From the Gospel according to 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 the bread.

The Gospel of the Lord

The Way Home

There are times when, looking at the cross through our own logic and perspective, we fall into discouragement. We retreat into ourselves, turning inward and drowning in self-pity.
But what brings us back? Turning our eyes to the Lord and understanding everything in light of Sacred Scripture. With the Spirit’s help, if we interpret things rightly, our hearts will be set on fire again. That fire leads us back to community, and from there, we can become true witnesses of God’s work within us.

Applied to married life

Marta: When you hurt me, even unintentionally, I feel let down and start pulling away. I just can’t understand how you, the one I love, could be the one causing me pain.
Michel: But what if my intentions aren’t what you assume? What if God is using these emotions to purify you, to help you grow?
Marta: So maybe I’m judging this moment of suffering by my own standards, and that’s why I can’t see God in it.
Michel: Exactly. And while you’re pulling away, I’m still here trying to love you—even if I mess up sometimes. But when you turn away, you stop seeing me as God’s gift to you.
Marta: Maybe you’re right. I’ll pray about it and see what God says in the Gospel.
(She read about the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Her heart was set on fire, she believed again, and she was reunited with her husband in love.)

Mother,

May our hearts burn as we learn to see our marriage through the light of Scripture. Praise be to the Lord who reveals His truth to us.

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