Gospel – 3rd Sunday of Easter

35 The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread. 36 While they were still speaking about this, He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. 38 Then He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, He asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of baked fish; 43 He took it and ate it in front of them. 44 He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”

45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And He said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things” (Lk 24:35-48).

I – Divine Source of Gentleness

To sketch the profile of a perfect man, the virtue of gentleness would not normally be the first attribute to come to mind. However, dissociating strength from tact and kindness is a typical error of our time. Indeed, virile truculence without affability becomes brutality; and mildness without vigour, pusillanimity. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the “fairest of the sons of men” (Ps 45:2), unites all these qualities within himself. In Him are found, in impeccable balance, virtues which, while appearing to be opposites, are in reality harmonious, achieving moral perfection. In this way, He who drove the moneychangers out of the Temple with a whip in His hand shows himself in today’s Liturgy to be capable of a truly divine gentleness and patience in the face of the narrow-minded mediocrity of the Apostles before Pentecost.

II – The Saviour’s Unconditional Kindness towards His Own

In the Gospel for this 3rd Sunday of Easter, we can contemplate the admirable pedagogy adopted by the Divine Master, victor over death and sin, to persuade the Apostles of the fact that His Resurrection was as real as it was extraordinary. In those minds, which were still too earthly, faith in Our Lord’s divinity, which they had proclaimed several times and which St. Peter had declared infallibly and solemnly at Caesarea Philippi, had not yet taken deep root. On the occasions when His Passion, Death and Resurrection were announced to them, the Apostles did not comprehend the meaning of the words, nor did they even wish to understand them, for not one of them dared to question the Redeemer about the true meaning of that prophecy which, incidentally, was crystal clear. He was announcing Calvary, but also the radiant morning of Easter.
He who drove the moneychangers from the Temple brandishing a whip shows Himself in today’s Liturgy as capable of truly divine tenderness and patience
And if Jesus was God, as the disciples believed, how difficult would it be to conceive of His victory over the prince of darkness and his empire? Had He not said that no one would take His life from Him, but that He gave it of His own free will and that He could take it back of His own free will (cf. Jn 10:18)? However, poorly fought self-love, ambition for a career and excessively worldly interests still coexisted with faith in the hearts of the disciples, wrapped around them like an invasive vine. That is why their inward gaze could not believe what their eyes perceived with undeniable clarity: the Lion of Judah had triumphed and was there to comfort them. Nevertheless, without the slightest hint of exasperation, Our Lord treated them with an almost maternal tenderness and kindness. His mild and persuasive attitude is at the root of the good manners that for centuries have formed the basis of social interaction and culture in the Christian West – today almost submerged under the overflowing inundation of neo-paganism.
Apparition of Christ to the Apostles in the Cenacle - Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
For us, disciples and slaves of the Truth, imitating Christ is essential. Since He is our way, we need to follow in His footsteps in order to reach the Father. So let us always strive, in these sad and brutal times, to live Christian patience in its most diverse forms, in order to enlighten our contemporaries with the brilliance of the Holy Gospel. If we act in this way, nothing of our combativeness will be lost, because politeness and compassion are a manifestation of it and not a sign of weakness.

A rousing report

35 The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

One can well imagine the enthusiasm and fervour with which the two disciples of Emmaus, one of whom seems to be St. Luke himself according to the almost unanimous opinion of exegetes, recounted their encounter with the mysterious pilgrim who had joined them on their way back to their hometown. Their words must have fairly blazed with vivacity and appeal, impressing the listeners and spreading a contagious joy.
If lived coherently, faith in Jesus’ Resurrection and in our own will make us share to some extent in the supernatural serenity that the Master infused into His disciples
The conditions were in place for the next step that the all-wise divine pedagogy would take, with the aim of demonstrating to His followers the unprecedented fact of the Resurrection, which they still did not fully believe, despite the various testimonies that had punctuated that radiant Easter Sunday in the closed confines of the Upper Room.

