"But We Were Hoping..."

"But we were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel" (Lk 24:21).

The walk to Emmaus is really a walk of Hope. Two men who had hoped, who seemed to have given up hope, walk away from Jerusalem, the place where their hope had been crushed. Then suddenly, the risen Jesus walks with them to rekindle the flame of hope in their hearts. It is the accompanying presence of Jesus that awakens their hope. Because Christ is with them, they have hope. Pope Benedict makes this point in Spe Salvi, his encyclical on Christian Hope. He quotes from a letter of Paul Le-bhao-tin, a Vietnamese martyr who was imprisoned for the faith:

In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone —Christ is with me ... (SS 37)

May we perceive Christ present in our journeys awakening the flame of hope in our hearts.

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