The Alleluia between the second reading and the Gospel presents the challenge to me and probably most of us. The words “Were not our hearts burning within us?” rings loudly to us all. The events on the Road to Emmaus and the following encounter with Jesus immediately after by the other disciples, is one of my favorite Gospel stories.

So, the question is how do I get my own heart burning for the Lord? We have just gone through another desert of Lent, Holy Week and Easter. My own memories of this liturgical cycle stretch back many decades and over time with prayer, scripture, and study of my faith, I have reached the point that my heart does burn with desire-at least on most days. The fact that the fire is not there all the time should not bother me.

In today’s Gospel, the disciples at first thought that that were seeing a ghost, not the risen Christ. This comes from some of the disciples, who actually saw the empty tomb. For us, at times to have a lack of fire is only natural. This is understandable since the witnesses themselves were lacking an abundance of faith.  I do not have the luxury of firsthand knowledge, yet my faith continues to grow, and the flame is stronger.

God bless – He is Risen!