Reflection From

Fr. Davis

April 19, 2026

This week we celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter. In contrast to the Lenten Season, the Easter Season is a time of celebration and joy which lasts 50 days following Easter Sunday. This year, we celebrate Easter from April 5th through May 24th, Pentecost Sunday. The Easter season continues beyond the 40 days of Lent to emphasize the triumph of Christ´s Resurrection over death and its eternal significance.

This week we hear the Gospel account of the Road to Emmaus. We hear how the Resurrected Jesus appeared to two disciples who were fleeing Jerusalem and on their way to the small town of Emmaus. This Gospel passage is recounted only in the Gospel of Luke and provides a unique witness to the Resurrection of Christ. It shows us that after witnessing the Passion and Death of Jesus, the two disciples had no faith left. They believed it was the end of the story. Like the others who had claimed to be the Messiah, Jesus too had been killed. They were thinking and discussing this as they walked along. Yet in the midst of their disbelief, the Resurrected Lord drew near to them and walked with them. Jesus didn´t leave them in their disbelief but drew close to them.

Contrary to what they believed, the Passion and Death of Christ was not the end. It was only the beginning. Unlike those who claimed to be the Messiah before Him, Jesus´ story was not to end in death but in new life and Resurrection from the dead. This Easter season, through the reception of the Sacraments, we are invited into the gift of new life with Jesus. No matter how big our struggles or problems may be, we know there is nothing larger than God´s power and Jesus´ Resurrection. Jesus didn´t rise from the dead only to die again, but He rose to eternal life with God forever in Heaven. So, too, through our Baptism and faith in Christ, we share in the promise of eternal Resurrection from the dead. We, too, in the midst of our struggles, have the Resurrected Christ draw near to us and walk with us, in the Holy Eucharist and in those men and women God has placed in our path.

We hear in the Second Reading from St. Peter´s First Epistle, “He was known before the foundation of the world but revealed in the final time for you, who through him believe in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” (1 Peter 1:20-21) Today, and throughout this Easter season, we are called to place our faith and hope in Christ and in the joy that awaits us in Heaven.

• Like the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, how is the Resurrected Christ drawing close to us?
• What is that new life to which Jesus is calling us this Easter?

It was only after listening to Jesus speak to them and inviting the Lord to stay with them that the disciples on the way to Emmaus recognized Jesus. St. Luke tells us, “As they approached the village to which they were going, He gave the impression that He was going on farther. But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over…And it happened that, while He was with them at table, 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.” (Luke 24:29-31) Like the disciples in the Gospel, Jesus is present to us at every Mass and in every Consecrated Host. May we not stay in our despair, but through turning to Jesus and receiving the Sacraments experience anew the reality of the Resurrected Lord present in our lives this Easter. Like the Apostles and those who encountered the Risen Lord, let us shout with Joy, “Hallelujah, He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”

Father John

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