection tells us that love, mercy, faith, and hope – unlike many things in the world – are not perishable. They endure, and their fruits sustain us. “Perishable things” are not only money or property. They include reputation, comfort, control, youth, success, and even our carefully constructed plans. All these might be good, but none can save us or give us lasting peace. In this Easter season, Peter’s message is both freeing and challenging. We have been saved by something imperishable. Therefore, we are invited to live with lighter hands, deeper trust, and greater compassion. We are called to invest in what lasts: faith, reconciliation, mercy, and service to others. These are treasures that do not fade.

Quotable

“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain as they are.” – Augustine of Hippo

Justice Bulletin Board by Barbara Molinari Quinby, MPS, Director Office of Human Life, Dignity, and Justice Ministries Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral; Raleigh, NC

You were ransomed from your futile conduct. —1 Peter 1:18

There is a lot of duality in all three readings today. The First Reading presents Peter as a changed man. The Second Reading addresses Christian communities with their dual challenge to be uprooted from what they were familiar with and face alienation in a society that misunderstood their newfound religious beliefs. Then, in the Gospel, we have two disciples meeting the Risen Christ. This enduring presence of the risen Christ among his disciples then and his disciples now, radically re-creates their lives and our lives. We have been ransomed from our futile conduct. Do you see the duality? We were once one kind of a person but now we are another. Not only do we have all these ancient witnesses, but we also have the actions of God in our lives AND the promise that our souls will not be abandoned to the netherworld. Our life, like Peter, is a transformed one. This past Lenten season, we have been presented many opportunities to choose a life of merciful service to the poor, the disadvantaged, and to care for the suffering natural world. It is as counter-cultural to help the least of these today as it was in Jesus’ time. Our culture screams at us, “Me, me, me.” The “selfies” photo phenomenon grows stronger. Making it on your own is admired while community life is looked upon as weakness. Introspection is in short supply. In this transformational period of Easter time, we should continue to ask ourselves:

“Who am I?”
“Who is God?”
“Why am I here?”
“What am I to do with my life as a transformed follower of Jesus?”

As Pope Leo writes in Dilexi Te: Christians too, on a number of occasions, have succumbed to attitudes shaped by secular ideologies or political and economic approaches that lead to gross generalizations and mistaken conclusions. The fact that some dismiss or ridicule charitable works, as if they were an obsession on the part of a few and not the burning heart of the Church’s mission, convinces me of the need to go back and re-read the Gospel, lest we risk replacing it with the wisdom of this world. The poor cannot be neglected if we are to remain within the great current of the Church’s life that has its source in the Gospel and bears fruit in every time and place. Be transformed and, together, we can transform the world.

Faith Book

Mini-reflections on the Sunday scripture readings designed for persons on the run. “Faith Book” is also brief enough to be posted in the Sunday parish bulletins people take home.

From today’s Gospel: 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.”

Reflection: Hope is the virtue that enables us to dream big dreams and work to put them into reality. But we often need our hopes nourished, because if what we hope for is important----peace, care for the elderly, an end to the death penalty, a rejuvenated and healed church, good liturgy and preaching in our parish, housing for the elderly, an end to domestic violence, equality of women and gays in our churches and communities, fair treatment for immigrants, and so much more—then we will need encouragement, perseverance, passion, clear thinking and the support of a believing and hoping community. We need the Word of God, the Eucharist and a faith community that shares our dreams and gives us hope.

And so we ask ourselves:

When I am discouraged, who gives me hope?
Who are the people in the world who kindle hope in me and challenge me to persevere in my good works?

