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Emmaus now: Sam gets in the car

The Gospel of Emmaus is like a great synthesis of everything that makes up the church. From Emmaus, light also falls into our church of the disappointed, who we believe have arrived at the eve of our possibilities. Because we are all disappointed – the ones who only want to start with the church when its utopian catalogue of demands is fulfilled, and now experience the cold shoulder of the institution – the others, because they only have eyes left for the diversity of secret and open exits from the The body of Christ.

Emmaus contains at least four messages for us: 1. Stay on track and speak openly with each other! Share in your disappointments too! Show us your Wounds! 2. Remember the great promises of God and the long, miraculous journey of faith that doesn’t just begin with you! 3. Break the bread with one another in thanksgiving, the Eucharist. 3. Be ignited by the real presence of Jesus! 4. And if you found out that he spoke with fire to you, be self-burning missionary disciples, for “only he who burns himself can kindle a fire in others.” “ (Augustine)

This morning she hung up on me on WhatsApp, the message from India, which took my breath away for a moment and somehow invited “Emmaus” into the presence. It’s the story of Sam, a young man I don’t know, whom I only know is part of a movement that took its exit from Pope Benedict’s preface to Youcat, ordered by no one else, strategically prepared by no pastoral plan, and supported by no church infrastructure. Young people in Bangalore and other places just started looking at the secrets of God together as offered in scripture and catechism. Why the catechism in writing? The catechism represents the “eyes of faith”, it represents the church that accepts the word of God. “Still today,” says the great theologian Henri de Lubac, “the Church gives me Jesus.” This says it all. What would I know of him, what bond would exist between him and me without the church? “The story of Sam getting into the car today is understandable in this context. Here’s the news from India

“Today, Easter Monday 2023, Sam, a young man from YOUCAT India, begins his 20-day journey through six Indian states, covering nearly 3000 kms.” He alone is relying on divine provision for his journey. Sam didn’t book anywhere on his trip, neither accommodation nor food. He will be meeting with bishops, priests, youth leaders and young people to share his testimony and talk to them about YOUCAT. Please say a prayer for him. “