Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us? (Luke 24,32)
The downcast disciples returning to Emmaus had lost all sense of purpose. The one they had pinned their hopes on had been put to death, and all that he stood for had disappeared. No more dreams or inspiring ideals… it was time to return home and shut themselves in.
Luke 24:13-35 narrates how they became aware that a “stranger” was walking with them and entered into their experience and opened their eyes.
Here we understand the meaning of Easter: the realization that Jesus Christ is alive and enters into the reality of our lives. Easter is the opening of our eyes and hearts and lives to his presence.
Unable to attend services in church, we are invited to spend time at home with Scripture. Like the disciples let us let him explain his Word to us and set our hearts on fire in our everyday existence.
Saint Eugene’s life was dedicated to explaining the Good News of salvation to those who were most in need. He and his missionaries wanted the hearts of all those who listened to burn within them. The invitation he wrote in the Rule of 1818 continues today:
Our one and only aim should be to instruct people…
not only to break the bread of the Word for them but to chew it for them as well;
in a word, to ensure that when our discourses are over,
they are not tempted to heap foolish praise on what they have not understood,
but, instead, that they go back home edified, touched, instructed, able to repeat in their own family circle what they have learned from our mouth.
At times we feel like those disciples who wanted to shut themselves into their own isolation in Emmaus. Let’s open our eyes to recognize the presence of the Risen Jesus alongside us. Let us spend some time with his Gospel. As we break the bread of the Word, he helps us to chew it – and our hearts will burn within us.
I have always loved the story of the journey to Emmaus, no matter what liturgical season we are in, but especially at Easter time. It is the story of our own experience of the Paschal Mystery.
Today as I begin to read this line from Luke a beautiful joy and welcome bursts forth into the life of my daily reflection and prayer. Eugene, dear Eugene you stand before me this morning, your precious Rule of Life, once again coming to my aid, to our aid, shedding your light on us, helping us to focus that we are walking in the Light; that we are not alone in the darkness of isolation, lockdown, uncertainty and fear.
Christ is Risen, Alleluia! “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling on death by death and on those in the tomb lavishing life!” Many years ago, I experienced this during the Easter season when I visited a community. A cantor would stand during our meals and sing it – and we would join in with triumph and joy. It was a focal point for all of us sitting together at our tables to share where we were at in those times in our life.
Today I find Eugene de Mazenod and Frank inviting us to break open the Word of God, to chew it and savour it, to find ways to share our experience of that with each other and then in new ways with the world. Standing in isolation we meet each other in the breaking the bread of the word, chewing it, allowing it to fuel our hearts and burn within us.
Here today we will share it with all, with our brothers and sisters, our family – in old and new ways and then when we are ready (and it is God who will show us) we will be able to go out and share it with others.
I remember an experience of this during our provincial convocation some years ago where throughout our days together we would sing:
Are not our hearts burning within us?
Are not our lives shared as one bread?
Here in our hands, here in this place,
Jesus our hope, life from the dead.
We had been gathered together from our own places of being and living, to walk together, in what was for me most certainly a new way, breaking open the living Word, to chew and be nourished and then we were sent out once again.