The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread. While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them,"Peace be with you." But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have." And as he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. 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 in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And he said to them, "Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

(Luke 24:35-48)

Notice how Jesus needed to "open their minds to understand the Scriptures". Our minds are too finite and preoccupied with our daily individual struggles and interpretation of what we see or hear. Like the apostles, we too have questions in our hearts when we have an encounter with Jesus. He is always present, but why do we fail to see Him? As we welcome the Gospel, let us pray:

“Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us”. (CF. Luke 24:32)

The theme of today’s gospel is repentance. By repenting we return from our fallen ways and draw closer to God. Especially shortly after the Feast of Divine Mercy, He has washed away our sins and given us His love and mercy to help us on our journey in life. Even carrying us in times of trials with patience and perseverance just like how He carried our cross to Calvary.

As we witness the Holy Eucharist today, we encounter Jesus and we ask ourselves:

Do we repent for our sins? If we repeat the same sin, have we truly repented?

Have we repented for others?

Have we been preaching God’s name through our actions? Or are we the Pharisee that is convinced of our own righteousness and judged the tax collector? (Luke 18: 9-14)

As we delve into our relationship with God, let us pray;

Lord, open our minds to truly repent of our sins. Teach us to forgive others and ourselves. Help us to be a true witness and to preach through our actions.