The Franciscan pilgrimage to Emmaus took place today in a climate of fraternity and great joy on the feast-day of Saints Cleophas and Simeon. The simple and tiny Arab village of el-Qubeibe (small dome), identified, not without great effort, by tradition as the Emmaus mentioned by Luke (24,13-35) in the story of the meeting between Jesus risen with the two disciples on the road, is west of Jerusalem, at the short distance (60 stadia, about 12 kilometres) suggested in the Gospel and can be covered in about two hours on foot. Little information has come down to us on the identity of those two men who, disheartened, left the Holy City on the evening of Easter to return home. St. Luke says that one of them was called Cleophas (24,18), probably the husband of Mary of Cleophas, the sister of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and one of the women who was at the foot of the cross on Mount Calvary (John 19,25). According to tradition, the other disciple on the road to Emmaus was Simeon, one of the four children of Cleophas and Mary, who later became the second Bishop of Jerusalem.
In the early 20th century, the Franciscans built the Sanctuary of the Manifestation of the Lord, surrounded by the small white houses of Emmaus and on the ruins of an earlier church that tradition places on the spot where Cleophas’ house stood. Inside the Crusader-style building, in unplastered exposed stone, there are still the remains of Cleophas’ home in the left nave, protected by slabs of red porphyry. It was here, on the invitation of the disciples fascinated by the conversation on the road, that Jesus entered and sat down at the table. The climax when bread was broken during the meal, when the eyes of the disciples opened and recognized Him, is shown in the sculpture which dominates the altar at the back of the central apse. In this representation, Jesus is sitting at the centre of the table, like a doctor of the Law who, with His wisdom, has revealed the meaning of all the Scriptures. Outside the Sanctuary, beyond the hill which, alongside the route of an old Roman road, has many remains of Crusader buildings, you can go up to the terrace of the garden of the Franciscans, from where there is a splendid panorama that embraces the whole region, which is so unaltered in its colours, its beauty and its silence.
This was the backdrop to the solemn celebration on this feast-day, attended by the numerous and enthusiastic Franciscan community of the Holy Land. Religious men and women from various congregations, volunteers and collaborators of the Custody, friends and enthusiasts of the Holy Land were also present. The Consul General of Spain in Jerusalem, Alfonso Portabales Vasquez, and his wife, also joined in the day of celebration with great cordiality.
The Holy Mass was presided by Brother Artemio Vitores, Custodial Vicar, with the concelebrants including Brother Noel Muscat, Discreet of the Holy Land and Brother Franciszek Wiater, Guardian of the Sanctuary of Emmaus. The ceremony was made even more moving by the renewal of the simple profession in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor of Brother Tomasz Dubiel, who confirmed his temporary vows in the hands of the Vicar, Brother Artemio.
At the end of the celebration, after a few very enjoyable minutes in the garden, everyone was invited to a delightful lunch in the refectory of the convent.
“Jesus is close to us on the way, even at times of bewilderment and discouragement, even when hope weakens and we drift away from the path that leads to Him, as happened to the disciples of Emmaus on that extraordinary Easter evening,” said Father Artemio in his homily. And like the two disciples who, despite their sadness and bewilderment, find the courage to open their hearts to Jesus, a path is marked out for each man for his possible personal encounter with the Lord thanks to three essential attitudes which in this episode are offered to us in a perfect synthesis: the capacity to listen, read and meditate on the Scriptures, of which Jesus himself, with His witness, His Passion and His Cross, is the interpretative key; the willingness to put Jesus at the centre of one’s life, with prayer and brotherly love, as the two disciples did during the dinner in Emmaus; the approach to the Eucharist, as the central moment of the encounter with Jesus, who makes himself fully known to us, who becomes visible to us and gives himself entirely so that we can take part in the mystery of the intimate communion with Him.
The two disciples quickly returned to Jerusalem to tell everyone what had happened to them and that Christ was alive. Something changed their existence for ever, a new Wisdom took possession of their lives and their words, committing them to give continuity to the divine discourse in history and to witness to others the inexhaustible richness of love and meaning. Martin Buber wrote: “God’s address to man penetrates the events in all our lives and all the events in the world around us, everything biographical and everything historical, and turns it into instruction, into demands for you and me. Event upon event, situation upon situation is enabled and empowered by this personal language to call upon the human person to endure and decide. Often we think that there is nothing to be heard, as if we had not long ago plugged wax into our own ears.
