In today’s Gospel, the famous story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Disciples failed to recognize as He walked along with them. St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) reflects on the dimness of their perception: "They were so disturbed when they saw him hanging on the cross that they forgot his teaching, and He said it more than once, that he would suffer and die but He would rise again on the third day. They did not look for his resurrection, and failed to keep his promises in mind" (Sermon 235.1).

"Their eyes were obstructed, that they should not recognize him until the breaking of the bread. And thus, in accordance with the state of their minds, which was still ignorant of the truth (that the Christ would die and rise again), their eyes were similarly hindered. It was not that the truth himself was misleading them, but rather that they were themselves unable to perceive the truth." (From The Harmony of the Gospels, 3.25.72).

How often do we fail to recognize the Lord when he speaks to our hearts and opens his mind to us? The Risen Lord is ever ready to speak his word to us and to give us understanding of his ways. One important question that we can all ask ourselves is: Do we listen attentively to the Word of God and allow his word to change and transform us?

Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of our hearts to recognize your presence with us and to understand the truth of your saving word. Nourish us with your life-giving word and with the bread of life.

A word about the concert…Once again, our concert was a resounding success. It was a wonderful evening of top notch entertainment upstairs and of community building afterwards, downstairs. I would like to thank our 10 am and 12 noon choirs and their directors, Anthony Bastianon and Mark Linsao, who opened the evening with their beautiful selections. All of our guest artists were magnificent and I think that we are all very fortunate to have such caliber and quality of music come to us right here in the parish! And so I would like to thank, Darren Poirier and his ensemble, Larry Tozer and the wonderful cast from Godspell. You were all simply amazing! Thanks to the sound technicians too since I know that your job is extremely important throughout the entire evening.

Many thanks to all those who looked after the catering for our guests and those who prepared the reception downstairs. Thanks to St. Dominic Youth Group, under the direction of Betty Alilovic, who were so involved with ticket sales on the weekends prior to the concert and for their help in the church and in the hall on Monday night. It is great to see our young people involved in parish events! Sincere thanks to all of you, the parishioners and to your families and friends, who came out, not only to enjoy the music, but to support the parish with your presence. I have heard it over and over again how much you all enjoyed the evening. Once again, special thanks to Anthony Bastianon for orchestrating this special event. We are looking forward to the next one!

Although I will write more about this next week, I would like to congratulate all our children who are receiving First Holy Communion this weekend. As a parish community, we welcome you all to the table of the Lord with us! May God bless you all!

Fr. Phil