＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Acts 2: 14, 22-33

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and,

with a loud voice, addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all foreigners now staying in Jerusalem, listen to what I have to say.   Fellow Israelites, listen to what I am going to tell you about Jesus of Nazareth. God accredited him and through him did powerful deeds and wonders and signs in your midst, as you well know.  

 You delivered him to sinners to be crucified and killed, and in this way the purpose of God from all times was fulfilled.  But God raised him to life and released him from the pain of death, because it was impossible for him to be held in the power of death. David spoke of him when he said: I saw the Lord before me at all times; he is by my side, that I may not be shaken.

Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body too will live in hope. Because you will not forsake me in the abode of the dead, nor allow your Holy One to experience corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life, and your presence will fill me with joy.

 Friends, I don’t need to prove that the patriarch David died and was buried; his tomb is with us to this day. But he knew that God had sworn to him that one of his descendants would sit upon his throne and, as he was a prophet, he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah. So he said that he would not be left in the region of the dead, nor would his body experience corruption.

 This Messiah is Jesus and we are all witnesses that God raised him to life. He has been exalted at God’s right side and the Father has entrusted the Holy Spirit to him; this Spirit he has just poured upon us as you now see and hear.

 

Ps 16: 1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11(11a)

Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

1 Peter 1: 17-21

 You call upon a Father who makes no distinction between persons but judges according to each one’s deeds; take seriously, then, these years which you spend in a strange land.  Remember that you were freed from the useless way of life of your ancestors, not with gold and silver  but with the precious blood of the Lamb without spot or blemish.  

God, who has known Christ before the world began, revealed him to you in the last days. Through him, you have faith in God who raised him from the dead and glorified him in order that you might put all your faith and hope in God.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 24: 13-35

That same day, two of them were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jeru­salem, and they talked about what had hap­pened.  While they were talking and wondering, Jesus came up and walked with them, but their eyes were held and they did not recognize him.

 He asked, “What is this you are talking about?” The two stood still, looking sad.  Then one named Cleo­phas answered, “Why, it seems you are the only traveller in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has happened there these past­ few days.”  And he asked, “What is it?”

They replied, “It is about Jesus of Nazareth. He was a prophet, you know, mighty in word and deed before God and the people.   But the chief priests and our rulers sentenced him to death. They handed him over to be crucified.  We had hoped that he would redeem Israel.

It is now the third day since all this took place.  It is true that some women of our group have disturbed us. When they went to the tomb at dawn,  they did not find his body; they came to tell us that they had seen a vision of angels who told them that Jesus was alive. Some friends of our group went to the tomb and found everything just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”

 He said to them, “How dull you are, how slow of understanding! You fail to believe the message of the prophets. Is it not written that the Christ should suffer all this and then enter his glory?” Then starting with Moses and going through the prophets, he explained to them everything in the Scriptures concerning himself.

As they drew near the village they were heading for, Jesus made as if to go farther. But they prevailed upon him, “Stay with us, for night comes quickly. The day is now almost over.” So he went in to stay with them. When they were at table, he took the bread, said a blessing, broke it and gave each a piece.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; but he vanished out of their sight. And they said to each other, “Were not our hearts filled with ardent yearning when he was talking to us on the road and explaining the Scriptures?”

They immediately set out and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and their companions gathered together. They were greeted by these words: “Yes, it is true, the Lord is risen! He has appeared to Simon!” Then the two told what had happened on the road and how Jesus made himself known when he broke bread with them.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Read:

The account of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus speaks of their eyes being open when Jesus broke the bread. Prior to that, despite the seeming length of their journey together and the fact that this man who had walked by their side knew so much about the prophecies concerning Jesus, they simply didn’t recognize that it was Jesus talking to them.

But they didn’t only come to a full recognition of Jesus after he had performed an act he had done during the last supper, it also emboldened them to return to the other disciples and proclaim their faith in the Risen Lord.

Reflect:

There was obviously something so profound, so powerful and yet also so tender and familiar in what and happened during the Last Supper that it made such a profound impression on the disciples. In that breaking of the bread, something bonded them so powerfully to Jesus that despite their sorrow and pain after he Had been crucified, it was the very same act that opened their eyes to recognize him.

Pray:

Lord, you have given us your Body and Blood so that every time we receive it, we share in the very experience your disciples had at the Last Supper. Let me always approach the Eucharist with a heart and soul that is ready and in a state of grace.

Act: Always be prepared in mind and heart to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Seek to always be in a state of grace.