Acts 2.14,22-33 | 1 Peter 1.17-21 | Luke 24.13-35

We begin the third week of Easter Season with Mother Church, recognizing the risen Christ among us and being witnesses of Him in the world.

Today the evangelist Luke tells us about the appearance of the risen Christ to the disciples of Emmaus.

In short: sad and disappointed because of the tragic crucifixion of Jesus under the orders of the Jewish and Roman authorities, two disciples (one of them named Cleopas) were returning to their hometown, Emmaus, on Easter Sunday. Then the risen Jesus, mistaken for a pilgrim, began to walk with them, explaining to them the Scriptures that spoke about Him, about the Christ, beginning with Moses and going through the Prophets, making their hearts burn within them.

Accepting the invitation of those disciples to dinner, Jesus was recognized by them when He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and distributed it to them (Eucharist). Then the resurrected Christ disappeared, and they returned to Jerusalem, meeting with the other disciples and apostles, and telling them about Jesus' appearance on the road and His recognition when breaking the bread.

This account is a beautiful catechesis on the presence of Jesus at the Eucharistic meal: the Risen One walks with His disciples and manifests Himself in the Bread of Scripture and in the Bread of His Body and Blood, consoling them in their sorrows and filling them with Easter joy. Sunday Mass is the privileged place of encounter with the Risen One.

The Mass leads to the community and also to the witness of the Risen One to others. The homily prepared with a solid theological foundation and delivered with enthusiasm is a sure path to spiritual revival and pastoral commitment.

Let our eyes be opened to recognize the Risen One, who is not far from us, but is in people sensitive to the suffering of humanity and committed to the defense of life. Let us ourselves be signs of the Risen One to those who sincerely seek Him.

Today, the evangelist Luke tells us in the book of Acts of the Apostles about the preaching of the apostle Peter in Jerusalem after receiving the Holy Spirit, fifty days after Easter, on the day of Pentecost.

This is the kerygma (a Greek word meaning proclamation). In short: God allowed Jesus to be crucified by the Jews and the wicked. But He was resurrected by God (as foretold in Psalm 15), and the apostles were witnesses of His exaltation, animated by the promised Holy Spirit that God and Jesus poured out upon them.

Like the apostles, we too receive the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and we have the commitment to proclaim this kerygma with joy and courage to our generation. It is a powerful message, capable of converting many hearts to God and making humanity and the world better.

Today the apostle Peter speaks to us in his letter about the redemption of humanity accomplished by God the Father through Christ, the lamb without blemish or defect.

Before creation, Christ was destined to redeem from futile life those who migrate in this world respecting the Father. God resurrected Christ from the dead and gave Him glory.

Let us attain faith in God through the Risen One. May our faith and hope be in the Father, Who will judge us without discrimination according to our works.

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