A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (Ga 10,10) Peter tells us that we were once like sheep going astray. Not occasionally lost but habitually wandering. Yet now that we have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls through the initiative of Jesus, his pursuit of us and through his grace. On the day of Pentecost, Peter proclaimed without hesitation: "God has made this Jesus both Lord

"Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?" (Lc 24, 32) How wondrous and filled with grace is the road to Emmaus—a path so familiar, yet ever capable of surprising us. It is the road walked by hearts weighed down with disappointment, by hopes bruised through loss, by love that once trusted deeply and now trembles with uncertainty. The two disciples leave Jerusalem carrying the ache of the Cross, speaking of Jesus as

“Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (Ga 20, 29) St Peter proudly proclaims , “Blessed be God... who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Mercy is the first movement of God towards us. It rises before our effort, before our prayer, before our knowing because the gentle goodness of God never gives up on the human heart. The