Wednesday in the Octave of Easter 2019

In today’s gospel, the disciples’, after walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and breaking bread with Him at table, finally see Him for who He really is. They finally see Him as the Christ. In fact, walking with Jesus prepares them to see Him at the breaking of the bread. For during this walk, Jesus begins to illumine their hearts with the fire of the Holy Spirit by proclaiming God’s Word to them. In doing so, He prepares them intellectually to receive the Truth that He is the Lord’s anointed, the Christ, who suffered, died, and was raised to life for their salvation. Consequently, without walking with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, without the interior illumination they received from Him through the Holy Spirit, their eyes would have never been opened to see Jesus for who He really is at the breaking of the bread. They would have remained blind to Him.

In a sense, this blindness to Christ can certainly happen to anyone, spiritually, even to someone who professes to be a disciple of Christ, including clergy and laity. In the eyes of certain human beings or members of the Church, such a person may have the image or appearance of being a faithful disciple of Christ, but in the eyes of God, such a person can still be blind to the real presence of Christ in his neighbor. In fact, this has especially been true of some priests, professed religious and bishops guilty of abusing children or of concealing such abuse through the years. In doing so, they have failed to see Christ in these children. They have been blinded to Christ’s real presence in them. Such blindness, such evil, could only happen in their hearts by their failure to walk with Christ, in His Truth, spiritually, intellectually and morally on a daily basis. As a result, today the Church is suffering greatly, especially the children, their parents and families, including faithful bishops, priests and members of religious congregations.

Let us then pray and do penance for the purification and healing of all the members of the Church by the fire of the Holy Spirit that we may see and honor Christ in our neighbor through faith, hope, and love.