Friends, welcome to Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an

apostolate dedicated to the mission of evangelization using media both old and

new to share the faith on every continent and to facilitate an encounter with

Christ and His Church. The efforts of Word on Fire engage the culture and bring

the transformative power of God's Word where it is most needed. Today we invite

you to join Bishop Robert Barron as he preaches the gospel and shares the

warmth and light of Christ with each one of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, it's my great privilege this third Sunday of Easter to

preach on one of the most magnificent texts in the New Testament. A masterpiece

within the masterpiece. I'm talking about the story of the two disciples on

the road to Emmaus. I say that masterpiece within the masterpiece because the

whole of the gospel of Luke is such a literary gem and this is kind of the oh the

most beautiful facet of that gem if you want. What is it about this narrative that

so beguiles our minds and so stirs our hearts? Why have artists and poets and

preachers returned to it again and again? Well it's not only a great

literary and theological masterpiece. It often speaks to some of the deepest

spiritual questions that we have. Now I want to offer today a somewhat novel

interpretation. One that takes inspiration from the style of the church

fathers and when I'll confess to you I just ran across fairly recently though I've

been studying this passage and I've been preaching on it for decades now. I just

came across this recently and it struck me as a very intriguing way to read the

story. Here's the first thing to keep in mind. St. Luke, the author of this

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