Walking and Listening to Others

“And they recounted how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

There are times in our lives when things happen either to us or to others we love; and we get frustrated and disappointed in God; maybe even we get mad at God. We certainly do not understand God’s ways. It happens to all of us who have lived long enough. In those moments of suffering, our frustrated response can be explicit or implicit. Explicit is when we just turn around and say “I don’t want anything to do with God.” When God’s name comes up, we just don’t want to talk about it; we actively avoid talking to God or God being talked about in our presence. There are also implicit ways that we do it. We don’t do anything necessarily bad; we just stop doing things. We get busy doing other things. We sort of ignore God by default more than explicitly wanting to have nothing to do with God. The seeds of either are the same: we ignore God. The question is what does God do in those moments with us? How does God minister to us; or how is he present to us? Today’s scripture tells us exactly what happens. Remember these are the disciples who walked with Jesus. They knew Jesus personally. They were his closest allies. They were not one of the twelve apostles but they would have been part of the group that was around him. When Jesus was crucified, they all absconded. They all abandoned him lest we think it was the other way around. They abandoned him and then they got mad at him. They got mad that he wasn’t the messiah. And you could see the frustration in today’s reading. There is powerful symbolism in Luke’s gospel that gives us to key to unlock the meaning of this gospel. Jerusalem is the City of God and Emmaus is considered like Sin City; think Las Vegas. They are walking away from the Holy City of God and walking toward Emmaus, which means that they are walking away from the Church. What does Jesus do? Remember this is the post-Resurrection Jesus. He has risen from the dead. He is glorified. He doesn’t stop them and say, “Hey. Stop. You’re going the wrong way. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. No. Listen. Look. It’s me. Look. Look. It’s me.” No. He didn’t do any of that. He just walks with them as they walk away. He walks with them as they walk away and listens to their story the whole time. He doesn’t scold them. He doesn’t stop them. He doesn’t challenge them. And as soon as they were done telling their story, only then, did he break open what he had heard them say; and related himself to the scriptures and says: “Oh, how foolish you were; you didn’t see.” And he helps them to focus once again, to look again at what they have seen with a different eyes. And once they see with different eyes, they start to experience it first; their hearts were burning within them but they didn’t recognize him at first. It was only in the breaking of the bread. And then, what it says, “and he vanished from their sight.” So, where did he go? We see in the breaking of the bread, which we will do in just a few moments, we believe that in the receiving of the bread they became him. It isn’t that he vanished. They became the living Body of Christ for others. What did they do after that? They didn’t just go back to Jerusalem; they ran back to Jerusalem. Their conversion was immediate and urgent. This is what God does to us; Jesus accompanies us. He will walk with us as we walk away from Church or faith. We are all here. Right? But there are others who are not here. And Jesus is walking with those as they walk to the periphery of their lives. The question is how does that happen? What does that look like? It is usually in the form of one of us. It is usually in the form of somebody else. We need to be willing to walk with them to the periphery. Ministry just doesn’t only happen at the center of a life; it happens also at the periphery of our life. Barbara Taylor Brown is a great episcopal priest who writes beautiful poetry and books. She talks about the map of the journey of faith. There is a center and there are edges to that map. Ministry happens in both places. While Mother Church focuses most of its attention at the center; the greatest stories of conversion happen at the edges and then the center becomes the custodians of those stories. Our role as disciples is to go to the edges. Our role is to attend to those who are struggling with their faith; who have gone to the edges of their own lives. This is all great theology but how does that happen in our own lives? What does that look like? Let me give you just one example: There was a time I walked away explicitly from God in anger. My best friend was killed in a plane crash. I was 24 years old, and we were inseparable friends. I was so mad at God, once the funeral was over, I was done. I didn’t want to go back to Church. I would not talk to God. I would not listen. And I most certainly would not come to a Church. I was furiously mad at God. Then I immigrated to America, and I lived with my brother, Paul. Every single Sunday, my brother Paul would go to 7pm Mass down at Queen of Apostles. I used to live in Sunnyvale. And every single Sunday before he’d ask, “Do you want to come to Church?” And I’d go “grrrrrrrrrrr” All sorts of stuff would come out of my mouth and generally it would be a no in so many words! And he would go off to Mass. Then he would come back and never say anything. Every Sunday, he would ask, “Do you want to go to Mass?” He would brace himself for the answer. He kept on doing it. Kept on doing it. Until, one Sunday, I was so frustrated in my own life and lonely, realizing that I really needed God and I was starving myself pointlessly. He said, “Do you want to go to Church?” I said, “Yeah. Sure.” And I’ve been going to Church every Sunday ever since. God was present in my life through Paul. He kept on gently asking. He was present every single day of my life. All that time, he was loving me even though I was wounded and hurt, broken, angry and frustrated. But he kept on showing up and kept on inviting me. No guilt. Just love. Just a tender, caring love of showing up every single week. Every single day of my life. There are people in our lives who have lost faith with God. They have lost a relationship with God. They got angry and frustrated like the disciples on the way to Emmaus and like me in my younger years. There are two things that we need to do: Our role is to be on the periphery, on the edge of the map at the journey of life. It is to minister to them. We come back to the center on Sunday to be filled at the table of the Lord; to receive Christ in the breaking of the bread. Yes. That is our privilege. That is our grace. But we must go to feed those on the periphery, on the edge and we must go gently and kindly. We must be willing to just love them where they are at; and gently invite them week after week; knowing that we are the risen Christ to them, listening to their story. Don’t judge. Just listen to their story and love them. And when given the opportunity, invite. For those who are maybe online who are not here in person and maybe feel like they are on the edge, I ask you to be open to somebody in your life who is loving you; who is the presence of Christ now; who is loving you where you are on the periphery of your life. Allow them to be Christ to you and maybe accept the offer or the invitation to come to Church; or to pray a little bit more with the Lord; to be present to him; to listen and to accept that invitation. Whatever is our response, we are called to be both open to the Risen Lord in our own life when we get to the periphery and get angry at God; and also are called to be the Risen Christ to others. Gently. Kindly. Ever so lovingly being present to them. Loving them where they are at the edge of their life. So that they can know that God loves them. That God is there for them in the breaking of the bread.