The peace of victory

36 While they were still speaking about this, He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Behold, the Awaited One of the nations miraculously enters the Upper Room, bringing the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus to a climax with His unexpected presence. And what are His first words? “Peace be with you.” Spoken by the Author of peace himself, this greeting must have produced a supernatural calm that man is incapable of attaining without the help of a miracle. The Apostles’ tranquillity at that moment was profound, full of mystical unction and a diaphanous, enveloping luminosity. How we would like to experience that peace! Well, faith in Jesus’ Resurrection and in our own, if lived consistently, will make us share to some extent in the supernatural calm that the Master infused in His disciples. If we do not live for this earth but for eternity, striving to conquer Paradise step by step, then our delight in this world will be in breathing the serenity of the saints, born of struggle and victory.

Troubled hearts

37But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost.

However, the Apostles’ hearts were divided. While on the one hand they were beginning to believe in the prodigious and unprecedented fact of the Lord’s Resurrection, on the other, the weight of materialism was making itself felt, preventing their spirits from taking a steady flight towards higher horizons. That is why the grace of peace infused by Jesus into their souls was short-lived, followed by fear, the fruit of their far-too-worldly conception of the Messiah, which clouded their supernatural vision. In these times of ours, when all kinds of spurious beliefs abound, there are legions of those who claim to rely on them in order to obtain money, fame, power or pleasure. However, when it comes to considering the Church of Christ and its Creed, these people are sceptical and haughtily dismiss the most respectable traditions as “legends” to deceive “weak” spirits. Unfortunately, this state of mind ends up influencing many faithful Catholics, causing them to doubt their faith. We must overcome this temptation and firmly adhere to the truths that are definitively proposed to us by the Magisterium. Only in this way will we be able to distinguish true miracles from the enemy’s false prodigies.

Benignity and clemency

38 Then He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? 39 Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” 40 And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

  After giving in to the seduction of fear, the Apostles deserved a harsh rebuke. They demonstrated that they had lived with the most exceptional person in all of history without perceiving even a fraction of His grandeur, which revealed a lamentable mediocrity.
The Apostles’ hearts were divided: on one hand they were beginning to believe in the Lord’s Resurrection, but, on the other, they allowed their materialism to weigh them down
Our Lord, however, far from bringing down the whip of reproach on them, behaves with clement benignity. He descends from the height of His triumph to the baseness in which His disciples’ spirits lay, in order to raise them up to the perspective of authentic faith. And He does so with divine affection and delicacy. This is a lesson for us. How often those engaged in the apostolate give in to the temptation of irritation or discouragement when faced with the lack of response from those for whose benefit they work. The conversion of souls requires patience, gentleness and constancy, as used by Jesus in this passage from the Holy Gospel.

Contrasting sentiments

41 While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, He asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave Him a piece of baked fish; 43 He took it and ate it in front of them.

The Master’s voice, His presence pervaded with peace and the proof of the reality of His Resurrection once again comforted the disciples, who went from fright to joy at the welcome surprise. Was this the fulfilment of Christ’s great prophecy about His death and definitive and glorious return to life? The euphoria prevented them from believing.
Detail from “Maestà”, by Duccio di Buoninsegna - Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Siena (Italy)
Indeed, a person whose faith is not strong remains subject to constant change. When the light of the intellect, illuminated by faith, and the firmness of the will, strengthened by love, are lacking, human passions take the helm of the soul and lead it into the raging waters of opposing feelings. On the other hand, if the theological virtues reign in the heart, one enjoys a stability based on unshakeable supernatural certainties. Let us ask the risen Jesus for this grace, so that we can be faithful and serious servants.

The glory of a prophet

44He said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.”

