We were already excited about the FOCUS conference
in January in Nashville. They are hoping
to get 7,000-10,000 college students from around the country. It really is a great experience. But, then, we saw last week that Jim Gaffigan
will be performing at the conference. He
is a comedian who is Catholic and hilarious.
He does some bits about the faith that sometime toe the line but are
really funny. Like, when he talks about
his wife who is Catholic. He says, “she’s
a serious Catholic…like a Shiite Catholic”.
When they go to Church to pray together, she closes her eyes and very
seriously prays. He gets on his knees,
closes his eyes, and tries to pray, but all that enters his mind is…”did I go to Wendy’s twice yesterday?”
For those who don’t know, FOCUS is the Fellowship of
Catholic University Students. They are
Catholic missionaries who serve at almost 100 campuses around the country. We have had FOCUS missionaries for 4 years at
GW. They do an excellent job of building
up the Catholic community at Newman Centers through Bible studies, discussion
groups, mentoring, and evangelization on campus. They are a really good presence to have
around. I do want to plug our Bible
studies through FOCUS for next year because we hear about a Bible study in
tonight’s Gospel. Jesus leads a Bible study with the two disciples on the road
to Emmaus. He opens up the Scriptures
and interprets them to them. They enjoy
it so much that they ask Him to stay with them.
They would say later that their “hearts were burning” when He taught
them Scripture.
If you’ve ever had that experience when someone
explains Scripture to you, it really is that your hearts burn. First, God made our hearts and our hearts
burn for Him Word. Second, the Bible can
be a cryptic language for us…like a foreign language. It is the language of love, but hard for us
to understand. When someone explains it
to us, it’s like learning a new language… the greatest language. Also, there are benefits with learning a new
language. I remember taking Latin in
high school. My parents promised me that
Latin would help my vocabulary. Ok, so that might not have happened (!), but
for most people that is true. The
benefit of learning the language of the Bible is wisdom. We have had Scripture scholars speak at
Newman and they are just a wealth of wisdom in so many areas.
St. Peter teaches Scripture in the first
reading. He interprets Psalm 16 as being
about the Resurrection. Psalm 16 is one
of my favorites, but I didn’t know it was specifically referencing the
Resurrection of Christ. When we first
hear this interpretation, we might think, “where does he mention the
Resurrection?” But, then, we take a
closer look: “my flesh, too, will dwell in hope…will not see corruption”. Wow, David was talking about Christ! The prophets were talking about Christ! Once the cryptic language is translated, it
opens up so much for us in understanding Christ, God, and our faith.
The whole “hearts burning” experience is really an
encounter with the Holy Spirit. The
Spirit wrote Scripture, and the Spirit interprets Scripture. The Spirit teaches us the language of love
and truth, and our hearts burn for love and truth. Normally, we give our hearts to whatever is
closest…things of the world like movies and music. But, when we hear God speak to us, then our
hearts have found what they truly desire….what they truly burn for.
Finally, this Gospel is the story of our lives. We are walking along the path and Jesus is
with us. We don’t often recognize that
He is with us. For so many of us, it’s
been in the Eucharist that we have recognized Him: “he was made known to them in the breaking of
bread”. Many people see this scene as the first Mass:
Jesus celebrates the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
For those of you who are finishing your exams this
week and heading home, have a great summer!
Three things for you to do this summer spiritually: 1) Mass every Sunday
even if you’re on vacation. 2) 20
minutes of prayer every day. 3) Pray the
rosary every day even if it’s just a decade; take Our Lady with you this summer. Have you hearts burn for Christ and know that
His heart burns for you with love. May you believe deeply in your hearts that
He loves you. You are loved by God! You are good and you are loved.
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