christ on the road to emmaus - st. josemaria institute€¦ · st. josemaria escriva encouraged all...
TRANSCRIPT
A S P I R I T U A L R E T R E A T O N
T H E R O A D T O E M M A U S
S T . J O S E M A R I A I N S T I T U T E
Published by St. Josemaria Institute. Content may not be published or reprinted without permission.
Artwork: Christ on the Road to Emmaus (1640); Public Domain Artist: Jan Wildens
CONTENTS
Introduction
Scripture Passage: The Road to Emmaus
Meditation One: Searching for More
Meditation Two: Examination and Prayer
Meditation Three: Redemptive Suffering
Meditation Four: Eucharistic People
Meditation Five: Light-Bearers
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INTRODUCTION
St. Josemaria Escriva encouraged all who sought to have a deeper relationship with God to set apart a few days a year for a spiritual retreat. A retreat is a time of quiet reflection and prayer, away from the daily routine, to examine one’s life in the presence of Jesus Christ: to see what is going well, to see what needs to change, to make resolutions and to begin again. Throughout his priestly life, St. Josemaria preached many retreats to men, women, university students, priests and seminarians. In general, the retreats included daily Mass, time for confession, spiritual direction, and a series of meditations to help those on retreat to focus and go deeper in their conversations with God, helping them to get to know Christ and themselves better. Inspired by this apostolate of St. Josemaria, the St. Josemaria Institute is pleased to share A Spiritual Retreat on the Road to Emmaus, a collection of five meditations preached by Rev. Javier del Castillo, priest of the prelature of Opus Dei. It is a story of conversion in which Christ opens our eyes, points us to the Word, and reveals himself throughout our journey toward heaven. In preparing to listen to this retreat, set apart a consistent day and time each week to pray with the meditations. Begin by reading the story of The Road to Emmaus in Scripture. Then, as you listen to each meditation, use the pages provided to write down moments that strike you as well as the thoughts, inspirations and resolutions that arise from your prayer and reflection.
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THE ROAD TO EMMAUS L U K E 2 4 : 1 3 – 3 5
Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing as you walk along?” They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?” And he replied to them, “What sort of things?” They said to him, “The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.” And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. 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.” So he went in to stay with them. 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. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon! Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.
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“SEARCHING FOR MORE” M E D I T A T I O N O N E
In the Scripture passage, we see that the disciples do not make it all the way to Emmaus. This is a sign of their own conversion as they were running away from the events they had witnessed. In their eyes, they were let down. Christ was supposed to liberate them from the Romans, but as a result of the crucifixion, their Savior looks like a fraud. In the eyes of these two disciples, Christ wasn’t supposed to die, he was supposed to win. What you read in the Gospel “is something that you should not only hear, but live. Everything, every point that is told there, has been gathered, detail by detail, for you to make it come alive in the individual circumstances of your life” (The Forge, no. 754). Saints find their mission in the Gospel. We see so many people in the world today running away from something and trying to “escape” in sinful ways. Deep down, we are longing for something greater. Where do we place our hope? The Gospel story needs to be repeated in each one of us. Christ seeks each of us out and radiates his love to us. Are we willing to let him find us?
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
• What is my spiritual disposition when confronting challenges? Do I place my hope in Christ or
do I allow fear to consume my emotions? • When was the last time I lost my peace? …became angry? …became disappointed? What led this
to happen? • Am I seeking eternal salvation in Christ? Do my actions each day reflect what I am longing for? • Is reading Sacred Scripture part of my daily prayer? What steps can I take to better understand
the Word of God?
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NOTES
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“EXAMINATION AND PRAYER” M E D I T A T I O N T W O
God asks questions. But why? We find hundreds of questions in the Gospel asked by Jesus himself. When Christ asks questions in Scripture, we ask ourselves these same questions. Christ is inviting us to reflect, which in turn, leads us to examination. Examination, in turn, leads to prayer. Through examination, we not only come to know ourselves better, but we come to know God better. God is both human and divine. He doesn’t need to pray in his divine nature, but he needs to pray as a man, in his human nature. We see the weakness of the humanity of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Christ calls out, ‘Abba, father’. God calls us not only by our name, but our nickname. He is familiar to us and more united to us than any loved ones on earth. God knows who we are and he wants to reveal himself to us. Prayer can only succeed with sincerity. We have to be honest with ourselves, but also honest with God. Sincerity is not easy. We see this in Scripture through Peter as he seeks to save Christ from the cross but also denies him three times. Scripture reveals to us who we are – it helps us grow in sincerity. When we become too close to our own sin, we need a story (Scripture) to help us see clearly. Our prayer needs to be that of a child – constant, trusting, gracious, always loving. Prayer allows us to see the heart of God and illumines areas for growth in our own life.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
• Do I make prayer a priority in my life or do I fit it in when it is convenient? When can I designate
a specific time for prayer each day? • Does my daily prayer come from a place of joy and love for the Lord or does it come from a place
of need? • Am I honest with myself and the Lord in prayer? Do I recognize areas in my life where I need to
grow? What steps am I taking to improve these areas?