PREPARATION FOR THE SESSION

Adapted from Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2025

OPENING PRAYER

Lord, I know I walk with you, but I do not always recognize you. Help me to find you through prayer and the scriptures, and especially through service to those who might need my help and comfort. Trust me to do for others what you do for me.

COMPANIONS FOR THE JOURNEY

From “First Impressions”, A service of the Southern Dominican Province.

Some people who go through a crisis, like a sudden illness, or the death of a loved one, will struggle in their faith and wonder: “Where is God?” “Has God abandoned me?” Or even, “Why is God doing this to me?” When people in crisis hear the Easter accounts, like today’s gospel, they get a case of the, “If only’s...” “If only I had been there with those frightened disciples when Jesus suddenly appeared in their midst, then I would have strong faith.” “If only I had seen his wounded hands and feet, I would have shared with him my own hurts.” “If only I had watched him eat that baked fish by the side of the lake, I would have told him of my own hunger.” Luke’s account of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus on the road is certainly one of the most beautiful in the New Testament. It is a story of two people who were so focused on the past they couldn’t see what was right before their eyes. With the death of Jesus their world collapsed. Walking away from Jerusalem they were also walking away from their dreams. They were going back into darkness, as they tell the stranger who has joined them, “It is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” They weren’t just speaking about the time of the day. They were returning to their old lives, it seemed nothing had changed and things appeared pretty dark for them. When Jesus joined them on their journey Luke tells us, “...their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.” What caused their blindness? Why didn’t they recognize the one they had been following, with whom they had shared their lives? Maybe it was because they had their own idea of what they wanted Jesus to be, some kind of king, or a warrior on a mighty stallion who would vanquish the Romans. “We were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” But Jesus was right there in front of them, in the flesh, to show he was alive. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not, since they didn’t recognize him. Luke wrote his gospel between the years 80-90. The Emmaus account Is in the last chapter of his gospel. Neither he, nor his contemporaries, had experienced the risen Christ the way the first disciples had. Like us, they hadn’t seen him in the flesh. Like us they needed reassurance that Christ was truly risen from the dead and was among them. Like us, life sometimes overwhelmed them, leaving them with questions, confusion and doubts. Luke needed to show his contemporaries how their faith could be strengthened; how Jesus wasn’t a past-tense phenomenon, merely a great historical figure now long gone. We have walked the road to Emmaus. We know how long it is; how it twists and turns; how it doubles back on itself; how confusing it can be; how we can feel lost, even forgotten. The road to Emmaus is a road of fallen expectations. Haven’t there been times in our lives when we have said, “If only I had....” Or, “I wish I hadn’t....”? When we even uttered the words of the dejected travelers, “We were hoping....” When a marriage didn’t last… a personal goal never realized... a child went off the deep end... an illness severely limited our capabilities. Times like these, the words of the two disciples are ours as well, “We were hoping....” By the way he tells his story Luke is helping his contemporary Christians and us see the risen Christ with us. Notice the important elements: Jesus begins by explaining the Scriptures to them. In other words, the biblical Word of God is proclaimed and explained so that new insight is given to the disciples. Then, as we do in worship, after having the Word of God opened for them, the needy disciples gather around the table with Jesus where bread is blessed, broken and given to them. In both this gospel and the Acts of the Apostles (his second volume) Luke uses the term, “the breaking of the bread” -- which was, and still, is a term used for the Eucharist. Luke is describing the encounter with the resurrected Christ in terms of the community’s liturgical experience. With them our “eyes are opened” and we meet the risen Lord when we gather to hear the Word of God and “break the bread” together.

