3rd Sunday of Easter, Cycle A - April 19, 2026

 3rd Sunday of Easter – A 

April 19, 2026          8:30am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Emmaus and Eucharist

 

Today’s gospel is one of my favorite passages in the Scripture.

 

I see a number of moments in this Emmaus story that parallel the moments or parts of the Mass. Let’s look at them and see what you think. 

 

1. Loss

 

The first moment is what we can call loss.

 

The two disciples walking to Emmaus are talking about what has happened to Jesus. They have suffered a great loss and feel very disappointed.

 

I believe that, in a way, we identify with their loss. The loss I am thinking of is that at times, we lose some of our sense of closeness with God because of something we have done. 

 

And so, usually right at the beginning of Mass, we express this sense of loss when we say, “Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy, Lord have mercy.” We are asking God’s forgiveness and healing of this loss of closeness.

 

2. Presence

 

That admission of loss opens us to the second moment in the Mass, and this is presence – the presence of God in the Word.

 

Usually, we think of God or Jesus being present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. But the Emmaus story tells us that Jesus is first present to the two disciples in the Word. 

 

It says that he breaks open the Scriptures for them. The same thing happens here at Mass. 

 

God enlightens, inspires, comforts, challenges, and motivates us in the readings. So, just as Jesus is present in opening up the Word on the way to Emmaus, he is also present here at Mass in the Word.

 

3. Invitation

 

Then, touched by this presence of Jesus, we come to the third moment of the Mass, and this is invitation.

 

The disciples on the road to Emmaus invite Jesus to stay with them. We also do that here at Mass.

 

I suggest we do this when we offer the Profession of Faith and then bring the bread and wine to the altar. In the Profession of Faith, we affirm Jesus’ presence in the Word that we have just heard.

 

And in the presentation of the bread and wine, we are saying that we want him to stay and that we even want more of his presence. These are our ways of inviting Jesus to stay with us. 

 

4. Communion

 

That takes us to the fourth moment in the Mass, and this is Communion.

 

The two disciples in the Emmaus story invite Jesus to stay but then he reverses things and in effect he becomes their host. He immediately does what he did at the Last Supper and gives himself to them in the bread and wine.

 

So, here at Mass, as soon as we invite Jesus to stay with us, he becomes our host and offers us the sacrament – the gift of Holy Communion. In fact, maybe this is why Jesus left the earth and returned to the Father.

 

Through Communion he can be even closer to us, so close that there is nothing between us. We have this intimate communion with him in the Eucharist.

 

5. Mission

 

Finally, Communion leads to the fifth and last moment of the Mass, and this is mission.

 

The two disciples at Emmaus immediately go and tell the others about their experience with the risen Jesus. We are also to do the same thing.

 

This is why we conclude Mass with words like, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” So, the final moment in Eucharistic life is mission.

 

We are to bring the presence of Christ to the everyday spaces of life. We are to proclaim the light and hope of Easter by the way we live. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, I think this Emmaus story is quite rich!

 

It is a great teaching about the Mass!  From 1) loss to 2) presence to 3) invitation to 4) communion to 5) mission – this is what the Mass is all about.

Second Sunday of Easter, Cycle A - April 12, 2026

 Second Sunday of Easter – A 

April 12, 2026          5:00pm

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton        

 

“Peace be with you” 

 

Three times in today’s gospel Jesus says, “Peace be with you.” 

 

From this and other passages, it is clear that peace is important to the risen Christ. He wants us to be at peace within ourselves and with one another. 

 

Right now, there is no peace in a number of areas of our world. Our own country is involved in a war with Iran.

 

Pope Leo – A Vigil for Peace

 

Pope Leo has called for today to be a vigil for peace.

 

Especially over the last month, he has spoken about the morality of warfare – what is required for a war to be moral and what is not moral in warfare. 

 

On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo  said: “I am asking all people of goodwill to always search for peace and not for violence, to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is unjust...

 

“Today, there has also been the threat against the entire people of Iran. And this is truly unacceptable.

 

“There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more, it is a moral question concerning the good of the people as a whole. We have a situation in the Middle East…which is only provoking more hatred throughout the world.

 

“I would invite all citizens of all the countries to contact the authorities…to ask them, to tell them to work for peace and reject war and violence.” And with that, Pope Leo calls for today to be a vigil for peace.       

 

The Just War Teaching

 

He was speaking with the tradition of our Catholic Just War Teaching.  

 

This teaching finds its origin in the writings of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. The teaching emphasizes that the Church sees evils and injustices arising from warfare. 

 

It teaches that all governments and citizens are obliged to work to avoid war. If war cannot be avoided, then there are certain moral principles to guide us in this Just War Doctrine. 

