On the Road

LOST

 Life's spiritual journey is full of distractions, despair, and at times blindness.  My spiritual journey follows that direction as well and has many parallels to that of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
Much like the disciples who were conversing about the latest happenings, of Jesus being crucified, and their dashed hopes, life has a way of sucking us into the vacuum of distractions. I have found that  my journey is full of self-absorption and diversions so much to the point that I fail to see Jesus.

For years I was consumed with trying to to keep up with latest trends, fulfill empty goals, trying to stay financially ahead, as I was a blind traveler on the road to emptiness. I would have never recognized Jesus if He were seated next to me as passenger in the car. Scripture at Mass was just words and the Eucharist was just a round piece of wheat.

The Lectio Divina in the Magnificat for April makes mention of the difficulty one has understanding scripture if their mind is not open.  The disciples on the road to Emmaus seemed to have forgotten the good news that Jesus had preached during his three year ministry.  For many, myself included the ritual of going to Mass was listening to words read Sunday, but not fully understanding as well as taking communion but not grasping that Christ was present in the host. There was no joy in the experience just the obligatory task of showing up.

HUNGRY

Our associate on Saturday evening First Communion Mass talked of the joy of receiving the Good News. His homily was mostly directed at the adults in the congregation, primarily the parents of the communicants. His message stressed the need for the whole family to fed with Word of God and in the Eucharist. The idea that we need to be hungry paralleled that of the disciples who upon hearing Jesus unfold the mystery of the Scripture developed a desire to hear more.

BECOMING A CHILD

Becoming child like to hear the message in Scripture is something I can identify with. Something about being an adult seems to have tainted my view of Church teachings. The journey had become a walk on a dusty road and I could no longer see clearly. I needed Jesus to join me without me knowing it and open the word. I needed to be hungry again for the Eucharist. I needed wipe my eyes clean of the dirt that had hindered my vision of the Truth and of teachings that had endured two centuries. Ultimately I needed to be hungry again.