'The disciples recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, alleluia.' Sunday Reflections, 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year B

Kitchen Scene with the Supper in Emmaus

Diego Velázquez [Web Gallery of Art]

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:35).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Luke 24:35-48  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marvelling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then 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 the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

  

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ in the House of Mary and Martha

Diego Velázquez [Web Gallery of Art]

It is clear from many gospel readings, most especially the accounts of the Last Supper, that God reveals himself to us in the intimacy of a meal. If the family meal or meals with close friends are not part of our lives, how can we understand the meal aspect of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? In the Mass, in which we unite ourselves with the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, he gives himself, the Risen Lord, body, blood, soul and divinity, as the Bread of Life, as so many of us learned when we were young. It is not a symbol of himself that he gives in Holy Communion, but his very self, carrying the scars of Calvary and giving us the strength to do the same.

But God also reveals himself to us in our ordinary meals, sometimes even over a cup of tea or coffee. I remember one person who was close to me who for many years had carried a resentment towards someone who had since died, a resentment that was the result of a painful experience. Over a cup of tea with a family member she recalled what her father, long since dead, had said to her many years before: Never carry a grudge against anyone. Over that cup of tea she finally let go of her self-inflicted pain, forgave, and moved on with a new lightness in her heart. I have no doubt whatever that it was Jesus the Risen Lord who spoke to her that day through the words of her father. It was a kind of Resurrection experience over a cup of tea.

The three readings both speak of God's mercy and the call to repentance, something the person in the story above experienced over that cup of tea. Acts 3:18-19 reads: But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out. 1 John 2: 1-2, 5 tells us But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world . . . but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel: Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things (Luke 24:46-48).

Velázquez in the two paintings above puts the central events in the background. In the kitchen scene in Emmaus it seems that the servant has a sense that her humble work is part of something extraordinary. And it is. In the kitchen scene in the house of Mary and Martha the servants are preparing a meal for our Saviour Himself, without being aware of it. 

Highlighted in this scene are fish. The fish was later to become a symbol of Christ and of the Holy Eucharist for Christians in times of persecution under the Greek name Ichthys. And in today's gospel we read: “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Ichthys

[Wikipedia]

Two great deprivations at the moment because of the pandemic is that in many parts of the world Catholics have no access to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to Holy Communion. And even more people cannot visit their families and friends, cannot meet up for a meal, for a drink, for a chat over a cup of coffee. However, though it is not the same as meeting others face-to-face, we can keep in contact by phone, by Skype, by Zoom and similar programmes. And while following Mass on the internet or on TV is not the same as being actually present, it is an occasion of grace, of meeting the Lord. And we can make a Spiritual Communion.

Even when we're not talking about profound things at a meal, when we see them as occasions when we most experience our humanity, when we see the link between the family or community meal, or a meal to which we invite someone living alone, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we can more readily understand the implications of the closing words of today's gospel, You are witnesses of these things.

And a final word. If the two disciples who told how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread, had not invited Jesus to eat with them they would never have recognised him. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them (Luke 24:28-29). 

Peasants at the Table

Diego Velázquez [Web Gallery of Art]

Sung by the Choir of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes, France

Antiphona ad communionem  Communion Antiphon (Luke 24:35)

[Alleluia] Cognoverunt dicxipuli Dominum Iesum in fractione pahis, alleluia.

[Alleluia] The disciples recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, alleluia.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Second Sunday after Easter 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-18-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Peter 2:21-25.  Gospel: John 10:11-16.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba

George Frideric Handel

Played by the English Baroque Soloists

Conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner

This must be one of the most delightful pieces of music ever written and has been arranged for all sorts of instruments and combinations thereof. I chose this recording because Tuesday 20 April is the 78th birthday of the conductor, Sir John Eliot Gardiner. 

We were born on the same day, he in Dorset, England, and I in Dublin, Ireland, where Handel's Messiah was first performed on 13 April 1742.

