Free Republic

It looks like the betrayal of our country is now complete. The (Republican) state legislatures and the (conservative) federal judges have caved. The (Republican) members of Congress have also stuck their heads in the sand and certified what many are calling a totally fraudulent election. And the (conservative) Supreme Court has betrayed the Constitution. On top of this, the (Republican) Vice President has washed his hands of all responsibility for the future of our nation. Worst of all, in my mind, is that our religious leaders, as a body, have gone utterly silent in the face of the worst spiritual...

Posted on April 25, 2020April 25, 2020 by Msgr. Charles Pope Mass on the Move – A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter N.B. There is a video version of this homily belowIn today’s Gospel we encounter two discouraged and broken men making their way to Emmaus. The text describes them as “downcast.” That is to say, their eyes are cast on the ground, their heads are hung low. Their Lord and Messiah has been killed, the one they had thought would finally liberate Israel. Some women had claimed that He was alive, but these disciples have discredited...

The Road to Emmaus presents us the elements of the Mass we worship today- immediately following the Resurrection. Bishop Barron explains the organic nature of the Mass in his Gospel reflection today: In short, he wove together the themes of the sacred banquet and the sacrifice that made the banquet possible, summing up the story of Israel that he had narrated on the road. And at that moment, when the Scriptures and the meal and the sacrifice came together as a coherent whole, they recognized him; he became really present to them.

JERUSALEM, Israel – Archaeologists in Israel say they may have discovered the true location of Emmaus, the Biblical town where Jesus first appeared to two of his followers after being crucified and resurrected. Haaretz reports that researchers found the massive 2,200-year-old walls of a Hellenistic fortification believed to have been built by the Seleucid general who defeated Judah the Maccabee, the Jewish leader spoken of in the Hanukkah story. Since 2017, a Franco-Israeli team has been excavating a hill overlooking Jerusalem known as Kiriath Yearim, an area believed to be where the Ark of the Covenant was kept for 20...

Archaeologists have uncovered the massive walls of a 2,200-year-old Hellenistic fortification that may have been built by the Seleucid general who defeated Judah the Maccabee, the famed Jewish leader at the center of the Hanukkah story. In an unexpected twist, the discovery could also help identify the location of the biblical town of Emmaus, where the Gospels say Jesus made his first appearance after being crucified and resurrected. Since 2017, a Franco-Israeli expedition has been digging at Kiriath Yearim, a hill overlooking the approach to Jerusalem a few kilometers west of the city, next door to the town of Abu...

What a disappointment! They thought they’d found the Messiah. But he’d been trapped like an animal and executed as a criminal. Up until his very last breath, they had hoped he’d descend from the cross in stately power and call down fire upon the hypocrites.But all they heard from him were seven last “words” that were more like anguished whispers. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Pitiful, really. Not to mention depressing.As they walked and argued about how things should have turned out differently, a stranger invited himself to walk with them. Great. They really weren’t in...

May 8, 2011Third Sunday of Easter Reading 1Responsorial PsalmReading 2Gospel Reading 1Acts 2:14, 22-33 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven,raised his voice, and proclaimed:“You who are Jews, indeed all of you staying in Jerusalem.Let this be known to you, and listen to my words.You who are Israelites, hear these words.Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by Godwith mighty deeds, wonders, and signs,which God worked through him in your midst, as you yourselves know.This man, delivered up by the set plan and foreknowledge of God,you killed, using lawless men to crucify him.But God raised him up, releasing...

The First Mass In the evening of the first day of the week, two disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. And one came up beside them and began to explain the Scriptures that told of Jesus the Christ, how he was destined to suffer and rise again. And as he spoke, the hearts of the disciples burned within them; they were stirred and enlightened by the new explanation of scriptural words they had heard so many times before. But it was not until they sat together, and he took bread and broke it, that they recognized that the...

Benedict XVI emphasises that "today" we can meet the risen Jesus in the Eucharistic celebration, at the table of the Word and of the Body and Blood of Christ. A greeting for participants at the first Congress of Divine Mercy, which concluded this morning, and an invitation to be witnesses in the world to the Mercy of God, "the spring of hope for every man". The evangelical account of the "dejected" and "disappointed" disciples in Emmaus is a message for all Christians: through their encounter with the risen Jesus, they are able to return to a "robust faith" that "is...

“On the Road and at the Table” (Luke 24:13-35)Many of you I’m sure have seen this painting before. The original German title is “Gang nach Emmaus,” the “Walk to Emmaus,” by 19th century Swiss artist, Robert Zünd. It’s a picture of Christ and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Of course it’s based on the Holy Gospel for today. It’s a lovely painting. And what a wonderful walk it must have been! To have Jesus there at your side as you walk along! You feel like you’d like to put yourself into the picture, so you could just...