Maybe you know this image made by Robert Zünd: “On the walk to Emmaus”.
Anyway, many of us find ourselves in similar situations sometimes. The day after high feast of Easter is a good moment to reflect on the words of Luke 24, 13-35.
We want to invite you, as single or together with others to share your thoughts on this text or what is moving you in the comments below. May the blessing of the resurrected Lord come over all of us.
A time of quietness, a time of recovering, a time of reconsideration, a time of joyful anticipation. At least that we should connect with the word Advent, even if the world around isn’t it. The concentration on the center of our Salvatorian being, on Jesus Christ, and our reconsideration on his coming into our world should fill our hearts with great joy. I know that the reality is talking another language. The CoVid19 pandemic still forces many victims, the numbers of infects are increasing again, based on new mutations of the virus. Climate change is also hard knocking on our door but many people do not react, do not see the signs on the wall (“Mene mene tekel …” [Dan 5]) think they are not touched by that. Are we similar to King Belsazar?
Perhaps in the coming days of great anticipation, you will manage to take some time out. Time to question your own life, to re-explore, to reorient, and to rediscover the center of our Salvatorian being. Let us not close our eyes to the challenges and signs of the times, let us together courageously find new ways of consideration and sustainability. Let us learn to understand how each of us can counteract the pollution, exploitation, and injustice of the world.
May the song be an attunement for you for the coming time. In this sense a reflective Advent and really a time of great expectations…
A beautiful Sunday morning somewhere, – Pentecost Sunday! Just walking home from the holy mass. A joyful celebration, meaningful hymns were sung by the choir and the highlight a rain of smelling petals from roses and Pentecost roses after the Gloria. Still excited I find my way through the park. Parents are playing with their children, young couples sitting in the lawn, seniors are meeting their neighbours, everybody is in a good mood.
Out of a sudden, the last words of the mass come to my mind: “Go, you are sent”
„Hello my friend, you are sent! Do you remember me?“ an inner voice appears and start to talk to me.
I think: „Me? You mean, me? – Is that a misunderstanding. What happens here now?“ – Quite a confrontation develops with a long-repressed inner „relative“ (R) …
I’m sent? To what? To whom? – I’m only a simple Christian, going to Church on Sunday, meet fine people and friends there …
(R): That’s all? – Go, you are sent! Is there not expected more?
Sent? – What does it mean: Sent?! – I am not an ancient apostle in a linen shirt and simple sandals, walking over the hills and sleeping somewhere like a homeless. What a curious image? – I live my life here and now in the 21. century. Life ticks differently today … Continue Reading
Letter to Fr. Jordan on his Beatification
Dear Fr. Jordan,
You are an inspiration to all Salvatorians and their friends who are impacted by your humble beginnings. You light the way for all of us ~ past, present and future ~ to be directed by your vision and mission. You have given of yourself to blaze an unparalleled trail in the community for us to follow with trust.
Your Priests are Priests forever in the Order of Melchizedek to serve sacramentally and spiritually. Your Brothers are bound together to serve the peoples’ needs and the Church’s directives. Your Sisters serve the unfortunate and marginalized bringing joy and hope to hearts. Your Lay bring their families to the Eucharistic Table encountering Jesus. They are fed spiritually, so that they may serve and feed the hungry of heart. Continue Reading
Jesus himself washes the feet of his disciples and invites us to humble service to our fellowmen:
“When I, your Lord and your master, have washed your feet, you should also wash each other’s feet. I have set an example; what I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13, 14-15).
We feel the same as the apostles Continue Reading
Jesus set an example of His faithfulness and love to the utmost, even if it costs Him His life.
You, from a distant land, stranded in a rusty boat; Continue Reading
This quiet day invites us to pause and reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ way of life and faithful love for God and people until death.
From death to new life Continue Reading
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“Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom. Now in the place where he had been crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.” (John 19:39-42)
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus, who had been freed from the cross, in a cloth and carried him to a nearby burial site. According to other sources, such as the Gospel of Mark, there were also a number of women among them. Nevertheless, it now seems to have been a rather family affair, in contrast to the crowd at the execution.
With the laying down and embalming in the new tomb (a symbol of the purity of Christ) Jesus now escapes the curious glances. Noise and turmoil remain, silence and concentration return. Finally, the heavy stone is rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb. This stone, it seems in the truest sense of the word, is supposed to have been the keystone among the affairs of Jesus of Nazareth. Was the chapter closed with him and all hope buried? Continue Reading
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Station 13: Jesus is taken down from the cross
“After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body.” (John 19:38)
The image of the Pieta comes to mind, the image of Mater Dolorosa, the Mother of Sorrows. Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in the arms of his mother. An adult human being, lifeless in the same arms that once carried Him and the womb that gave birth to him. A mother weeps for her child who she has brought to life and cared for years, with whom she had shared countless hours of joy. She is a picture of unspeakable grief, indescribable tenderness, and wordless despair.
Mary, the mother, loves with her whole being beyond physical death. So much is expressed in this silent embrace: it is the image of a love for which bodily death is not a barrier and does not mean the end. Continue Reading
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Station 12: Jesus dies at the cross
“And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Some of the bystanders who heard it said, “Look, he is calling Elijah.” One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.“ (Mark 15:34-37)
A last act of earthly love and tenderness: Jesus asks the disciple John to take care of his mother and asks his mother to accept John in his place. Both do not leave his side until the last breath.
Let us try to enter into this scene mentally. Before us lies only sadness, no comfort, no hope. – Everything seems to have come to an end… Continue Reading