'These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us.' Sunday Reflections, 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B

 

From The Gospel of John (2003) directed by Philip Saville

John 20:19-31

This Sunday is also known as Low Sunday and as Divine Mercy Sunday

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:19-31  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ and Doubting Thomas

 Andrea del Verrocchio [Web Gallery of Art]

I carry a scar on one of my hips from surgery when I was 17. I can't even remember which hip, without checking. But the scar is there, along with a couple of smaller scars from accidents when I was young. I hardly ever think about them. But they are there.

St Thomas's instinct was right: Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. He knew that if the Lord was truly risen he would carry the scars of his suffering. And he carries them for all eternity.

Scars are reminders of wounds that were. The Risen Body of Christ carries the scars of his Passion and Crucifixion but they are no longer wounds.

But the Body of Christ that is the Church is being wounded daily. The world that God created is being wounded daily. In the first reading during the Easter Vigil (Genesis 1:27,31) we heard these words: So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them . . . God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. 

But today we see much that he had made and that was very good destroyed or being destroyed. We see countless persons created in his image, in the image of God, being killed in endless conflicts.

In 1 Cointhians 6:19-20 we read: Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

On Easter Monday 2017 four members of a Catholic family were shot dead in Quetta, Pakistan, by members of the so-called Islamic State. The victims were Pervaiz Masih, Tariq Masih, Imran Masih and Firdous Bibi. They were killed because each was a temple of the Holy Spirit, a follower of Jesus, a Christian.

Pope Francis: Easter Sunday, Mass and Urbi et Orbi

In his Urbi et Orbi message last Sunday Pope Francis said [my emphases], The witnesses report an important detail: the risen Jesus bears the marks of the wounds in his hands, feet and side. These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us. All those who experience a painful trial in body or spirit can find refuge in these wounds and, through them, receive the grace of the hope that does not disappoint.

In his message Pope Francis spoke to a world deeply affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic that has turned our world upside-down in so many ways. Here, for example, are his words to young people: The risen Jesus is also hope for all those young people forced to go long periods without attending school or university, or spending time with their friends. Experiencing real human relationships, not just virtual relationships, is something that everyone needs, especially at an age when a person’s character and personality is being formed. We realized this clearly last Friday, in the Stations of the Cross composed by the children. I express my closeness to young people throughout the world and, in these days, especially to the young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully, in the knowledge that hatred can be dispelled only by love.

These words about the importance of experiencing real human relationships resonates very strongly with me. A good friend who read these Sunday Reflections every week and occasionally posted a comment died unexpectedly on Holy Saturday. His name was Liam Hayden and we first met when we started in O'Connell Schools, Dublin, in 1951, in Second Class (Grade Two). We were both in the B section.

Liam Hayden

Liam and I were in different sections for most of the ten years we were in the school, and were friendly with each other, but not pals. I really came to know him as a friend after an unexpected encounter with him and his wife Moira in 1976 while home from the Philippines. I had spent a week with the Legion of Mary in Pewsey, Wiltshire, England, in the summer of 1966, when I was still in the seminary, and Moira was in our group. Liam and Moira met some years later through their involvement with the Legion of Mary and were utterly dedicated to the work of the Legion in Dublin, especially in the two hostels of the Legion in Dublin for people who are basically homeless, Morning Star Hostel for men and Regina Coeli Hostel for women.

Though Liam and I became close friends only as adults, the foundation of that friendship was our being classmates at the age of 8. So many youngsters throughout the world today are missing out on that experience, being wounded by that lack. Yet the scars that Jesus carries for all eternity are the everlasting seal of his love for us, as Pope Francis put it. And the pain of loss that Liam's wife, his six children and 30 grandchildren - and so many others - are now feeling will become in time scars which will be a reminder of the love of Jesus for them in this life through Liam as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather and as a friend especially of those on the fringes of society. Please remember Liam and his family in your prayers.

Perhaps we can consciously unite the wounds we presently carry with the wounded Jesus on the Cross and unite the scars we carry from previous wounds with the Risen Lord Jesus whom Thomas recognised by those very scars. And we can join St Thomas in that great act of faith, My Lord and my God.

