In commenting on the appearance of the Resurrected Christ on the road to Emmaus, Pope Francis says that the Lord helped the two disciples to “reread”: “He helps them reinterpret the facts in a different way.”
The Pope invited the faithful to “dwell on this aspect” of the Gospel account. “Indeed, for us too it is important to reread our history together with Jesus: the story of our life, of a certain period, of our days, with its disappointments and hopes.”
The Pope said that we too, like the Emmaus disciples, “can find ourselves lost in the face of … events, alone and uncertain, with many questions and worries, disappointments, many things.”
Today’s Gospel invites us to tell Jesus everything, sincerely, without being afraid of disturbing him: He listens! Without fear of saying the wrong thing, without shame at our struggle to understand. The Lord is happy whenever we open ourselves to him; only in this way can he take us by the hand, accompany us and make our hearts burn again (cf. v. 32). We too, then, like the disciples of Emmaus, are called to spend time with him so that, when evening comes, he will remain with us (cf. v. 29).
How do we do it?
Pope Francis went on to assure us that there “is a good way of doing this and today I would like to propose it to you.”
“It consists,” he said, “of dedicating some time, every evening, to a brief examination of conscience.“
What happened today within me? That is the question.
It is a matter of rereading the day with Jesus, rereading my day: Opening the heart to him, bringing to him people, choices, fears, falls and hopes, all the things that happened; to learn gradually to look at things with different eyes, with his eyes and not just our own. We can thus relive the experience of those two disciples.
Before Christ’s love, even those things which seem wearisome and unsuccessful can appear under another light: a difficult cross to embrace, the decision to forgive an offense, a missed opportunity for redress, the toil of work, the sincerity that comes at a price, and the trials of family life can appear to us in a new light, the light of the Crucified and Risen, who knows how to turn every fall into a step forward.
But to do this, it is important to drop our defences: to leave time and space for Jesus, not to hide anything from him, to bring him our miseries, to let ourselves be wounded by his truth, to let our heart vibrate at the breath of his Word.
Let’s start today
Pope Francis encouraged: “We can begin today, to dedicate this evening a moment of prayer during which we ask ourselves:
How was my day? What were its joys, what were its sorrows, what were its mundanities, what happened?
What were the pearls of the day, possibly hidden, to be thankful for?
Was there a little love in what I did?
And what are the falls, the sadness, the doubts and fears to bring to Jesus so that He can open new ways to me, to lift me up and encourage me?
The Holy Father concluded with a prayer that “Mary, wise Virgin, [might] help us to recognize Jesus who walks with us and to reread — the word: re-read – every day of our life in front of him.”
And today we celebrate...