20260419 FINDING HOPE IN LIFE BY JOURNEYING WITH CHRIST IN FAITH
19 April 2026, Sunday, 3rd Week 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 |
Show us, Lord, 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.’
Show us, Lord, the path of life.
or
Alleluia!
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.
Show us, Lord, the path of life.
or
Alleluia!
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.
Show us, Lord, the path of life.
or
Alleluia!
You will show me the path of life,
the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand happiness for ever.
Show us, Lord, the path of life.
or
Alleluia!
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.Lk24:32 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Lord Jesus, explain the Scriptures to us.
Make our hearts burn within us as you talk to us.
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.
FINDING HOPE IN LIFE BY JOURNEYING WITH CHRIST IN FAITH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 2:14.22-33; Ps 16:1-2,5,7-11; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Lk 24:13-35]
Many of us go through life facing difficulties, challenges, failures, and disappointments. How do we confront these struggles, especially when we feel that even God has disappointed us? Indeed, many young people, and even active parishioners, have given up their faith in God and in Christ because they feel that God was not there for them. If God cannot do anything, or does not care, what hope is there for us or for this world?
This was the situation of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Their hearts were heavy, dejected, and sad. They were walking toward the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, “talking together about all that had happened.” What had happened? They recounted the story of “Jesus of Nazareth, 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.” Indeed, they had believed, they had followed, and they had hoped in Jesus — but now it was all over. If Jesus, a great prophet who worked miracles and preached powerfully, had failed, then all hope was gone.
Faith falters when we experience a crisis, especially painful experiences that make us feel abandoned by the Lord or leave us to believe that God is unreal, powerless, or indifferent to our suffering. When hope fades, faith enters into crisis; and when faith collapses, hope can be lost as well. Hope and faith are deeply intertwined. When hope endures, faith strengthens it, giving us the strength to persevere toward what we believe can still be realised. But when hope is lost, faith struggles to survive — and without faith, hope cannot be sustained. Like the two disciples who came to believe that Jesus had failed, losing all hope that the Kingdom of God would be established, we too can become defeated — overwhelmed by disappointment and the collapse of our expectations. In such moments, hope fades, and faith can fade with it.
Perhaps, for many of us, our faith is even weaker than that of the disciples at Emmaus. In their case, they had risked their entire life’s direction and purpose; like the Apostles, they had left their jobs, their families, and everything they knew to follow Jesus. With His death, they felt everything was gone, leaving them with no reason to carry on. For us, however, we often begin to doubt God the moment things do not turn out the way we expect. Once we doubt God, we eventually surrender our hope, for if we cannot save ourselves and we believe God cannot either, then what hope is there left for us?
However, this need not be the case. The road to Emmaus, which we all travel from time to time, should not be a path to perdition or hopelessness; rather, it is a journey of purification and maturation that strengthens our faith in God. We must realise that the sufferings of life are not meant to break us, but to build us up. In such times, our faith is naturally challenged by doubt. Yet, as the Lord enlightened the disciples: “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?”
The trials of life are intended to deepen our faith in Him even more. It is said that while a little faith can bring us to heaven, a great faith can bring heaven to us. In times of trial, we are challenged to surrender our lives to the Lord and trust that He will do the impossible for us. We are called to live by faith, not by sight. We must cling to our faith because, as St. Peter said, “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.”
We must cling to God’s love for us in Christ, who paid the price for our salvation through His death and resurrection. God raised Jesus from the dead so that we might have faith in Him. This was the heart of Peter’s first homily at Pentecost: “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.”
How, then, do we cling to faith during the trials of life? We must walk with Jesus, or better yet, welcome Jesus to walk with us.When we know that someone is walking beside us, we can proceed confidently, no matter how dark the road ahead may be. The Gospel tells us that Jesus is always at our side, yet we are often unconscious of His presence. This was the case for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. It was evening as they travelled; because it was dark, they could not see Jesus. Similarly, when we are downcast, discouraged, and disillusioned, we often close ourselves off to spiritual reality. We become so absorbed in our own pain that we fail to see the light. Truly, it is difficult to reach out to someone who is disheartened and has given up on life, on people’s kindness and sincerity, on themselves and on God.
Instead of allowing ourselves to be paralysed by life’s failures and disappointments, we must bring Jesus into our midst by taking the time to listen to Him. Jesus desires to walk with us on our journey through life, and there is no better place to listen to Him than in the Scriptures. This is precisely what our Lord did for the disciples when He explained the significance of His sufferings and death: “Starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.” Reading the Scriptures prayerfully allows us to hear anew what our Lord wishes to speak to us. The entire Bible points to our Lord and is intimately connected to His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus did not merely teach us how to overcome the trials of life through faith in God’s love and power; He showed us the way by being obedient even unto death on the cross. Only with the ears and eyes of faith can the Word of God illuminate our lives and enable us to see His presence.
Secondly, the Lord makes Himself present in our midst sacramentally — not just in our minds and hearts — through the celebration of the Eucharist. Indeed, today’s Gospel demonstrates the centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church. It is through the bread and wine of the Eucharist that the Risen Lord reveals Himself to us and enables us to encounter Him deeply. The Eucharist is our Emmaus; it is the place of our encounter with the Crucified and Risen Lord. It is significant that the Lord did not yet allow the disciples to recognise Him while He was breaking open the Scriptures for them. The breaking of the Word was intended to prepare them for the breaking of the Bread, at which point they finally recognised His presence in their midst. Today, Jesus wants us to hear Him in the Word of God to find direction, inspiration, and hope; but He also wants us to feel His presence and “touch” Him in the Eucharist. Such is our privilege as Catholics: to receive our Lord both in the Word that is preached and in the Eucharist we receive at every Mass.
Finally, Jesus walks with us not only in the Word of God and the Eucharist but also through our brothers and sisters. It is significant that the disciples did not walk alone; two of them travelled toward Emmaus, sharing their woes and disappointments with one another. Similarly, we must never walk alone on our journey of faith, for we are not meant to face life’s struggles and trials in isolation. We must invite our fellow Catholics to walk with us and journey with us in faith.
We need to share our trials and joys, just as the disciples did after encountering the Lord: “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.” We, too, must share our stories of faith to encourage one another, so that as our hope is stirred, our faith is strengthened. Faith and hope must walk hand-in-hand. When we walk with Jesus in fellowship with our brothers and sisters, we encounter the Lord and His love together.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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