Commentary on the Gospel of
WERE NOT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US…?
I have always been touched by this story of the disciples’ encounter with Jesus in Emmaus especially by this sentence: Were not our hearts burning within us? It is such a symbolic and emotive expression of a sentiment that can hardly be described. It meant that even they did not recognize Jesus along the way, yet when he was explaining the Scriptures to them, their hearts were already responding even if their minds were slow to recognize Jesus. Can we recall moments in our lives when our hearts were burning within us? When we are listening to somebody and what he or she is saying resonates with us, then our hearts burn within us. When we see a picture that is touching like the picture of the “pieta” of a woman cradling her husband who was killed by vigilantes, didn’t our heart burn within us? We thank God for those moments when our hearts burn within us because they are moments of God’s visitation.
