April Allocutio 2025

Our Emmaus walk – flanked by Jesus and Mary glorified

Fr. Paul Churchill, Concilium Spiritual Director

Our Lord’s quick and unjust trial and His brutal execution shocked His followers. His mother’s heart was indeed pierced. His supporters had their hopes dashed. His apostles were suffering the guilt of their betrayal and cowardice.

And then came the event that changed everything and is still at the centre of our faith: Our Lord rose from the dead. It is also at the centre of our world, because had it not happened our current calendar would not exist. St. Paul said, “If Christ is not risen our faith is in vain and we of all people are most to be pitied” (I Cor 15:14).

Our Lord’s appearances after His death left the apostles and other disciples in no doubt. They were looking at the incredulous. Yes, humanity did believe in a world of spirits after death. But, to see the person they knew crucified now risen, not just in spirit but with His body that could still eat fish and bread and bearing His wounds, while also being able to come through locked doors, just astounded them. Someone had come back from the dead. It had never been witnessed before.

What was also part of their astonishment was the fact that for His apostles and disciples who had let Him die, He came not to reprimand them but to bring His love and peace to them. He also gave them, despite their betrayal, a mission to bring this good news of the conquering of death and the forgiveness of sins to the whole world. So not only is death defeated but so also is all sin and its associated guilt.

When you die your body will be buried or cremated. You will have left history. Your grave will be forgotten in time. The world moves on without you. Unless of course you are seen as a saint and they use your body for relics! But Christ in rising from the dead began to rule a new way. The fact that millions have followed him, dedicated their lives to His cause, changed history, cannot be denied. What helps them is that they know He is on our side even if—not unlike the disciples on the road to Emmaus—they do not recognize him. He is walking with us.

The Risen Lord however designed that He would allow one other person to share His glorified state: Mary, His mother. His resurrection alone might still have left questions. We might think, “Ah well, He is God so He has that capacity because He is divine. We mere creatures, can we really expect to have our bodies glorified?” But to assure us on that point He took her, body and soul, although a total creature, into a glorified state.

But He had one other objective. As on earth so also in heaven: He needed Her help. For she, pure creature, just as she did at Cana, understands our basic needs, earthly and spiritual, and can intervene directly to Him on our behalf and He allows Her to dispense His graces to us. She, His and our Mother, knows better than we do what our real needs are and she knows and only acts according to God’s will (St Louis M. de Montfort, Treatise, Ch 1, Arts 2&3)..

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus, still in our world and still belonging to it, were met by one stranger who gave them hope. They did not recognize their glorified Lord at first. All they knew was that He was lifting their hearts and so they invited Him to stay with them. Only as they ate with Him did they see His awesome reality and were astonished and could not hide their joy.

With us it is slightly different. You and I walk our road to Emmaus, sometimes down. But our reality is that two glorified people who once walked this world, walk with us. These are not saints whose bodies are left behind that provide us with relics. No. They have their bodies with them in glory. But they walk with us just as real as He did with those two disciples the first Easter Sunday evening.

On one side of us walks Mary who knows in Her heart the sorrowful pains that can afflict us. On the other side Her Son, still carrying His physical wounds, is with us with His great heart of divine love at His centre. And He is encouraging us, “Don’t be afraid. I have overcome the world. I am with you always, yes to the end of time”. And Mary is saying to us, as she did to Juan Diego, “Am I not here, I who am your mother?”

So flanked always by both of them, let us go out with confidence to others knowing that we are supported by Jesus and Mary, both with their glorified bodies, our future reality, the glory of heaven. And let us witness by our lives and words that we are people filled with the joy of the Resurrection, remembering Our Lord’s words, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body!” By His Resurrection and Mary’s Assumption we are assured that our death will be the end. With Mary and Jesus at our sides we are in the company of the victors! Amen.

A Blessed Easter to you all.