Week 4
The Joyful Road Home
Part 1: Scripture
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (24:30-35)
(New American Bible translation,
copied to here from USCCB Books of the Bible https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/24)
(New American Bible translation,
copied to here from USCCB Books of the Bible https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/24)
30 And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.
31 With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
32 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?”
33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them
34 who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
35 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.
31 With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
32 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?”
33 So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them
34 who were saying, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
35 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.
REFLECTION:
Now you have finished reading the account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. What does this story teach you about ways that Jesus reveals himself to you today?
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY;
The Supper at Emmaus1622–23
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) Spanish
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 601
This painting depicts the moment after the Resurrection when Jesus is recognized by two disciples as "he took bread, blessed and broke it, and handed it to them." The subject provided Velázquez the opportunity to explore contrasts in reactions through gesture, expression, and use of dramatic lighting. He may have painted it in Seville, where he first trained, or in Madrid, where he moved in 1623. Velázquez may been inspired by the work of Caravaggio, which he would have known through copies.
The Supper at Emmaus1622–23
Velázquez (Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez) Spanish
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 601
This painting depicts the moment after the Resurrection when Jesus is recognized by two disciples as "he took bread, blessed and broke it, and handed it to them." The subject provided Velázquez the opportunity to explore contrasts in reactions through gesture, expression, and use of dramatic lighting. He may have painted it in Seville, where he first trained, or in Madrid, where he moved in 1623. Velázquez may been inspired by the work of Caravaggio, which he would have known through copies.
Henri J.M. Nouwen (1932-1996), Dutch priest and spiritual writer, examined the story of the Appearance on the Road to Emmaus in his book With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life (NY: Orbis Books, 1994). In Week 2, we reflected with Nouwen on the disciples' journey away from Jerusalem. Here are portions of his reflection on these two disciples as they return to Jerusalem:
"The two travelers who started their journey with downcast eyes now look at each other with eyes full of new light. The stranger, who had become friend, has given them his spirit, the divine spirit of joy, peace, courage, hope, and love. There is no doubt in their minds: He is alive! Not alive as before, not as the fascinating preacher and healer from Nazareth, but alive as a new breath within them. Cleopas and his friend have become new people. A new heart and a new spirit have been given to them. They also have become new friends for each other -- no longer people who can offer each other consolation and support as they mourn their losses, but people with a new mission, who, together, have something to say, something important, something urgent, something that cannot remain hidden, something that must be proclaimed....
What a difference between their 'going home' and their return. It is the difference between doubt and faith, despair and hope, fear and love.... The risen Lord, present in their innermost being, has filled them with a love stronger than death."
REFLECTION:
The disciples said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us?" What sets your heart on fire for faith?
The disciples in their new understanding and sense of mission summarize their joy to their friends: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” If you were to summarize what you experience of the joy of the Gospel, what would you say?
The disciples said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us?" What sets your heart on fire for faith?
The disciples in their new understanding and sense of mission summarize their joy to their friends: “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!” If you were to summarize what you experience of the joy of the Gospel, what would you say?
Part 2: A Life of Journeys
"Follow the Yellow Brick Road?"
We're going to diverge from the past three weeks of looking at the lives of holy men and women. This week we're going to look at a journey story that's familiar to many American people -- the journey of Dorothy Gale from Kansas to Oz and back to Kansas.
We'll look at three movements in the movie The Wizard of Oz, from grief and loss, to a turning away in despair, to a return home with new eyes and new understanding.
We'll look at three movements in the movie The Wizard of Oz, from grief and loss, to a turning away in despair, to a return home with new eyes and new understanding.
The deed is done. Dorothy has lost her source of joy. She is grief stricken.
Dominican Father Nathan G. Castle's 2011 book And Toto, Too: The Wizard of Oz as Spiritual Adventure observes this about Dorothy's decision to run away (pp. 40-41):
"Have you ever felt 'they' are all against you, that there is no one left on your side? Dorothy feels utterly unsupported. She makes a critical decision: 'We've got to run away.'
"How much of the world's suffering has its origins in the conclusion that 'I've got to run away!"... Dorothy has nowhere to go. She runs away, but not toward. Now she's on a road to anywhere or nowhere."
"Have you ever felt 'they' are all against you, that there is no one left on your side? Dorothy feels utterly unsupported. She makes a critical decision: 'We've got to run away.'
"How much of the world's suffering has its origins in the conclusion that 'I've got to run away!"... Dorothy has nowhere to go. She runs away, but not toward. Now she's on a road to anywhere or nowhere."
In Oz, Dorothy had to learn something before she could go home to Kansas. She learned "It wasn't enough just to want to see Uncle Henry and Auntie Em. And it's that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire agin, I won't look any further than my own backyard; because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!" The Good Witch gives her a phrase to repeat over and over: "There's no place like home."
Father Nathan Castle, OP, observes (p. 223):
"Dorothy repeats the phrase , mantra-like. It's a simple meditative practice anyone can do. It helps her move into her heart of hearts. Now she's really ready to encounter those who live there."
Father Nathan Castle, OP, observes (p. 223):
"Dorothy repeats the phrase , mantra-like. It's a simple meditative practice anyone can do. It helps her move into her heart of hearts. Now she's really ready to encounter those who live there."
Back in Kansas, Dorothy experiences the joy of home and love.
REFLECTION questions from Fr. Castle (p. 244):
Do you have a meditative practice -- or anything like it -- that helps you move into your heart of hearts?
Have you ever had a profound experience of coming home?
REFLECTION questions from Fr. Castle (p. 244):
Do you have a meditative practice -- or anything like it -- that helps you move into your heart of hearts?
Have you ever had a profound experience of coming home?