The Acts of the Apostles is one of my favorite books in the Bible. It is appropriately named as there is some incredible action that happens within its pages. It was written by our good friend Dr. Luke! He is the same person who wrote the Gospel of Luke. I encourage you to read it as it gives a great history of the early Church and is very exciting. Why do I write this?
In today’s Gospel from Luke we are given the account of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. This is a great piece of scripture to meditate on. Here we have our Lord Himself walking with these two who are depressed about the death of Jesus. Our Blessed Lord takes them on a journey through the prophecies and how they were fulfilled by Jesus. The two men invite Him to come with them. As they celebrate “the breaking of the bread” a.k.a. the Eucharist, He vanishes before them. Then they realize it was Jesus. How cool is that! Imagine having a bible study with Jesus Himself!
We too need to let the scriptures set our hearts on fire. We need to learn our Faith and not be afraid to share it with others. As Catholics we do not rely on our own personal interpretation of the scriptures, because as individuals we could get it wrong! We have a three legged approach.
1. We read Sacred Scripture
2. We utilize Sacred Tradition in our history
3. We use the Magisterium and teaching office of the Church to help us with difficult passages.
That is cool! It is not just us winging it… We also need to put good Catholic Websites on our computers; buy good apologetic books and articles. Read questions and answers from others. Learn and memorize key scripture references in order to share our Faith and clear up any misunderstandings people may have. You can do this! It is time to take our Faith out of the pews and put it into action. Start by reading the Gospels, learn our Lord’s voice and, ask the Holy Spirit to teach us and open up our understanding. As Pope St. John Paul II said “cast your nets into the deep… and be not afraid”. May God richly bless you always…