3rd Sunday of Easter A
Confirmation – CMOQ
March 19, 2026
I. Confirmation: Not a Standalone Event!
A. I am very happy to be with all of you today, to pray with you,
to continue celebrating Christ’s Easter victory over sin and death,
and in the joy of the Resurrection,
to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on seventy young people
who have prepared carefully for this important day.
B. So let me thank and encourage those of you being confirmed.
You have done a lot to get ready for your Confirmation.
I’ve seen you together at Sunday Mass here at the Cathedral.
You have prayed together, made a retreat, studied the Catholic faith,
and you have done service projects to help those in need.
In these and many other ways, you have prepared for this great day.
C. But here’s something I want you to watch out for –
thinking of your Confirmation as a standalone event –
an important day, like graduation, but here today and gone tomorrow.
The Gospel we just heard pulls in the opposite direction.
It’s the story of two disciples who met the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus.
That encounter changed their lives forever.
I hope your Confirmation will prove to be life-changing.
II. On the Road with the Risen Lord: The Liturgy of the Word
A. Here’s what we know about those two disciples, those followers of the Lord.
One is named Cleopas; the other disciple’s name is lost to history.
When we meet them, they are leaving Jerusalem, on the way home to Emmaus.
They are sad. They had put their hopes in Jesus.
After his crucifixion and death, they think his mission is over.
They are calling it quits; throwing in the towel.
It’s true they had heard reports that Jesus was raised
but those reports only confused them more.
As they are walking along, disappointed in their hopes,
they are joined by a stranger who chimes into the conversation.
“What are you talking about?” he wants to know.
B. And let’s stop right here and ask: Do you ever feel like those disciples?
Disappointed. Discouraged. Unhappy. Not sure what’s next.
Wondering if you’re connected electronically but really all alone.
Thinking of Jesus more as a stranger than a friend,
and perhaps for that reason reluctant to go to Mass on Sunday.
Whatever it is,
let’s not forget that the Lord wants to know what’s going on in our lives!
C. Well, what does this stranger do for the two disciples in their unhappiness?
Does he just try to make them feel better?
No, this stranger opens the Scriptures for them.
He helps them understand everything in Scripture that pointed to the Christ,
and to what the Messiah would do to conquer sin and death and to restore life.
As they walk along, the disciples are enthralled by the stranger’s words.
Later they would say that, as they listened to him, their hearts were on fire –
on fire with a blaze that the Holy Spirit kindled in them.
After hearing this stranger speak, they begged him, “Stay with us!”
D. What does this sound like, expect the first part of Mass, the Liturgy of the Word?
When the Scriptures are proclaimed, Jesus speaks to us.
If you allow the Holy Spirit, whom you receive today, to penetrate your hearts,
your hearts too will burn with love and desire for Jesus, the Word made flesh.
The Scriptures won’t be a dusty record from history but words of spirit and life!
They will light up the path before you, fill you with joy and gratitude,
and in the Holy Spirit you, like the disciples going to Emmaus, will pray,
‘Stay with us, Lord!’ Stay with me on my journey through life.
Stay with me when I am alone, perplexed, challenged.
Stay with me as I figure out the rest of my life!
III. At Table with the Risen Lord in Emmaus: The Liturgy of the Eucharist
A. Well, what happens next? The disciples get to Emmaus.
The stranger who joined them acts as if he is going on farther
but they convince him to stay with them . . . and he does.
While they are eating, he takes bread, breaks it, and gives it to them.
When he does this, they finally recognize who this stranger is:
It is the Risen Lord! It is the Eucharistic Lord!
The two disciples finally recognize Jesus “in the breaking of bread”.
And what does this remind you of?
Is this not the second part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist,
where the priest takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it,
saying, “This is my Body given for you!”,
And then takes the chalice with wine and says, “This is my Blood!”?
Not on his own power but only in the power of the Holy Spirit
does the priest transform bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ.
And if you allow the Holy Spirit to be active in your minds and hearts,
you too will recognize the true and living presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
You will see, not ordinary bread and wine, but Christ’s Body and Blood.
And you’ll be convinced that this is how the Risen Lord answers our prayer, “stay with us” – by giving himself to us in the Holy Eucharist.
B. If you take away just one thing from your Confirmation,
I hope it will be a deepened appreciation and love for the Mass,
a recognition that it is the Word of God and true Body of Christ,
a recognition that it answers our hunger for Christ’s Presence in our lives,
that it nourishes us spiritually, and helps us lead good holy lives.
St. Carlos Acutis called the Eucharist “his highway to heaven” –
and I pray that the Holy Spirit will be so alive in your hearts
that, like St. Carlos, and make your way to Mass every Sunday.
IV. Glorifying God By Our Lives: “Go the Mass Is Ended”
One final thing.
After the Risen Lord vanishes from the sight of the two disciples,
they know he is still with them spiritually.
They rush back to Jerusalem to tell the Apostles what happened.
They speak of how they recognized the Risen Lord “in the breaking of bread”.
In a word, they become witnesses of the Risen Lord.
And that’s why you receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation:
so that, in his grace and power, you will bear witness to your faith—
by what you say and do, by your love, respect, and generosity towards others,
by your readiness to speak about why you believe.
Many of you, and many of your peers, are doing just that.
The other night I was at an event for Catholic high school graduates
who excelled in their studies – our Archdiocesan distinctive scholars.
What impressed me most was not their great academic records
but what they said about their faith and the impact of their Catholic education.
I pray that you will find the path to bear witness to the Risen Lord,
and thus glorify God by your life now and always.
And may the Lord bless you and keep you always in his love!