Stay with us, Lord

“’for it is almost evening’ (Luke 24:29).

“This was the insistent invitation that the two disciples journeying to Emmaus on the evening of the day of the resurrection addressed to the Wayfarer who had accompanied them on their journey.

“Weighed down with sadness, they never imagined that this stranger was none other than their Master, risen from the dead.

“Yet they felt their hearts burning within them (cf. v. 32) as he spoke to them and ‘explained’ the Scriptures. The light of the Word unlocked the hardness of their hearts and ‘opened their eyes’ (cf. v. 31).

“Amid the shadows of the passing day and the darkness that clouded their spirit, the Wayfarer brought a ray of light which rekindled their hope and led their hearts to yearn for the fullness of light.

“’Stay with us,’ they pleaded. And he agreed.

“Soon afterwards, Jesus' face would disappear, yet the Master would ‘stay’ with them, hidden in the ‘breaking of the bread’ which had opened their eyes to recognize him.”

John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum Domine (beginning)
October 7, 2004 - inaugurating the "Year of the Eucharist"