Dear brothers and sisters, Fiat!

On the third Sunday of Easter we hear first of all Peter, with a speech of his (Acts 2:22-28) and a passage from his first letter (1Pt 1:17-21), in which he writes: “It was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, “. As if to say: he who thinks he is saving his soul with his own money deludes himself; salvation is not bought: it is a free gift to be welcomed and translated into his own life.

Today’s gospel is important (Lk 24:13-35). Let us remember: on the day of the Resurrection, Jesus manifests Himself early in the morning to Mary Magdalene and in the evening to the apostles who were gathered. At the centre is the episode of the two disciples who, ignoring the resurrection, are on their way to Emmaus. They manifest their disappointment at the conclusion of the story of Him in whom they had placed their hopes. They also say this to the wayfarer who reaches out to them and walks beside them; he then reminds them of the passages of Scripture concerning the expected Messiah, to show how everything has come true in Jesus. They still do not understand that their occasional travelling companion is Jesus himself, alive after being crucified and buried; they recognize Him only when, during the supper, He repeats the gestures and words of the Supper that preceded His Passion: “He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them”.

First the Scriptures, then the Bread, that “broken bread” given as spiritual nourishment: in the episode of Emmaus we find the salient features of the liturgy of the Word and the Eucharistic liturgy, that is, the Mass, left by Jesus to His friends to be renewed forever. “Do this in memory of me”, he had said, and no other command has ever been so punctually executed for two millennia.

We may be bewildered that the two wayfarers do not immediately recognize Him of whom they were also disciples, just as it happened to all those to whom Jesus manifested Himself after He rose again.

With all evidence, the Risen One is the same as before, but not exactly the same as before; He is not like Lazarus, who after the burial resumed his previous life, and then died like everyone else; the Risen One looks different from the usual, appears and disappears suddenly, but He is not a ghost, He shows His physicality by eating in front of everyone and letting Himself be touched, even inviting Thomas to do so. He is the same as before, but not exactly the same as before: the total inexperience of a single fact does not allow us to define the difference, just as it did not allow those who saw Him to recognize Him immediately. Hence the initial difficulties of the two men on their way to Emmaus, and our interest in their unexpected adventure.

The interest also derives from the fact that the three phases reflect well our condition with respect to the Risen One. First phase: as for Christians of all times, Jesus also walks beside us, present in the ways chosen by Him (just remember one of his phrases: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. “), but how often we do not recognize Him! Step two: He reminded them of the Scriptures. Well, we all have a Bible at home, but how well do we know it? We hear it being read and explained during Mass, but how much attention do we pay to it? And yet, just as we resemble the two disciples of Emmaus in the early stages of their encounter, we can resemble them in the third: we can recognize Jesus in breaking bread. “Take and eat: this is my body given for you.” The gestures and words renewed in every Eucharistic celebration manifest Him, the Risen One, His desire to inundate us with that limitless love, which He showed by sacrificing His human life for us and by making us share in His divine life.

On April 20, 1938 Jesus told Luisa that in His Resurrection, the right was given to creatures to rise again in Him to new life. It was the confirmation, the seal of His whole life, His works and His words. If Jesus came on earth it was to give to each and every one His Resurrection, as their own – to give them life and make them rise again in His own Resurrection. But do you want to know where is the real resurrection of the creature? Not in the end of her days, but while she is still living on earth. One who lives in the Divine Will rises again to light and says: ‘my night is over.’

She rises again in the love of her Creator, so that there is no more cold or snow for her, but the smile of the Heavenly Spring; she rises again to sanctity, which puts to rushed flight all weaknesses, miseries and passions; she rises again to all that is Heaven, and if she looks at the earth, Heaven and Sun, she does it to find the works of her Creator – to take the opportunity to narrate to Him His glory and His long love story.

Therefore, one who lives in the Divine Will can say, as the Angel said to the holy women on the way to the sepulcher, ‘He is risen. He is not here any more.’ One who lives in the Divine Will can also say, ‘my will is not with me any longer – it is risen again in the Fiat.’ And if the circumstances of life, opportunities and sufferings surround the creature, as if they were looking for her will, she can answer: ‘my will is risen again, it is not in my power anymore. I possess, in exchange, the Divine Will, and I want to cover with Its light all things around me – circumstances and sufferings, to make them like many divine conquests.’

The soul who lives in the Divine Will finds life in the acts of her Jesus, and God’s operating, conquering, triumphant Will always runs in her. She gives God so much glory that Heaven cannot contain it. Therefore, let us live always in the Divine Will – let’s never leave it, if we want to be God’s triumph and glory.

don Marco