This week's readings Week of May 4 - May 10 Sunday, May 4, 2003 Reading I: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Reading II: 1 Jn 2:1-5a Gospel: Lk 24:35-48 Monday, May 5, 2003 Reading I: Acts 6:8-15 Gospel: Jn 6:22-29 Tuesday, May 6, 2003 Reading I: Acts 7:51--8:1a Gospel: Jn 6:30-35 Wednesday, May 7, 2003 Reading I: Acts 8:1b-8 Gospel: Jn 6:35-40 Thursday, May 8, 2003 Reading I: Acts 8:26-40 Gospel: Jn 6:44-51 Friday, May 9, 2003 Reading I: Acts 9:1-20 Gospel: Jn 6:52-59 Saturday, May 10, 2003 Reading I: Acts 9:31-42 Gospel: Jn 6:60-69 Pope's Prayer Intentions May General Intention Mary Mother of Life: That children in difficulty and their caretakers may find in Mary support and help. May Mission Intention The evangelization of Asia: That in the local Churches the Holy Spirit may kindle renewed ardor for evangelizing the entire continent.

In the breaking of the bread: We know Jesus

		Word of God  Word of Life  Fr. John G. Stillmank

It is important that in one of the earliest encounters described in the Gospels of the disciples with Jesus after his resurrection, they came to recognize him "in the breaking of the bread" - in other words, in the Eucharist.

Sitting down with the disciples he had instructed on the road to Emmaus, Jesus once again took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them - and instantly they recognized that it was Jesus, risen from the dead.

"In the breaking of the bread, we know Jesus, and he knows us. The key is to look at him, to listen to his voice, to watch him, learn from him, and do as he does."

They had lost hope and were despondent after he died, and now he was alive again. Later on, over a period of forty days, they had many encounters with Jesus that continued to convince them that he was alive, that he had risen from the dead after his horrible execution on the Cross.

In many of his appearances, Jesus gave them the gift of his peace by saying "Peace be with you." He ate with them, gave them the Holy Spirit, encouraged them, and gave them his mission to go into the whole world. He called them "witnesses of these things," and sent them out with the Gospel message of God's love, the message of repentance and forgiveness.

Readings for Third Sunday of Easter (May 4, 2003) Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9 1 John 2:1-5a Luke 24:35-48

Where more fully do we see that message of love, repentance, forgiveness, mercy, sacrifice, and new life than in the Eucharist, the "breaking of the bread"? By instituting the Eucharist on the night before he died, Jesus gave his new Church the greatest gift imaginable: the gift of his presence, the gift of recognizing him easily in their midst.

Later in the Church's early history, still in New Testament times, the Eucharist became the scene of some discord and strife, as Saint Paul recorded. The very place where the Lord was present and recognized, the very place where the gift of his peace and the importance of his mission were to be found - and people were fighting and disagreeing.

We have the same problem today. We fight over how much music and what kind. We argue about how the liturgy is prepared, how it is celebrated. We fuss over kids making noise, or the type of hymnal or worship aids used. We fret if the homily isn't to our taste, or if the Mass goes "too long."

Where is Jesus present in that bickering and squabbling? He's still there, but if we are spending our energy fighting and arguing, it's harder to recognize Jesus present among us. When he broke bread for his disciples, they were overjoyed to recognize him. When we break that bread and pour out that cup of his Body and Blood, often we are consumed with other thoughts.

We need to get our priorities back in shape, so that we can recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. We need to listen to his voice saying "Peace be with you," and we need to offer that same peace to others. We need dare to hope that the gift of his Body and Blood, the gift of his peace, will last longer than it takes us to get out to the parking lot.

We need dare to hope that the bread broken will break us of our bad habits, reform our lives, and change us from sinners into saints. We need dare to hope that the cup outpoured will wash away our sins and make our baptismal robes white once again, in the blood of the Lamb.

In the breaking of the bread, we know Jesus, and he knows us. The key is to look at him, to listen to his voice, to watch him, learn from him, and do as he does. We can't do that if we're fighting. We can only do that if we are loving, which is what the Eucharist was always about anyway.

Fr. John G. Stillmank is Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Madison and pastor of St. Andrew Parish, Verona, and St. William Parish, Paoli.