The Incredulity of St Thomas

Caravaggio [Web Gallery of Art]

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

The Octave Day of Easter (Low Sunday) 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 4-11-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 John 5:4-10.  Gospel: John 20:19-31.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

All in the April Evening

Words by Katharine Tynan Hinkson

Music by Sir Hugh S. Roberton

Sung by the Glasgow Orpheus Choir conducted by Sir Hugh S. Roberton

The Glasgow Orpheus Choir had its origins in a working men's club in Glasgow, Scotland, and existed from 1901 until 1951 when Sir Hugh Roberton, its conductor for 50 years, retired. It was succeeded by the Glasgow Orpheus Choir. Sir Hugh wrote, The Orpheus was a real choir of real people, people big enough to dedicate themselves selflessly to a noble purpose, and it never took its audiences cheaply, nor did it ever descend to tricks or exhibitionism. 

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band was formed in 1917 in South Yorkshire, England. Most of its members were full-time coal-miners. The colliery closed in 1992. The members now, as far as I know, are full-time musicians. There were many bands in Britain, like the Grimethorpe, connected with mines and with factories.

Sir Hugh, in his introduction to the song above, says of his own composition: I think the music fits the words, if it does not match them in excellence. It does indeed match them in excellence and can stand on its own, as the beautiful performance of the Grimethorpe Colliery Band shows.

I learned the original poem by Katharine Tynan Hinkson in Fourth Class (Grade Four) and the same year learned to sing it in our school choir under the direction of Mrs Agnes Boylan, the mother of Dom Eugene Boylan OCSO, the well-known spiritual writer. Mrs Boylan was in her 70s then and was like everyone's favourite grandmother, a person who took great delight in us and in the large flamboyant hats she always wore, like the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother of England.

All in the April Evening

The Grimethorpe Colliery Band

'A fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light.' Sunday Reflections, Easter Sunday

 

The Resurrection of Christ

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

At the Mass during the Day

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 20:1-9  (English Standard Version, Anglicised)

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

John 20:1-9 in Filipino Sign Language

Be glad, let earth be glad as glory floods her,

ablaze with light from her eternal King,

let all corners of the earth be glad,

knowing an end to gloom and darkness . . .

Therefore, dearest friends,

standing in the awesome glory of this holy light . . .

that he, who has been pleased to number me,

though unworthy, among the Levites,

and pour into me his light unshadowed . . .

This is the night

that with a pillar of fire

banished the darkness of sin . . .

This is the night 

that even now, throughout the world,

sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices

and from the gloom of sin . . .

This is the night

of which it is written:

The night shall be as bright as day,

dazzling is the night for me,

and full of gladness . . .

But know we know the praises of this pillar,

which glowing fire ignites for God's honour,

a fire with many flames divided,

yet never dimmed by sharing of its light . . .

Therefore, O Lord,

we pray you that this candle,

hallowed to the honour of your name,

may persevere undimmed,

to overcome the darkness of this night.

Receive it as a pleasing fragrance,

and let it mingle with the lights of heaven.

May this flame be found still burning

by the Morning Star:

the one Morning Star who never sets,

Christ your Son,

who, coming back from death's domain,

has shed his peaceful light on humanity,

and lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Above are extracts from the Exsultet, the Easter Proclamation, sung at the beginning of the Easter Vigil after the newly-lit Paschal Candle is brought into the church. I have highlighted the passages dealing with light, the great symbol of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rembrandt's painting at the top, The Resurrection of Christ, captures the light breaking through the darkness. And his painting below, Christ on the Cross, shows our Saviour on the Cross to be The Light that conquers the darkness. Rembrandt was a master in his play of light with darkness.

Christ on the Cross

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Fr Pádraig Ó Croiligh is a priest of the Diocese of Derry. Some years ago he published a book of religious poetry in Irish with the title Brúitíní Creidimh, which could be translated as 'Mashed Potatoes of Faith'. In his short poems he helps the reader digest aspects of our faith and religious practices. 

His poem Fód na Cásca (The Sod of Easter) refers to what seems to have been a custom in parts of rural Ireland where the hearth was the heart of the home, with a fire made from turf (peat) 24/7 as we say now, for cooking and for heat in the winter. The family and visitors gathered around it for the family rosary, for telling stories and singing. In many parts of Ireland people would cut their own turf in local bogland during the summer.

