3rd Sunday of Easter
First Reading — Acts 2:14,22-33
God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to this
On the day of Pentecost Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed the crowd in a loud voice: ‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you all know. This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified by men outside the Law. You killed him, but God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power since, as David says of him:
I saw the Lord before me always,
for with him at my right hand nothing can shake me.
So my heart was glad
and my tongue cried out with joy;
my body, too, will rest in the hope
that you will not abandon my soul to Hades
nor allow your holy one to experience corruption.
You have made known the way of life to me,
you will fill me with gladness through your presence.
‘Brothers, no one can deny that the patriarch David himself is dead and buried: his tomb is still with us. But since he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn him an oath to make one of his descendants succeed him on the throne, what he foresaw and spoke about was the resurrection of the Christ: he is the one who was not abandoned to Hades, and whose body did not experience corruption. God raised this man Jesus to life, and all of us are witnesses to that. Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand, he has received from the Father the Holy Spirit, who was promised, and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit.’
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 15(16):1-2,5,7-11
Lord, you will show us the path of life.
or
Alleluia.
Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God.
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup;
it is you yourself who are my prize.’
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Second Reading — 1 Peter 1:17-21
Your ransom was paid in the precious blood of Christ
If you are acknowledging as your Father one who has no favourites and judges everyone according to what he has done, you must be scrupulously careful as long as you are living away from your home. Remember, the ransom that was paid to free you from the useless way of life your ancestors handed down was not paid in anything corruptible, neither in silver nor gold, but in the precious blood of a lamb without spot or stain, namely Christ; who, though known since before the world was made, has been revealed only in our time, the end of the ages, for your sake. Through him you now have faith in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory for that very reason – so that you would have faith and hope in God.
Gospel Acclamation — cf Luke 24:32
Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus, make your word plain to us:
make our hearts burn with love when you speak.
Alleluia!
Gospel — Luke 24:13-35
They recognised him at the breaking of bread
Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast.
Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free.
And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.
Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.
When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’
They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.
Reflection
Today’s readings are saturated with resurrection faith. In Acts, Peter stands before the crowd and speaks with a clarity that only Easter and Pentecost can produce. The man who once trembled now proclaims boldly that Jesus, rejected and crucified, has been raised by God. This is not a side point in Christian belief. It is the centre. The resurrection is the Father’s vindication of the Son, the revelation that death has been entered, conquered, and transformed. The Catechism teaches that the Resurrection is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, preached as the central truth by the first Christian community, handed on as fundamental by Tradition, and established by the documents of the New Testament along with the cross as an essential part of the Paschal mystery (CCC 638).
Peter’s preaching also shows that the resurrection is not detached from salvation history. He interprets David, the promises, and the prophets in the light of Christ. The risen Lord is the fulfilment of what God had long prepared. Christianity is not built on scattered spiritual experiences, but on the God who acts in history and fulfils his word. This is why apostolic witness matters so deeply. The faith is not self-invented. It is received, proclaimed, and handed on. The apostles are witnesses because they have encountered the risen Christ and have been entrusted with the truth of his saving work (CCC 857, 859).
The Psalm strengthens this Easter confidence. “You will show me the path of life.” This is no mere wish. In the resurrection of Christ, the path of life is no longer hidden. The One who entered death has opened the way through it. The joy, stability, and confidence of the psalm reach their fulfilment in Jesus. He is the Holy One who was not abandoned to the grave. In him, the faithful can live with hope that is stronger than decay and fear.
The Second Reading from 1 Peter draws us into the cost of that hope. We were not ransomed by silver or gold, but by the precious blood of Christ. This language is weighty and beautiful. It reminds us that salvation is not cheap, automatic, or abstract. We belong to God because the Son has given himself for us. The Catechism teaches that Jesus freely offered himself for our salvation, loving us “to the end”, and that redemption comes through his blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (CCC 606, 613). Easter glory cannot be separated from Good Friday love. The risen Christ is the crucified Christ, and the marks of his sacrifice remain the signs of our redemption.
Then the Gospel gives us the road to Emmaus, one of the richest resurrection accounts in all Scripture. Two disciples walk away carrying disappointment. They are speaking honestly, but without hope. Their words reveal the heartbreak of wounded expectation: “Our own hope had been…” They had hoped, but now that hope seems shattered. Yet this is precisely where the risen Jesus draws near. He comes alongside them before they recognise him. He listens before he instructs. He receives their grief before he reorders their understanding.
This matters deeply for Christian life. Often we think the Lord is absent because we cannot perceive him in the way we want. Yet Emmaus shows that Christ may be closest when he seems most hidden. The disciples do not find him by their own insight. Their eyes are opened gradually through Scripture and then fully in the breaking of bread. Word and sacrament belong together. The Church has always seen in this passage a Eucharistic shape: the Lord explains the Scriptures, takes bread, blesses, breaks, and gives. In this pattern, the life of the Church is revealed. Christ continues to feed, teach, and reveal himself to his people in the liturgy. The Catechism teaches that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life, because in it the whole spiritual good of the Church is contained, namely Christ himself (CCC 1324, 1327).
The phrase “Did not our hearts burn within us?” is one of the great Easter lines. Their hearts burn because the risen Christ is not merely giving information. He is illuminating reality. He is showing that suffering, the cross, the promises, and the glory of God are all gathered together in him. Christian faith is not cold agreement with doctrine, nor is it mere emotion. It is the living encounter in which the mind is enlightened, the heart is awakened, and the whole person is drawn back into communion with the Lord.
There is also mission here. Once the disciples recognise Jesus, they do not remain where they are. They rise and return. Encounter leads to witness. Consolation becomes proclamation. This is always the pattern of authentic Christian experience. We do not receive Christ only for private reassurance. We receive him so that we may return, speak, and join the apostolic testimony that the Lord is truly risen. The Catechism reminds us that by Baptism and participation in Christ’s life, the faithful share in his mission and are called to bear witness in the world (CCC 1213, 1270).
For us, Emmaus is not just a past story. It is a map of discipleship. We too walk with partial understanding. We too carry disappointments, unanswered questions, and hopes that seem bruised. But the risen Jesus still comes near. He still opens the Scriptures. He still makes himself known in the breaking of bread. He still turns weary hearts into burning hearts. And he still sends us back into the world as witnesses.
One line to carry today:
The risen Jesus walks with us, opens the Word, and makes himself known in the breaking of bread.
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