*** 1st Reading ***

 Acts 3:13-15, 17-19

The God of Abraham,

Of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus whom you handed over to death and denied before Pilate, when even Pilate had decided to release him. You rejected the Holy and Just One, and you insisted that a murderer be released to you. 

You killed the Master of life, but God raised him from the dead and we are witnesses to this. Yet I know that you acted out of ignorance, as did your leaders. God has fulfilled in this way what he had foretold through all the prophets, that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out

 

Ps 4:2, 4, 7a-8, 9

Lord, let your face shine on us.

 

*** 2nd Reading ***

1 John 2:1-5a

 My little children, I write to you that you may not sin. But if anyone sins, we have an intercessor with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One. He is the sacrificial victim for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

 How can we know that we know him? If we fulfill his commands.  If you say, “I know him,” but do not ful­fill his commands, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. But if you keep his word, God’s love is made complete in you. This is how we know that we are in him:

 

**** Gospel ****

Luke 24:35-48

Then the two told what had happened on the road to Emmaus, and how Jesus made himself known when he broke bread with them. While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood in their midst.

(He said to them, ”Peace to you.”)  In their panic and fright they thought they were seeing a ghost, but he said to them, “Why are you upset and how does such an idea cross your mind? Look at my hands and feet and see that it is I myself.

Touch me and see for yourselves, for a ghost has no flesh and bones as I have.” (As he said this, he showed his hands and feet.) their joy was so great that they still could not believe it,

as they were astonished. So he said to them, “Have you any­­thing to eat?” and they gave him a piece of broiled fish. He took it and ate it before them. Then Jesus said to them, “Remember the words I spoke to you when I was still with you: Everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

And he said, “So it was written: the Messiah had to suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. Then repentance and forgiveness in his name would be proclaimed to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things.

 

Gospel Reflection

Read: Jesus again showed himself to the disciples who are still unconvinced of His resurrection. Jesus showed them physical evidence that he is alive to calm their fears. Eventually, great joy descended upon the gathered disciples. Jesus reminded them of His words concerning the Messiah who has to suffer and die, and rise again on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.

Reflect: Aain, another resurrection appearance to convince His still doubtful disciples that His coming back to life is real. In this gospel, let us focus on His words spoken “remember the words…” Memory is an essential part of our faith development.

With memory clarity comes to us as to what is happening in our present time. The past illumines the present and gives depth to its import and meaning. That is why we need to invest in creating memories for our future reference.

Memories of encounters with the Lord and how these encounters transform our lives. The second is the words that the Lord speaks when He is with us. We hear Him not only in the silence of our hearts, but also when we read our scriptures.

The word of God is the source of our wisdom. It has personal meaning for us in a way that is unique from others, but it is also clarified and expounded to us by our Mother Church, the authoritative interpreter of God's word for us.

And so, memory and the word of God help us understand the mysteries of our faith in a more profound way than when we merely use human knowledge to do so. 

Respond: When was the last time you looked back over your stock of memories about God? And have you opened the Bible lately to get to know him in a deep and personal way? Today, try to find time to take a trip back down memory lane and recall your love story with God. Perhaps you can end it with a reading from the Bible of passages that were once meaningful to you.