NEWSLETTER INSERTS - THE ROAD TO EMMAUS -THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER

‘We have all had difficult moments in life, dark moments in which we walked in sadness, pensive, without horizons, with only a wall before us. And Jesus is always beside us to give us hope, to warm our hearts and to say: “Go ahead, I am with you. Go ahead”. The secret of the road that leads to Emmaus is simply this: despite appearances to the contrary, we continue to be loved and God will never stop loving us. God will walk with us always, always, even in the most painful moments, even in the worst moments, even in moments of defeat. That is where the Lord is. And this is our hope. Let us go forward with this hope! Because he is beside us and walks with us. Always!’

Pope Francis, 24^th May 2017

‘Dear children, I know that many of you have endured difficult trials. Some of you have known the pain of loss through the death of parents or loved ones. Others have experienced fear, rejection, abandonment, deprivation and uncertainty. Yet, you are called to a future that is greater than your wounds. You are bearers of a promise.  For wherever there is misery, suffering or injustice, God is present; and he knows each of your faces and is very close to you. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus cares especially for children like you, and he would often place them at the center of a gathering. Know that he looks upon each one of you today with that same affection’.

Pope Leo XIV, At an Orphanage 15^th April 2026

‘It is love that believes the resurrection’

Ludwig Wittgenstein

‘If the Good News of Christianity is anything new, it is this: that death has no hidden terror, has no mystery, is not something man must fear. It is not the end of life, of the soul, of the person. Christ’s death on Calvary was not the central act of salvation, but his death and resurrection; it was the resurrection that completed his victory over sin and death’.

Fr Walter Ciszek SJ, ‘He Leadeth Me’

‘Disappointment and failure really hurt. When they strike it seems like the end of the world or the end of us. But think about it. We may learn nothing from our successes except to think too much of ourselves as pride takes hold. It is from failure that all growth comes, provided we can recognise it, admit it, learn from it and then try again. Patrick Kavanagh once asked in a poem called ‘From Failure Up’: ‘O God, can a person find you when he lies with his face downwards and his nose in the rubble that was his achievement?’ And this is where faith comes in. Because it is often precisely when we experience disappointment and failure that we find God, perhaps for the first time’.

Fr Billy Swan