The poem for me is a reflection of these lines in the Exsultet: glowing fire ignites for God's honour, a fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its light. One of the most beautiful moments in the Easter Vigil is when the light of the Paschal Candle is shared, those who have lit their candles from it passing on the light to others until the whole church is ablaze with the light of Easter. Not only is the light never dimmed but it is multiplied by sharing. 

The newly-lit fire in the hearth on Holy Saturday is to be shared with those who live in the house and with those who visit, giving heat and light and nourishment through the food cooked and baked over it. And it recognises our need for constant renewal and forgiveness in the last line: go cionn bliana eile ar a laghad (at least for another year).

Turf (peat) fire

[Wikipedia, photographer]

Fód na Cásca / The Easter Sod

Le / by Pádraig Ó Croiligh 

Ghlanaidís an simléir fadó

Aoine an Chéasta,

Agus d’fhágaidís gan tine é

Go dtí an lá dár gcionn

Go bhfuair siad aibhleog bheannaithe

Ó thine na Cásca

Ar an Sathairn Naofa.

Aiséírí an Tiarna

a thugann lasadh don tine teallaigh

go cionn bliana eile ar a laghad.

 

They would clean the chimney long ago

On Good Friday,

And would leave it without a fire

Till the following day

When they would be able to light a sod

Blessed by the Easter fire

On Holy Saturday.

The Resurrection of the Lord

Is what lights the fire in the hearth

At least for another year.

Deacon proclaiming the Exsultet at Paschal Candle

[Wikipedia, photographer]

Just before preparing this I read an article in the April 2021 issue of Pioneer magazine by James Shevlin, whom I know, about a wake and funeral in rural Ireland during the Covid winter when neighbours could not visit the home of the deceased or attend the funeral Mass. The remains were brought home at night. But as the family of the deceased came within a few miles of their village, the glow could be seen in the night sky. In the cold and frost, people stood outside their houses, along the roadway, at the end of roads, at crossroads holding all sorts of lighted candles and making makeshift altars and shrines to guide them all the way back home. 

The family later said that there were no words to explain the uplifting of spirits they experienced with the show or support they received . . . What was done was done with real love and kndness and support for them by people closest and dearest to them.

This truly was a Christian community expressing the truth of the words of the Easter Proclamation: a fire with many flames divided, yet never dimmed by sharing of its  light. 

An Easter Song from Beirut, Lebanon, 2011

I don't know of a more joyful expression of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ than this Easter song in Arabic.

May the people of Lebanon, who are undergoing times of difficulty and uncertainty, experience the consolation of the Risen Lord and find support from the international community in their vocation to be a land of encounter, coexistence and pluralism (Pope Francis, Urbi et Orbi, Easter Sunday 2021).

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Easter Vigil

The complete celebration in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-03-2021 if necessary).

Easter Sunday Mass 

The Complet Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 04-04-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.  Gospel: Mark 16:1-7.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

Pope Benedict XVI meeting with artists in the Sistine Chapel, 21 November 2009.

Regina Caeli

Sung at a Vigil for Life in Notre-Dame de Paris, 22 May 2012

Regina Caeli is one of four seasonal Marian anthems sung or recited at the end of Compline (Night Prayer) in the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours, Breviary). It is sung from the Easter Vigil through Pentecost Sunday.

Regina caeli, laetare, alleluia; 
quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia; 
resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia; 
ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice. Alleluia.
For He, whom thou wast worthy to bear. Alleluia.
Has risen as He said. Alleluia.
Pray for us to God. Alleluia.

[Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia,

For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray.

God of life, you have given joy to the world

by the resurrection of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through the prayers of his mother, the Virgin Mary,

bring us to the happiness of eternal life.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.]

The Regina Caeli replaces the Angelus during the Easter season, with the prayer in square brackets above added.

For me, the beauty of the traditional Gregorian chant in Notre-Dame de Paris above is that the Regina Caeli is sung by a congregation of believers praying that all of us will respect every human life, especially life in the womb. 

The setting below by Tomás Luis de Victoria is surely an expression of the beauty of the Risen Lord and of his - and our - Blessed Mother, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.

Regina Caeli

Setting for eight voices by Tomás Luis de Victoria

Sung by The Sixteen / Harry Christopher