Dear Parish Family,
As we journey through life with all its problems and distractions we can certainly lose our perspective. We can lose all direction to life and left to ourselves we become nothing and remain with uncertainty. Any positive support, a sincere understanding can place a person on the right path. This is what the readings of today tell us that hope will come when we expect little. Human hope is a fragile thing and when it withers it’s difficult to revive. Hopelessness as a disease of the human spirit is desperately hard to cure. The information about the resurrection did not prevent Cleopas and his unnamed companion to leave the community they belonged to with shattered hopes.
Why do many people today stay away from Church? That is a hard question to answer. Part of it might be a matter of priorities: Mass is not as important to some people as their children’s sports or other activities, even though there are plenty of opportunities to attend Mass other than Sunday mornings. Or maybe some families just fall out of the habit of attending Mass every week. This is particularly evident when the school ends and the family’s schedule changes. But I fear that there is another reason for those who believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist but do not receive regularly or come to Mass. And that reason is that to understand the significance of the Eucharist, a person needs to be open to the mystical. Our modern world has a difficult time dealing with the concept of mystery. It thinks that everything either has an explanation, or it doesn’t exist. As a result the world deprives itself of that which is beyond the imagination of man. It deprives itself of the ability to be one with God in the Eucharist. It deprives itself of the joy of recognizing Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread. Some of our families consider the reception of the Eucharist just as something that they do, equating it with every action they perform in Church. They don’t realize that receiving the Eucharist is entering into an encounter with the Lord. It is something that Jesus does. Reception of the Eucharist is an encounter with mystery, a mystical encounter with Jesus Christ.
The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were open to mystery. They talked about their hope in this Jesus of Nazareth. They were open to the mysterious stranger’s explanation of scripture. And then they were open to recognizing the Lord in the Breaking of the Bread. Last week our readings called us to faith. This week we are called into mystery. We are called to come to a deeper appreciation and reverence for the wonders our Savior has provided for us in the Breaking of the Bread. We are also encouraged today to reach out to fellow travelers on our life’s journey who walk along with disillusionment and sense of helplessness as they walk the road to nowhere. Pope Francis recently encouraged us to become the compassionate Church who will walk along with people with broken heart and spirit, all the way with patient listening and breaking the Word. We could lead them to recognize meaning in life and encounter the risen Lord in the Sunday, ‘breaking of the bread.’
Fr. Tom Kunnel C.O.