Gospel (Lk 24,35-48) - At that time, they told what had happened along the way and how they had recognized it in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said: "Peace be with you!". Shocked and full of fear, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your heart? Look at my hands and feet: it's really me! Touch me and look; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you can see that I have." Saying this, he showed them his hands and feet. But since they still did not believe for joy and were filled with amazement, he said: "Do you have anything to eat here?". They offered him a portion of roasted fish; he took it and ate it in front of them. Then he said: "These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you: all things written about me in the law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled." Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and said to them: «Thus it is written: Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and in his name conversion and forgiveness of sins will be preached to all peoples, starting from Jerusalem. . You are witnesses of this."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The Gospel of today's Mass takes us to the end of Easter day, as told by Luke. The two disciples of Emmaus have just arrived in the cenacle to tell the disciples what "had happened along the way and how they had recognized him in the breaking of the bread". The apostles, in fact, still gripped by fear, remained closed in the cenacle. For them it was a place full of memories, without a doubt, but it risked remaining a place, certainly protective, but closed. It is a temptation that we all know very well: how many times, in fact, do we close the doors of the heart, those of the home, those of the group, of the community, of the family, to remain calm or for fear of losing something! But the Risen One continues to be among us, or rather to place himself in the centre, not on one side like one person among many, like one word among others. He enters and gets in the way, like the Word that saves, that frees from all closure. The first words of the resurrected Jesus are the greeting of peace: "Peace be with you!". The disciples, overcome by fear and resignation, think he is a ghost. They had also listened to the women who had told them they had met Jesus, alive. But the distance they had placed between themselves and Jesus already in the days of the passion had clouded their minds to such an extent and hardened their hearts so strongly that they were unable to go beyond their fears. The evangelist seems to suggest that unbelief always overtakes believers whenever they turn away from Jesus and allow themselves to be overcome by fears for themselves. Jesus, having arrived in the middle, immediately says to them: "Peace be with you!". It is the first word of the Risen One. Yes, the first fruit of the resurrection is peace. Of course, not the peace of one's own tranquility but that which comes from love for others. The peace of Easter does not block, but instead forcefully pushes us to go out of ourselves to meet others. Easter peace is a new energy of love that invests the world. Easter, even if experienced by a small group, or rather at the beginning only by a few women, is for everyone, it is for the world. To the apostles this seemed impossible. Jesus is definitively dead, his word has been killed forever. They do not believe what he himself had told them several times, that is, that after his death he would be resurrected. They are scared to see him. They think a ghost has appeared to them. Jesus lovingly rebukes them: "Why are you troubled?" And he repeats what he had told them many times in the past: his enemies would put him to death, and he would rise again. How many times are we also skeptical when faced with the words of Jesus! We often think that they are unrealistic, just like a ghost. The Gospel, on the other hand, creates a new reality, a new, real community, made up of people who were previously dispersed and afraid and after listening find themselves together in a new fraternity. This is what also happened that day with Jesus who began to eat with them: he continued the life he had before Easter. That lunch reunited them with Jesus. Now they learned that he would be with them forever. This is what happens to us too, and to the disciples of all times, every time we are around the altar of the Lord to break his very body.