The texts of the Old Testament pointed to the coming Messiah. From Moses to the last of the prophets, all the sacred authors had described the mission and greatness of the Lord’s Anointed, who would come to redeem the people from their sins. This was the most glorious prophecy, for it announced the greatest event in the course of history: the Incarnation of the Word and the work of Redemption. Jesus thus reminded His followers that the sublime reality they were contemplating with their eyes was the fulfilment of a series of prophecies about His mission, life and triumph. Everything was so clear! But still they did not understand… At this point it is worth remembering the role of Our Lady, the living receptacle of each of the prophetic announcements. Under her lucid, pure and fervent gaze passed the Book of Isaiah, with its mention of the Servant of Yahweh, Malachi and Micah’s references to the future Saviour and many other prophecies. Through her spirit full of faith and wisdom, She kept them in her Immaculate Heart and scrutinized them with extraordinary discernment and veneration, coming to correct and profound conclusions. The Holy Spirit, as Mary’s Spouse, gradually enlightened her mind and inflamed her love to the point of preparing Her to be the New Eve alongside the New Adam.
Jesus reminded His followers that the sublime reality they were contemplating with their eyes was the fulfilment of a series of prophecies about His own mission, life and triumph
Thus, in the most tragic event of all ages, She associated herself with her Divine Son, inwardly suffering the agonising sorrows of the Passion and the Cross. For the Queen of Prophets, the Resurrection was neither a surprise nor a frightening phenomenon. Since the last breath of the Immolated Lamb, with the sword of sorrow still embedded in her soul, She had followed the rising of the sun of victory as the hours passed. Therefore, when She met Jesus again enveloped in the aura of the most éclatante triumph, her spirit was ready to welcome him with joy, accompanied by the most noble, affectionate and elevated manifestations of affection of all time.
Replicas of the prophets of Aleijadinho - Lumen Maris House, Ubatuba, (Brazil)
Let us therefore put on Mary’s adamantine fidelity and cast off the burial cloths of those who judge events without the prophetic certainty of victory.

The Divine intelligence of the Scriptures

45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And He said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day 47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Our Lord granted the disciples a new grace. The first was that of peace, poorly received by them; the second was that of the divine intelligence of the Scriptures, without which Divine Revelation, however lofty and respectable, remains inaccessible to pragmatic and intellectual spirits. The Gospel itself clearly shows that human knowledge is not capable of discerning the light of truth shining in the Sacred Books. The scribes and doctors of the Law knew the texts and commented on them, but they were “blind leading the blind” (Mt 15:14), for they saw nothing and understood nothing. To show that the key to reading the inspired pages belongs to God alone, Our Lord permitted the Apostles’ ignorance, so that the Father of Lights would be glorified in them at the moment when, by a supernatural action, their minds were opened to the meaning of the Divine Word. Even today – in a world gone so far astray that false prophets dare to undermine the Church itself – we are witnessing the sad spectacle of faithless exegesis. This is one of the manifestations of a neo-Pharisaism that seeks to erode the foundations of true doctrine, which alone can be said to be “living and effective” (Heb 4:12). However, the Lord’s sheep know His voice and distinguish it from that of the wolves disguised as shepherds. The latter will bear the reproach of God’s people when, after the number of persecutions against the good has been completed, the day of the great and terrible retribution announced in the Book of Revelation comes.

Courageous witnesses

48 “You are witnesses of these things.”

Finally, Jesus announced in a veiled manner the coming of the Paraclete over the Apostolic College, presided over in love by Mary Most Holy. Yes, in the Upper Room the disciples would receive the strength and power to announce to the four corners of the earth the victory of the Crucified One over the devil, the world and sin. Let us pray to the Redeemer for a new Pentecost, which will give the elect the courage and impetus to purify the Church and announce to the world the need for a radical conversion in order to escape the wrath to come.
“Christ glorified in the Court of Heaven”, by Fra Angelico - National Gallery, City of Westminster (England)

III – The Church Will also Triumph after Her Passion!

In these difficult times, new prophets filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit must emerge, docile and faithful children of the Holy Church, our beloved Mother, in order to break through the layers of diabolical pollution that bog down in a blind and naturalistic pragmatism the multitudes scattered throughout the world. They will do so through their word, their example and the signs they will be called upon to perform.
The victorious Christ is the true guide and protector of His Church and therefore, just as He triumphed, she too will triumph for the greater glory of the Trinity
On the other hand, we should not fear for the future of the Church, which today is going through a crisis unprecedented in its length and intensity, similar to the Passion of her Divine Bridegroom. Just as Jesus came back to life after having shed every last drop of blood on Golgotha, His Mystical Body, associated with Him by an indestructible and perennial bond, will see new days of glory when the torrents of iniquity that are ravaging it are swallowed up by the earth and consigned to the infernal pits. Let us have faith: the victorious Christ is the true guide and protector of His Church and therefore, just as He triumphed, she too will triumph for the greater glory of the Trinity. ◊