THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

Fr. Jaume GONZÁLEZ i Padrós (Barcelona, Spain)

Today we begin the proclamation of the Gospel with the expression, “That very day, the first day of the week” (Lk 24:13). Yes, still Sunday. Easter is like a great Sunday of fifty days. Oh, if we only knew the importance of this day in the life of Christians! “There are reasons to say, as suggested by the homily of an author of the 4th century (Pseudo-Eusebius of Alexandria), that the ‘Day of the Lord’ is the ‘Lord of Days’ (…). Indeed, this is the ‘primary feast’ for Christians” (Saint John Paul II). Sunday, for us, is like a mother’s womb, a cradle, a celebration, a home, and also missionary inspiration. Oh, if we glimpsed the light and poetry it brings! Then we would affirm like those martyrs of the early centuries: “We cannot live without Sunday.”

But when the Lord’s day loses its importance in our existence, the “Lord of the day” also fades away, and we become so pragmatic and “serious” that we only give credit to our projects and plans; then, even the very freedom with which God acts becomes a source of scandal and distance for us. Ignoring the wonder, we close ourselves off to the most luminous manifestation of God’s glory, and everything becomes a sunset of disappointment, a prelude to an endless night where life seems condemned to perpetual insomnia.

However, the Gospel proclaimed in the midst of Sunday assemblies is always the angelic announcement of a clarity directed at minds and hearts slow to believe (cf. Lk 24:25), and for this reason, it is gentle, not explosive, since otherwise, it would blind us instead of illuminating us. It is the Life of the Resurrected One that the Spirit communicates to us through the Word and the broken Bread, respecting our journey made up of short and not always well-directed steps.

Let us remember every Sunday that Jesus “went in to stay with them” (Lk 24:29), with us. Have you recognized Him today, Christian?

Thoughts on Today’s Gospel

• “During these days the Lord joined two of his disciples as their companion on the road, and by chiding them for their timidity and hesitant fears he swept away all the clouds of our uncertainty. Their lukewarm hearts were fired by the light of faith and began to burn within them as the Lord opened up the Scriptures.” (Saint Leo the Great)
• “Encountering God in prayer, the reading of the Bible and in the fraternal life will help you better to know the Lord and yourselves, to discover the loving plan He has for your life.” (Pope Francis)
• “The Gospels are the heart of all the Scriptures “because they are our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior (Second Vatican Council).” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 125)