 

But we need to be clear that the Church is teaching about defensive wars – a country resorting to military action for its legitimate defense. The Church teaches that an aggressive act of warfare always seems to be immoral and not justified. 

 

I am going to highlight briefly just three of the six conditions that are needed for a war to be morally just. I hope this will be helpful in forming our own conscience and judgments.  

 

The Just War Teaching 

 

Number 1. Before resorting to war, all other means to deal with the aggression or threat must have been tried.

 

This means that diplomacy and negotiation must have first been sincerely and fully tried. And they must be found to be ineffective or to have failed before engaging in warfare.

 

Number 2. The use of arms must not produce evils that are graver than the evil to be avoided.

 

The idea is that engaging in war will inevitably bring about the loss of life and human suffering and this is especially true with the power of today’s weaponry. To be moral and just, warfare must nor bring about evils that are greater than the evil to be avoided.  

 

And Number 3. For a war to be just, non-combatants or civilians must not be targeted. 

 

There must be respect for the lives of private citizens. Any act of war that is directed at cities or other areas where many people live is immoral and merits condemnation. 

 

Conclusion

 

As I said, they are three of the principles of our Church’s Just war Doctrine – conditions required for war to be morally just. 

 

I hope that this helps us in forming our own conscience about this moral issue. We pray for peace – for a peaceful solution of the war between our country and Iran and of other wars going on right now. 

 

Today Jesus’ says, “Peace be with you,” and then, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He sends us as messengers and makers of peace. 

Easter Sunday, Cycle A - April 5, 2026

 Easter Sunday – A 

April 5, 2026

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Chocolat

 

This past Thursday, three days ago, I received in the mail a box of homemade Easter eggs from my sister-in-law Lynn.

 

Lynn makes these every year. They are buttercreams coated with dark chocolate and they are delicious.

 

Well, these Easter eggs led me to remember a movie named Chocolat. Chocolat, as may be obvious, is, the French word for chocolate and I suggest that this movie is a great Easter story.

 

The story takes place in a small French village in 1959. Life in this little village is very traditional, very structured, and very rigid.

 

But then, into the village comes a young woman named Vianne and her little daughter. Vianne opens a chocolaterie – a chocolate shop.

 

She makes and sells anything made with chocolate – chocolates filled with nuts and jellies and crèmes, hot chocolate, chocolate cake, everything. You can gain a couple pounds just watching the movie!

 

The mayor of this French town is very opposed to the chocolate shop and tries to keep the villagers from patronizing it. He sees it as a place of sinful indulgence.

 

And, of course, because Vianne opened the chocolate shop during Lent, the mayor judges it to be the work of the devil. Well, despite all of the mayor’s efforts to make it fail, the shop succeeds.

 

Vianne’s shop becomes a place of acceptance, love, and care.  Little by little the entire village is changed and on Easter Sunday, even the young parish priest throws away his traditional homily and just speaks from the heart about what the risen Christ means to him.

 

He tells the villagers and us, the audience, not to measure goodness by what we can condemn and reject and exclude. Instead, he calls us to measure goodness by what we can create and love and embrace.

 

A Resurrection Story

 

As I said, I see Chocolat as an Easter story, a resurrection story.

 

It tells how people of this French village come to fuller life or simply come to life after being virtually dead.  On the surface, this happens because of chocolate, but in truth, the transformation happens because of the qualities that Vianne has introduced.

 

Chocolat and Easter give us messages like:

v the value of uniting rather than dividing people – key word – uniting people.

v the importance of accepting differences rather than rejecting those who are different – key word – accepting differences.

v the excitement of creating opportunities rather staying stuck in the status quo – key word – creating opportunities.

v The merit of highlighting light rather than ruminating on darkness – key word – highlighting light. 

 

Actions like these – uniting people, accepting differences, creating opportunities, and highlighting light – actions like these   are life-giving. They bring us a satisfaction that is invaluable. 

 

They give us a fullness that we can find in no other way. And, of course, the grounding of all of this is Jesus, the risen Christ – as the young priest in Chocolat came to realize.

 

Jesus’ life on earth and then his death and resurrection – these teach the truth of the Easter mystery that dying leads to rising. Dying, letting go of lesser ways and following the lead of Jesus, the risen Christ – this gives us life. 

 

Embrace Easter 

 

So, today I invite you to really embrace the message of Easter. 

 

Embrace it, as happened in that little Franch town. If we do that, we will discover that the way of the risen Christ – uniting people, accepting differences, creating opportunities, and highlighting light – this way gives us such a fullness of life that resurrection just feels right and makes sense.  

 

That’s the message of Easter that I bring to all of us this morning. That’s how I see our faith in the risen Christ. 

 

So, Happy Easter and please enjoy your chocolates!