Is there a remedy for sadness?
Pope Leo XIV reflected on the Resurrection of Christ.
Jesus’ Resurrection can heal one of the challenges of today’s world: sadness. Intrusive and widespread, sadness accompanies the days of many people. It is a feeling of instability, at times profound desperation, which invades one’s inner space and seems to prevail over any impetus to joy.
Sadness is a thief. It robs life of meaning and vigor, turning it into a directionless and meaningless journey.
This modern experience can also be seen in the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke, who are discouraged by Jesus’ death. This story gives us an example of human sadness: the end of the objective to which so much energy has been invested, the destruction of what seemed to be the essence of their lives.
Their hope was dashed; desolation had taken hold of their hearts. Everything had imploded in a very short space of time, between Friday and Saturday, in a dramatic sequence of events. The Gospel described them as standing still, “looking sad”.
Yet this sad journey of defeat and return to ordinary life occurred on the same day as the victory of light, of the Resurrection, had been fully consummated.
When all seemed lost to the two men, Jesus appeared as a stranger to them. It was the risen Jesus, but they did not recognize him. Sadness clouded their gaze, erasing the promise that the Master had made several times: that he would be killed and that on the third day he would rise again.
Yet hope is real and tangible. Jesus’ words to the disciples called out the foolishness of their hearts. Rather than driving them further into sadness, his frankness rekindled a sense of hope in them.
Jesus accepted their invitation to remain with them. He took his seat at the table with them. Then he took the bread, broke it, and offered it to them. At that moment, the two disciples recognized him… but he immediately disappeared from their view.
The culmination of the story was at the breaking of the bread, which reopened the eyes of the heart, illuminating once again the vision clouded by despair.
That moment reignited joy within the disciples and encouraged them to share their experience with others.
The Lord has risen indeed. Jesus did not only rise in words, but in action, as his body showed the marks of the crucifixion. The victory of life is not an empty word, but a real, tangible fact.
May the unexpected joy of the disciples of Emmaus be a gentle reminder to us when the going gets tough. Only the Risen One can radically change our perspective, instilling the hope that will fill the void of sadness.
On the paths of the heart, the Risen One walks with us and for us. He bears witness to the defeat of death and affirms the victory of life, despite the darkness of Calvary. History still has much goodness to hope for.
Nov 5 Wed