LIVING THE GOOD NEWS

Reflection Questions:
On my journey, what hopes have I had?
Have I ever wondered if it is all worth it?
What have been my disappointments?
Have I ever wondered if I matter?

Have I ever found myself walking away from a situation, a relationship or even my religion, because nothing had worked and I did not know how to go on?
Did my disappointment and regrets keep me from seeing the possibilities right in front of me?

How was hope and energy restored to me?
What was the role of another in helping me turn around?
Did focusing on the needs of someone around me help me pull out of a self-defeating funk?
What was the role of my religion or the scriptures in giving me comfort or a new direction?

Has there been a special companion on my journey of faith?

Has there been a time in my life when I was discouraged and then my eyes were opened to discover that Jesus was actually walking with me?

Has there ever been a time in my ordinary life that Christ was actually there, but I did not notice him?
Is Christ there now?

What is the difference between seeing and recognizing?
In the Eucharist we do not see Jesus, but we recognize him….is that true for me?
In the people I meet every day,I might not see Jesus, but do I recognize him in them?

The late renowned homilist Walter Burghardt, S.J., wrote that recognition for the disciples came in three stages: when they were walking together and sharing their disappointments; then when the stranger in their midst began interpreting the scriptures for them; and finally, after their invitation to dine, they recognized him fully in the breaking of the bread. So too, we can recognize Christ when we gather together, when we read, hear and try to understand scripture—either alone or in our small groups, and finally, at the Eucharistic table. Do I have a sense of coming to gradual recognition of Jesus in my life?
Do I realize that this is not a one-time process, but one that recurs all throughout my spiritual life?

Like the journey of the disciples to Emmaus, our life is a faith journey. Where am I in my journey, and what do I need to help me along the way?
On my journey, what have been some high points that caused “my heart to burn within me?”
What have been some signs of God present in my life?
How do I listen to and wrestle with scripture?
Is the Eucharist central to my relationship with Jesus?

Do I trust God enough to pour out my heart to Him?

C.S. Lewis, in a homily called “The Weight of Glory”, said: “Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses….for in your neighbor is Christ.” Do I actually see my neighbor as Christ in my own life?

Have there ever been Easter moments in my life?

PRAYER

Don’t forget to provide some prayer time at the beginning and at the end of the session (or both), allowing time to offer prayers for anyone you wish to pray for.

Stay with me Lord, for it is toward evening. The busy world is hushed, the fever of the day is over, and the work of my day is done. As you walked with me, beside me every minute today, be with me in my rest. Give me comfort and repose this day. I hope to do the same for others I need along the way.

WEEKLY MEMORIZATION

Taken from the gospel for today’s session: Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.

FOR THE WEEK AHEAD

Meditations

A Meditation in the IgnatianStyle/Imagination: Read the story of the journey to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-32) Try to imagine what the apostles have been doing and how they have been feeling over the last two days. Then picture yourself in their place as they walk down that road to Emmaus. What do you see? hear? What are your feelings about all that has happened? Picture the scene as a strange man walks up to you and begins to ask about your feelings. How would you respond? Why do you not recognize Jesus? Imagine your feelings as you share the story of what the women told you, and then again as Jesus talks to you. Imagine the moment of surprise and joy as you recognize Jesus. How do you feel about seeing Jesus “alive?” Talk to Jesus as you would if you had actually been there that day, telling him of your sadness and then your happiness.

