Our Gospel reading offers us the paradigm for true Catechetical teaching in the spirit of Pope Francis and Don Bosco. Today we meet two faithful disciples whose lives have been placed into turmoil. We meet them as they walk slowly away from Jerusalem having just witnessed the crucifixion and death of Jesus. They are in grief and so upset that they cannot, or will not, recognise the Risen Lord who joins them in their walk—to them, Jesus is just the 'stranger'. However, this 'stranger' can teach us so much: he is sensitive to their pain and hurt. For these two, journeying to their home in Emmaus, life is not full of resurrection joy. Under his gentle questioning, the Lord understands why they are downcast and hurting: their sadness is real because they have lost the greatest friend they have ever had; they have lost their Lord and saviour. They have invested their whole being into the life, ministry, and teaching of Jesus—now all they see is emptiness and loss. It is important to note that Jesus listens carefully to his friends—he allows them to ask the difficult and challenging questions that we all have to face. As we saw last week, true faith is not an easy road: we will all have times of doubt and worry, especially when we are under extreme pressure.

Having listened to their story, Jesus begins the greatest RE lesson in history: 'starting with Moses and the prophets' He explains that suffering and death is indeed part of the Messiah's lot. We cannot be like Peter and the 'Emmaus 2' and conveniently airbrush out those times of pain and hurt that being a follower of Jesus involves. Our Christian faith is not a Las Vegas buffet where we can pick and choose the nice bits of Jesus' life and teaching. As our journey through Lent has proved, the teaching of Jesus makes strong demands on us. This lesson made a deep impact on these two: it was not just an exchange of ideas or facts—this lesson transformed their lives as 'their hearts were on fire'!

As a former teacher who has doubted my own abilities at times, I take great comfort from the fact that, even after this wonderful and powerful lesson, the two disciples still did not recognise Jesus—he was still the 'stranger'! As teachers we cannot force anything; as teachers, especially in the great ministry of Catholic education, we are called to listen, accompany and support. To be available in what Don Bosco called a caring 'presence' is priceless. Students in our schools must know that they are valued and appreciated for who they are, not just what they bring to the life of school in terms of examination success.

The encounter ends with the disciples inviting the stranger to join them. After so many pilgrimages to the Holy Land, I have been blessed by the spontaneous nature of Palestinian hospitality: the stranger is the friend you have not met yet. It is only at the table, with their offering of bread and wine that the disciples finally recognise the reality of the Risen Lord in their own home — 'they knew him in the breaking of bread'. Jesus was with them on the road; it was that same Risen Lord who gave them the ultimate RE lesson, but it is only in their home, in their familiarity and peace from the horror of Calvary, that they can see who this stranger is. They realised that far too often, we do not hear God because we are too wrapped up in our own agenda or concerns. Too often we are too busy with the temporary, petty, and relatively superficial things of this world. In this sacred family space, Jesus comes to them, but vanishes equally quickly.

Their response to this amazing revelation is not to bask in the fact that they are special, as they have received a personal epiphany from God. They 'return to Jerusalem', once the place of horror, grief, and despair, to share the good news that Jesus has indeed risen. This is what an encounter with the Lord does for you: just like Mary of Magdala in the Garden, they share the gospel of life. In our Eucharist today, we are called to share that same enthusiasm—we are called to bring a Risen Lord into the lives our families and friends. We are invited to turn our lives around—we are asked to make a real difference. Over the next few months, Matthew's Gospel will help us to see how our lives can be more wholesome if we heed that advice. As we pray the prayer the 'Our Father' we ask that the reign of God bursts into our daily experience. We do not pray for some spiritual pie in the sky: our faith is rooted in experience. The birth of Jesus helps us all to move forward and discover the beauty and strength of life. In this powerful Emmaus Road encounter, the grieving disciples could not recognise who the 'stranger' was-even after their peripatetic scripture lesson. Notice it is the two disciples who take the initiative and welcome the Risen Lord to their table of welcome. In reaching out to this 'stranger' they found God as he broke the Bread of Life and shared the Cup of Blessing. Salvation came to them in the context of a meal. Perhaps before we invite people to Jesus or invite them to church, we should invite them to dinner. If table fellowship is a spiritual discipline that is vital for shaping and sustaining our life with God for the world, we need to make a point to share our tables with people who are in our lives but far from God. This was one of the most distinctive aspects of Jesus's ministry. It is my prayer that we too can meet Jesus today in the ordinary-even the ordinary fish and chips you might share in your house today: we DO live in a holy place, as the Irish mystic, John O'Donohue reminds us:

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place.

Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,

Transforming our broken fragments

Into an eternal continuity that keeps us