The Third Sunday of Easter [A]
Acts 2:14,22-33 + 1 Pt 1:17-21 + Lk 24:13-35
April 30, 2017
“Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how He was made known to them in the breaking of bread.”
The purpose of the Mass is to help us hear Jesus, see Jesus, receive Jesus, and serve Jesus. This description isn’t exhaustive, of course. For one thing, it leaves out the Holy Spirit and God the Father. But if we grant that this description would eventually need to be expanded, we can use it to reflect on today’s Gospel passage.
Following the Introductory Rites, the first chief part of Holy Mass is the Liturgy of the Word. As the Word of God speaks through His Scriptures, He teaches us about God, about us as sinners, and about how we might become united with God. This teaching takes many different forms over the course of three years, which is the length of time it takes our Sunday Scriptures to repeat themselves.
On a given Sunday, through the course of the four Sunday Scripture readings (including the Responsorial), we make an ascent. This ascent reaches its climax when the Gospel passage is proclaimed: this is why we stand for the proclamation of the Gospel. We hear about the words and works of the Word of God in the Flesh. We profess exactly who this divine Person is when we stand after the homily and proclaim in the Creed that “[f]or us men and for our salvation [this Word of God] came down from Heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.” Continue reading →
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