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions: T.S. Eliot, in “the Dry Salvages” poem of “Four Quartets”, wrote,
“We had the experience, but missed the meaning,
And approach to the meaning restores the experience
In a different form, beyond any meaning we can assign to happiness.”
Recognition of Jesus was not a magic act that was indisputable proof of his divinity, nor was it only open to those with brains or money, or religious position. Walter Burghardt, S.J. commented that recognition of Jesus was only open to believers. What, then, is needed, is grace freely offered and a response on the part of the believer. Note that even Jesus’ special friends could not recognize Jesus for much of their journey What is the difference between seeing and recognizing?
Have I ever had an experience, the importance of which was lost on me at the moment, but which I understood much later?
We each have different ways to come to recognition: the beauty of MemChu; a community of shared belief and prayer life; love of spouse, child, friends, parents, even pets; the selflessness of health workers and first responders, the kindness of another; the joy exhibited by a young child; memories of loved ones. Has this ever happened in my spiritual experience? Spend a little time thinking of the ways in which you might come to recognize God’s love and the presence of Jesus in your midst.

A Meditation in the Dominican style/Asking Questions: (Adapted from Sacred Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits) In looking at this Gospel, we see that all the ingredients of the Christian life are here. Where do you find yourself in this scenario?

Running away from where Christ is to be found. We do it all the time.
Meeting Jesus in the unexpected place or person or situation. How many times does this happen and we do not recognize him, or worse mistreat him?
Finding the real meaning and identity of Jesus and his mission in having the Scriptures fully explained. Without the Scriptures we cannot claim to know Jesus. Yet how many Catholics go through life hardly ever opening a bible?
Recognizing Jesus in the breaking of bread, in our celebration of the Eucharist. The breaking and sharing of the bread indicates the essentially community dimension of that celebration, making it a real “com-union” with all present.
The central experience of Scripture and Liturgy draws us to participate in the work of proclaiming the message of Christ and sharing our experience of it with others that they may also share it.
The importance of hospitality and kindness to the stranger. “I was hungry… and you did/did not feed…” Jesus is especially present and to be found and loved in the very least of my brothers and sisters.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:
Can I see the face of Jesus wherever I look—
in the sick and the dying?
in the health care workers?
in the grocery store clerks?
in those defying safe-distance protocols?
in the person whose political views I despise?
in the homeless?
in the people who don’t look like me, speak like me, pray like me?
I spend this week making sure that I can find the face of Jesus in everyone I meet—without exception!

POETIC REFLECTION

Could you imagine yourself in this situation?

The Servant Girl at Emmaus — A Painting by Velasquez
She listens, listens, holding
her breath. Surely that voice
is his--the one
who had looked at her, once, across the crowd,
as no one had ever looked?
Had seen her? Had spoken as if to her?
Surely those hands were his,
taking the platter of bread from hers just now?
Hands he’d laid on the dying and made them well?
Surely that face--
The man they’d crucified for sedition and blasphemy.
The man whose body disappeared from its tomb.
The man it was rumored now some women had see this morning, alive?
Those who had brought this stranger home to their table
don’t recognize yet with whom they sit.
But she is in the kitchen, absently touching the winejug she’s to take in,
a young black servant intently listening,
swings round and sees
the light around him
and is sure.
—Denise Levertov from The Stream and the Sapphire

LITERARY REFLECTION

How does this poem by Thom Gunn reflect what the apostles needed after Jesus’ death? How does it reflect what we may need when we have lost someone?

The Reassurance
About ten days or so
After we saw you dead
You came back in a dream.
I’m all right now you said.
And it was you, although
You were fleshed out again:
You hugged us all round then,
And gave your welcoming beam.
How like you to be kind,
seeking to reassure.
And yes, how like my mind
To make itself secure.