“RISEN WITH CHRIST”
Easter Reflections
Wednesday, 19th April 2017.
Easter Octave
Acts 3:1-10
Ps 105:1-4,6-9
Lk 24:13-35
RESURRECTION: JESUS IS ALIVE IN THE EUCHARIST
This appearance of Jesus to two of His disciples is intriguing and fascinating. They had hoped He was the Messiah but then He was killed. And then there were some who claimed His tomb was empty. As the story goes on, Jesus “interpreted to them what referred to him in all the Scriptures.” With that, these disciples realized that this man with whom they were speaking had incredible wisdom and understanding, so they invited Him to stay with them. Jesus stayed and sat down with them in their home. While there, Scripture says that “he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.”Why did Jesus conceal who He was, allow them to suddenly recognize Him and then vanish into thin air?
Jesus wanted those disciples, as well as all of us, to know that He who rose from the dead was very much alive and that we would recognize Him in the breaking of the bread. We would recognize Him in the Most Holy Eucharist. This appearance of Jesus to these disciples was, in fact, an appearance to teach all of us the simple truth of His presence in the Eucharist. Jesus is alive in the Eucharist! But it also tells us that He is hidden in the Eucharist. This combination of being hidden and truly present gives us wonderful guidance in our faith.
The disciples were in the presence of Jesus and they did not realize it. The same is true for us. We are constantly in His presence and we do not realize it. This is especially true when we are at Mass but it is also true in countless other ways throughout our day. We must commit ourselves to seeing Him, to recognizing Him and to adoring Him. We must discover the resurrected presence of Jesus all around us. He is here with us right now, loving us, speaking to us, and calling us to love Him. Look for Him and listen to His voice. You may be surprised at how near He really is.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for loving me so much that You are always with me. Give me the eyes of faith to see You present in the Most Holy Eucharist, and help me to discern Your presence in every ordinary event of my day. I love You, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.
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