The existence of mutuality between God and man cannot be proved any more than the existence of God. Anyone who dares nevertheless to speak of it bears witness and invokes the witness of those whom he addresses – present or future witness.”
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti
Photos by Marco Gavasso
In the early 20th century, the Franciscans built the Sanctuary of the Manifestation of the Lord, surrounded by the small white houses of Emmaus and on the ruins of an earlier church that tradition places on the spot where Cleophas’ house stood. Inside the Crusader-style building, in unplastered exposed stone, there are still the remains of Cleophas’ home in the left nave, protected by slabs of red porphyry. It was here, on the invitation of the disciples fascinated by the conversation on the road, that Jesus entered and sat down at the table. The climax when bread was broken during the meal, when the eyes of the disciples opened and recognized Him, is shown in the sculpture which dominates the altar at the back of the central apse. In this representation, Jesus is sitting at the centre of the table, like a doctor of the Law who, with His wisdom, has revealed the meaning of all the Scriptures. Outside the Sanctuary, beyond the hill which, alongside the route of an old Roman road, has many remains of Crusader buildings, you can go up to the terrace of the garden of the Franciscans, from where there is a splendid panorama that embraces the whole region, which is so unaltered in its colours, its beauty and its silence.
This was the backdrop to the solemn celebration on this feast-day, attended by the numerous and enthusiastic Franciscan community of the Holy Land. Religious men and women from various congregations, volunteers and collaborators of the Custody, friends and enthusiasts of the Holy Land were also present. The Consul General of Spain in Jerusalem, Alfonso Portabales Vasquez, and his wife, also joined in the day of celebration with great cordiality.
The Holy Mass was presided by Brother Artemio Vitores, Custodial Vicar, with the concelebrants including Brother Noel Muscat, Discreet of the Holy Land and Brother Franciszek Wiater, Guardian of the Sanctuary of Emmaus. The ceremony was made even more moving by the renewal of the simple profession in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor of Brother Tomasz Dubiel, who confirmed his temporary vows in the hands of the Vicar, Brother Artemio.
At the end of the celebration, after a few very enjoyable minutes in the garden, everyone was invited to a delightful lunch in the refectory of the convent.
“Jesus is close to us on the way, even at times of bewilderment and discouragement, even when hope weakens and we drift away from the path that leads to Him, as happened to the disciples of Emmaus on that extraordinary Easter evening,” said Father Artemio in his homily. And like the two disciples who, despite their sadness and bewilderment, find the courage to open their hearts to Jesus, a path is marked out for each man for his possible personal encounter with the Lord thanks to three essential attitudes which in this episode are offered to us in a perfect synthesis: the capacity to listen, read and meditate on the Scriptures, of which Jesus himself, with His witness, His Passion and His Cross, is the interpretative key; the willingness to put Jesus at the centre of one’s life, with prayer and brotherly love, as the two disciples did during the dinner in Emmaus; the approach to the Eucharist, as the central moment of the encounter with Jesus, who makes himself fully known to us, who becomes visible to us and gives himself entirely so that we can take part in the mystery of the intimate communion with Him.
The two disciples quickly returned to Jerusalem to tell everyone what had happened to them and that Christ was alive. Something changed their existence for ever, a new Wisdom took possession of their lives and their words, committing them to give continuity to the divine discourse in history and to witness to others the inexhaustible richness of love and meaning. Martin Buber wrote: “God’s address to man penetrates the events in all our lives and all the events in the world around us, everything biographical and everything historical, and turns it into instruction, into demands for you and me. Event upon event, situation upon situation is enabled and empowered by this personal language to call upon the human person to endure and decide. Often we think that there is nothing to be heard, as if we had not long ago plugged wax into our own ears.
The existence of mutuality between God and man cannot be proved any more than the existence of God. Anyone who dares nevertheless to speak of it bears witness and invokes the witness of those whom he addresses – present or future witness.”
By Caterina Foppa Pedretti
Photos by Marco Gavasso