I won’t be at Masses in the church this weekend because I will be with our teens and adults participating in the Fall Emmaus Retreat. The three days provide opportunities for the 36 teen “candidates” to encounter Christ in prayer, witness talks, Mass, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and fellowship. We have been preparing for the Emmaus retreat for months, and each part of the weekend is carefully and prayerfully created by the many teen and adult team members who serve the candidates and facilitate a spirit of discovering Christ’s love for them and His challenge to live a life of truth rooted in the joy of the Gospel. We use the Emmaus story from the 24th chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel as a framework for the retreat. You will remember that in that Gospel passage, two are walking away from Jerusalem toward Emmaus (meaning “nowhere”). They had not heard the good news of the Resurrection and were despondent that Jesus’ promise to rise on the third day had not been kept. Thus they are walking away from Jerusalem where the drama of Christ’s arrest, trial, and agony took place and are heading “nowhere” with their hopes dashed. It is not until they discover that the stranger who joins them on their way is Jesus Himself who opens the Scriptures” to them, telling them that the promised Messiah of Scripture is Jesus. True recognition comes when Jesus breaks bread with his travelling companions. It was then that their “hearts were burning” – with love and joy and hope.
Three years ago our Bishop Caggiano launched “The One,” a story of renewal that is rooted in a meaningful encounter with Christ like the one described in the Emmaus passage. Desiring to awaken the Church from our malaise, Bishop Frank encourages all of us to accompany one another – maybe even one-at-a-time – to a deeper relationship with Christ by learning who He is and encountering Him in smaller settings where we spend time contemplating Christ in the truth, beauty, and goodness of the Church.
I am deeply grateful for the leadership of Emmaus 89 and the many teens and adults who will walk with our teen candidates and make it easy for them to make new friends, and get to know their most loving and loyal friend – Jesus. Discovering and nurturing such a friendship is exactly what is needed to navigate a complicated world. Finding Christ, the Lord of Life is essential for living a good life and having plenty of practice for Heaven.
May I ask you to pray for all of us who are participating in Emmaus 89 this weekend. May I ask you to pray also for our bishop as he leads the Church of the Diocese of Bridgeport in a renewal that will fire us up and cool our restlessness with a commitment to live as Christ would have us live every day.
Thank you for your faithfulness and love. May Christ bless you abundantly.
