Dear parishioners and friends, 

This Sunday's Gospel is one of my favorite stories in all of Scripture. The disciples are feeling quite downcast after the experiences leading up to, and including, the passion and death of their dearest friend, their rabbi, and the one they believed to be the Messiah. In the midst of their grief, in the midst of their journeying together, side by side, while retelling their stories of this man that they loved so much, he comes to life and makes himself known on the Road to Emmaus. 

While at first, they are blinded and did not recognize him, it is in the breaking of the bread that they come to realize that Christ is right there, in their midst. For us who live and embrace a Eucharistic church, we too know the importance of just what it means to recognize Christ in simple elements, which become his body and blood. Perhaps that is the reason why these weeks have been so difficult for us. We can view our church services on TV and on a variety of other technological devices. And while that may be comforting, it is no substitute for our reception of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the source and summit of who we are and what it means to be a Catholic Christian. When we do not have the opportunity to receive that Eucharist, it is heartbreaking. 

And yet we know that it is possible for Christ to come to life in our lives in other ways. While it is never a replacement for the Eucharist, it does continue to lead us through the tunnel of darkness, to a place of light, knowing that one day we will be reunited with Jesus and one another around the table of the Lord, just as those first disciples came to know him over 2000 years ago at their table, and in the breaking of the bread! 

Love,                                                                                              

Fr. Andrew