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“REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING” M E D I T A T I O N T H R E E
We continue in our journey with the disciples to Emmaus when Christ raises the question, “did not Christ have to suffer these things before entering into his glory?” Fr. Javier explains that this is the question of Christianity and is often the reason why many people do not understand Christianity. This question leads people to ask, “how can you reconcile suffering with a loving God?” Throughout their journey to Emmaus, Christ pulls together Scripture and traces the theme of the cross and suffering. Scripture shows us how God has overcome pain and suffering, not that he has come to take it away. The disciples are running to Emmaus because they are running away – they have a misunderstanding of the Messiah. Christ came to give meaning to suffering so that we can unite our pain and suffering to him.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
• What is my attitude toward suffering? Do I approach it with a redemptive attitude or with
resentment? • Has there been a situation in my life where I didn’t realize God was in control in the moment,
but when looking back I can realize his presence? What did I learn from this situation? How can I strengthen my faith in God for the future?
• What sacrifice can I make each day for the good of another?
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“EUCHARIST IC PEOPLE” M E D I T A T I O N F O U R
Throughout their journey together, the disciples listen to a “homily” of everything that had to happen to the Christ, especially regarding suffering. The climax of the story occurs when Christ took bread, blessed it, and broke it. The journey to Emmaus is structured in the same way as the Mass, with both a Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist. When Christ consecrates the offering of bread and wine, the disciples recognize him and he vanishes. He is no longer physically present with them, rather, he is present within them, as their faith has been restored and strengthened through their conversion during the consecration. In the same way, we too are walking on a path of conversion as we go to Mass. Christ loves us so much that he seeks to outdo himself in generosity – so much so that he raises sinners into children of God. He wants to make his home in us.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
• Do I make Mass a priority in my life or do I fit it in when it is convenient? • How do I prepare myself to participate fully in the Mass? Do I reflect on the readings of the day
ahead of time? Do I seek forgiveness of my sins through the sacrament of Reconciliation? • Am I actively participating when I am at Mass? Do I join in song? Am I attentive to the homily?
Do I bring specific intentions for which to offer the Mass? • Is my response to the presence of Christ in the Eucharist one of joyful wonder and praise? • Do my actions outside of Mass reflect that I am a living tabernacle, bringing with me the presence
of Christ to all I meet?
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“L IGHT-BEARERS” M E D I T A T I O N F I V E
Fr. Javier concludes this five-part series reminding us of our call to go out and share the good news, just as the disciples had done after encountering Christ on the road to Emmaus. Saint Josemaria tells us, “we are children of God–bearers of the only flame that can light up the paths of the earth for souls. The Lord uses us as torches, to make that light shine out…it depends on us that many should not remain in darkness, but walk instead along paths that lead to eternal life” (The Forge, no. 1). When we allow the Word to take root and strengthen within us, we are overcome with the joy of Christ and have the urge to go forth and share our joy with others. It is precisely this attraction to joy that evangelizes. As Christians, we are called to be carriers of the Word, sharing the message of love and truth to all we meet.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
• What personal gifts and talents can I contribute to build up the Kingdom of God within my
family? …my peers? …at work? …in my community? • Do I witness to the faith when at work or among colleagues who may not share the same values I
hold or are my actions easily swayed by the opinions of others? • How would I describe my faith to someone who doesn’t yet know Jesus? • Who has God placed in my life as someone who may be searching for more and needs a personal
invitation into a deeper relationship with Christ and the Church? How can I share the joy of the Gospel with this person?
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ST . JOSEMARIA INSTITUTE
St. Josemaria Escriva dedicated his priestly life to helping men and women of all backgrounds to understand that ordinary life can be holy and full of God – naturally and simply, living in the middle of the world dedicated to one’s work and family, sharing in the needs and interests of one’s neighbor and society, respecting the freedom of every person, and striving towards holiness. The St. Josemaria Institute seeks to increase devotion to St. Josemaria and to share his message among all men and women who desire to find meaning and happiness in their daily lives by growing closer to God. Our hope is that people everywhere will have the opportunity to hear the message of St. Josemaria and accept the challenge he set forth in the first point of his spiritual classic, The Way:
St. Josemaria Institute 4340 Cross Street, Suite 1
Downers Grove, IL 60515 USA www.stjosemaria.org
“Don’t let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love… light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart.”