A HEART THAT SEEKS THE WORD AND THE EUCHARIST - 04/20/22 (Easter Wednesday)

Luke 24:25,27,30-32

25 And He said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  

27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.

30 When He was at table with them, He took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished out of their sight. 32 They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the scriptures?"

For the full readings, click here: 

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/daily-readings

Blessed Easter Wednesday! There were two people who were going to the village of Emmaus, and Jesus appeared to them. However, they were unable to recognize Him. These two people were aware of the death of Christ, but they seemed to be unsure whether they should believe the testimonies of His resurrection. As such, our Lord called them "slow of hearts." In our lives, there is a danger and a tendency for us to have slow hearts that are not fully devoted to God. Some of us may think that knowing some information about Jesus is enough, and our purpose in life is about seeking riches, achievements and honors, not God's will. 

And yet, when we acknowledge how slow our hearts are, Jesus comes to us and aids us in our journey. He teaches us the right path to follow Him. Our Lord interpreted the writings on the Old Testament, the Scriptures at their time, to enlighten them of His death and resurrection. Jesus was doing this, not just for them to obtain information, but also for them to see how our Lord spoke to them through His Word. We need to understand that our Savior speaks to us through the Bible for us to listen to Him and for us to love Him even more. Even in the readings in the Mass and in the homily, Jesus speaks to us through the readers and the priests for us to correct our faults and persevere in virtues making us more pleasing to His eyes. 

Our attentive listening and reflection on the Word of God prepares our hearts to see and partake of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Our Lord did what He had done in the last Supper. He took the bread, blessed it, and gave it to them. Then, they were able to see His presence although He vanished. The breaking of the bread pertains to the Mass. Although we cannot see the body of Christ in a way we see other people, may we always remember the mystery of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Jesus Christ Himself. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we can see the real presence of Our Lord and His Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. 

Only our Lord can open our eyes to see His presence in our lives. He's simply looking for people who humbly admit that their hearts are not fully devoted to the Lord. Just as Jesus stayed with the two people, He will stay in our hearts and fill it with His love. Do we want our hearts to be burning with God's love? If our answer is "yes", let's persevere in pondering on God's Word and reflecting on what we can learn from the homilies we listen to or the reflections we read. Our Lord will make a way for us to fall in love with Him even more, especially in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. There is nothing to worry about if we have problems in life. We can surrender everything to God because what's most important is to listen to His voice and be united with the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ. Let's devote our hearts to Him, so He will be our strength and happiness. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic