Lord make our hearts burn

I did it again! I opened up my phone and looked at the news. It didn’t fill me with joy or peace; instead, it left me feeling disheartened, discouraged, and even a little angry. And those feelings are on top of my own personal anxieties and struggles! So why do I do it? Why do I continue to open up my phone and go down the rabbit hole that is the news? 

I realize with today’s Gospel that I am in good company. I imagine that the disciples on the road to Emmaus were feeling very similar feelings, since I know that only last week I, too, “stopped, and [looked] downcast.”

And in that downcast feeling, I, too, need to be brought back to the Scriptures to realize that God is present in all these things, even when I want to shout out to him: “Are you the only one who does not know of the things that are taking place these days?" Thankfully, the Church has given us today’s Psalm to go along with this Gospel to help me realize where our Lord is in all of the pain and suffering and help me realize that he has not abandoned me.

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

The world is in pain, but ultimately, this is not my home. We are made for somewhere greater, and this place is only a temporary refuge on our way to that eternal home. So, on our journey through the world that is hurting, we must make sure that our refuge is ultimately in our Lord, for he is the one we must hold fast to.

Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices.

If we remember that the Lord is truly our refuge, then our heart starts to turn from being disheartened and angry to rejoicing. We rejoice not because everything is perfect (because it isn’t), but rather because we will not remain here in this place of pain and suffering. We also acknowledge that we are not alone in feeling this pain and suffering; only two weeks ago, Jesus himself experienced that pain and suffering.

My body, too, abides in confidence; because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld.

Our Lord does not abandon us, just like he didn’t abandon those faithful ones who died before he came upon this earth. When Jesus died and entered into “hell,” it is not the hell we think of today but to the place of the dead who had up to that point been “deprived of the vision of God” (CCC 633). He goes to this place so that they are not abandoned to the netherworld. He will do the same with us now in our world that feels abandoned and “deprived of the vision of God.” He comes to us to bring us out of our discouragement of the pain and suffering around us.

Lord, you will show us the path of life.

The Lord comes to show us the path of life, and we see that taking place in today’s Gospel with the disciples on the road to Emmaus after they look downcast. First, Jesus calls them out for being foolish—which makes sense, since they explain how they had just heard that an angel said that Jesus was alive, and yet they still don’t seem to get it. But how often am I the same? I know all these things, and yet still don’t get it and allow myself to be downcast. Then Jesus explains to them all the Scriptures (best Bible study ever!), which enlivens their downcast hearts to the point that they don’t want this mysterious man to leave them.

So Jesus, after explaining and showing them everything of the path of life, stays with them and then breaks bread with them. And it is through this explanation of the Scriptures and the breaking of the bread (the Eucharist) that their eyes are completely opened.

So next time we do the crazy thing and turn on the news or open up our phone and doomscroll through all the bad things happening around us, let us try to remember to pause and give that disheartened feeling to our Lord. Yes, in our own human understanding of things, it may seem like all is lost—but let us turn to our Lord and take refuge in him so that he can show us the path of life.

Finally, I want to point our attention to an easily forgotten part from the Mass: the Gospel Acclimation. I encourage you to pray these words that are sung between the Alleluias each day and particularly when you are feeling disheartened and lost:

“Lord Jesus, open the Scriptures to us; make our hearts burn while you speak to us.”