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Pope Benedict XVI- Angelus |
Regina
Caeli Message
Setting Out for Emmaus
"The Road That Leads There Is the Journey of Every Christian"
H.H. Benedict XVI
April 6, 2008
www.zenit.org
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This Gospel for this Sunday -- the 3rd Sunday of Easter -- is the
celebrated account of the disciples of Emmaus (cf. Luke 24:13-35).
The story is told of two disciples of Christ who, on the day after
the Sabbath, that is, the third day after Jesus’ death, sad and
dejected, leave Jerusalem and set out for nearby village called,
precisely, Emmaus.
Along the road, the risen Jesus comes and walks beside them but they
do not recognize him. Seeing that they were disheartened, he
explained, on the basis of the Scriptures, that the Messiah had to
suffer and die to enter into his glory. Having entered into the
house with them, he sat down at table with them, blessed the bread
and broke it, and at that point they recognized him, but he
disappeared from their sight, leaving them full of wonder before the
broken bread, new sign of his presence. And immediately the two
returned to Jerusalem and tell the other disciples what happened.
The location of Emmaus has not been identified with any certainty.
There are different hypotheses, and this fact is not without its
significance because it leaves us to think that in reality Emmaus
represents every place: The road that leads there is the journey of
every Christian, in deed, of every man. Along our roads the risen
Jesus is our companion on the journey, to reignite in our hearts the
warmth of faith and hope and the breaking of the bread of eternal
life.
In the disciples conversation with the unknown traveler the
expression that the evangelist Luke puts in one of their mouths is
striking: “We were hoping…” (24:21). This past tense verb says
everything: We believed, we followed, we hoped …, but now it is all
over. Even Jesus of Nazareth, who had shown himself to be a powerful
prophet in deeds and words, failed, and we are disappointed.
This drama of the disciples of Emmaus is as a mirror of the
situation of many Christians of our time. It seems that the hope of
faith has failed. Faith itself enters into crisis because of
negative experiences that make us feel like we are abandoned by the
Lord. But this road to Emmaus on which we travel can become a way of
purification and maturation of our believing in God.
Even today we can enter into conversation with Jesus listening to
his word. Even today he breaks the bread for us and from himself as
our bread. And in this way the encounter with the risen Christ,
which is possible even today, gives us a deeper and more authentic
faith, tempered, so to speak, by the fire of the Easter event; a
robust faith because it is nourished not by human ideas, but by the
word of God and by his presence in the Eucharist.
This stupendous Gospel text already contains the structure of the
Mass: in the first part the hearing of the word through the sacred
Scriptures; in the second the Eucharistic liturgy and communion with
Christ present in the sacrament of his Body and his Blood.
Nourished at this twofold table, the Church is unceasingly built up
and renews itself day by day in faith, in hope and in charity.
Through the intercession of Mary Most Holy, let us pray that every
Christian and every community, reliving the experience of the
disciples of Emmaus, rediscover the grace of the transforming
encounter with the risen Lord.
[After the Regina Caeli the Pope said the following in Italian:]
The first International Congress on Divine Mercy concluded today
with the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica. I thank
the organizers, especially the vicariate of Rome, and to all the
participants I extend my cordial greeting, which now becomes an
exhortation: Go and be witnesses of God’s mercy, source of hope for
every man and for the whole world. May the risen Lord be with you
always!
I greet the numerous members of the Focolare movement, working as
catechists in parishes, who have come here from many countries
throughout the world, and I wish you well in the service that you
render to spreading and welcoming the word of God.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
[After the Regina Caeli the Holy Father greeted the pilgrims in
several languages. In English, he said:]
I am happy to greet all the English-speaking visitors present at
today’s Regina Caeli prayer. On this Third Sunday of Easter, Saint
Luke relates how the Risen Christ walks with his disciples, makes
their hearts burn within them by his words, and reveals himself in
the breaking of the bread. Let us pray that our Easter journey will
teach us to open our hearts with joy to the living Christ present in
his Church. Upon all of you I invoke God’s abundant blessings!
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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