About Today
Sunday 19 April 2026
3rd Sunday of Easter
The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: White.
Other saints: St Alphege (- 1012)
Clifton, Winchester, Southwark, Westminster
Alphege (Old English Ælfheah) became a monk at Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, about 970, and eventually Abbot of Bath. In 984 he became Bishop of Winchester where he was known for his personal austerity and almsgiving. The king sent him to parley with the Danish raider Anlaf, and this he did with such success that Anlaf never raided England again.
In 1005 Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury. The Danes were raiding once more and in 1011 they besieged Canterbury and captured it. Alphege was imprisoned and an enormous ransom was asked for his release, which he forbade to be paid. On 19 April 1012, at Greenwich, his captors, drunk with wine, and enraged at ransom being refused, pelted him with bones of oxen and stones, till one of them, called Thurm, dispatched him with an axe. He was buried in St. Paul’s and by his death he became a national hero.
As an act of reconciliation Canute, king of Denmark, England and Norway, in 1023 translated the body to Canterbury where it was buried near the high altar. Later Lanfranc confirmed the cult, and had a Life and Office written in his honour, and Thomas Becket just before his death commended his cause to God and Alphege.
Other saints: Bl. Isnard of Chiampo OP ( - 1244)
19 Apr (where celebrated)
Other saints: Bl. Sibyllina Biscossi OP (c.1287 - 1367)
19 Apr (where celebrated)
Today's gospel reading Luke 24:13-35 Two of the disciples were going to a village named Emmaus
On the first day of the week, two of the disciples of Jesus were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognising him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.’ And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going further, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the Eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Reflection on the painting
There are times in life when we realise that we are walking in the wrong direction. We drift into habits or choices that do not quite fit us, and something within us begins to stir. A restlessness. We sense that we are moving away from where we should be, and we know that it is wrong, but we still continue heading in the wrong direction. Often it is not deliberate though. Often it starts just with disappointment, with hurt, with confusion. Our emotions cloud our vision, and we find ourselves walking away when we should perhaps be staying… or turning back.
That is what happens to the disciples in the Gospel of Luke as they make their way to Emmaus. The two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, leaving behind the very place where everything is about to change. The Cross has shattered their hopes, and in that heaviness, they forget the promise of resurrection. All they could focus on was seeing Jesus dead on the cross, and they forgot about the promise of the Resurrection, so they just left the very place where they should have remained. How often it is the same for us: sorrow clouds our memory, disappointment narrows our vision, and we find ourselves walking away from what we most deeply need.
Then the risen Christ does something beautiful: he does not call them back from a distance, but walks beside them on their mistaken path. He listens. He allows them to speak, even though their story is incomplete. He walks with them in the wrong direction first before he even speaks. And perhaps there is a lesson here for us: when we see others walking in the wrong direction, we may be called to do the same: to walk with them for a while, to listen patiently… and then, gently, to help them find their way back.
Contemporary artist, Liz Lemon Swindle painted our canvas depicting the road to Emmaus. Christ is clothed in a luminous white post-Resurrection garment, walking quietly alongside the two disciples. The scene unfolds in a gentle, pastoral setting, alive with fresh green foliage... green, the colour of new shoots, of hope, of life beginning again.
The Road to Emmaus,
Painting by Liz Lemon Swindle (born 1953),
Painted in 2018,
Oil on canvas
© Liz Lemon Swindle, all rights reserved
3rd Sunday of Easter
The Lord has truly risen, alleluia.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 3. Liturgical Colour: White.
Other saints: St Alphege (- 1012)
Clifton, Winchester, Southwark, Westminster
Alphege (Old English Ælfheah) became a monk at Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, about 970, and eventually Abbot of Bath. In 984 he became Bishop of Winchester where he was known for his personal austerity and almsgiving. The king sent him to parley with the Danish raider Anlaf, and this he did with such success that Anlaf never raided England again.
In 1005 Alphege became Archbishop of Canterbury. The Danes were raiding once more and in 1011 they besieged Canterbury and captured it. Alphege was imprisoned and an enormous ransom was asked for his release, which he forbade to be paid. On 19 April 1012, at Greenwich, his captors, drunk with wine, and enraged at ransom being refused, pelted him with bones of oxen and stones, till one of them, called Thurm, dispatched him with an axe. He was buried in St. Paul’s and by his death he became a national hero.
As an act of reconciliation Canute, king of Denmark, England and Norway, in 1023 translated the body to Canterbury where it was buried near the high altar. Later Lanfranc confirmed the cult, and had a Life and Office written in his honour, and Thomas Becket just before his death commended his cause to God and Alphege.
Other saints: Bl. Isnard of Chiampo OP ( - 1244)
19 Apr (where celebrated)
Other saints: Bl. Sibyllina Biscossi OP (c.1287 - 1367)
19 Apr (where celebrated)
Today's gospel reading Luke 24:13-35 Two of the disciples were going to a village named Emmaus
On the first day of the week, two of the disciples of Jesus were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognising him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.’ And he said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going further, but they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, for it is towards evening and the day is now far spent.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognised him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?’ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the Eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!’ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
Reflection on the painting
There are times in life when we realise that we are walking in the wrong direction. We drift into habits or choices that do not quite fit us, and something within us begins to stir. A restlessness. We sense that we are moving away from where we should be, and we know that it is wrong, but we still continue heading in the wrong direction. Often it is not deliberate though. Often it starts just with disappointment, with hurt, with confusion. Our emotions cloud our vision, and we find ourselves walking away when we should perhaps be staying… or turning back.
That is what happens to the disciples in the Gospel of Luke as they make their way to Emmaus. The two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, leaving behind the very place where everything is about to change. The Cross has shattered their hopes, and in that heaviness, they forget the promise of resurrection. All they could focus on was seeing Jesus dead on the cross, and they forgot about the promise of the Resurrection, so they just left the very place where they should have remained. How often it is the same for us: sorrow clouds our memory, disappointment narrows our vision, and we find ourselves walking away from what we most deeply need.
Then the risen Christ does something beautiful: he does not call them back from a distance, but walks beside them on their mistaken path. He listens. He allows them to speak, even though their story is incomplete. He walks with them in the wrong direction first before he even speaks. And perhaps there is a lesson here for us: when we see others walking in the wrong direction, we may be called to do the same: to walk with them for a while, to listen patiently… and then, gently, to help them find their way back.
Contemporary artist, Liz Lemon Swindle painted our canvas depicting the road to Emmaus. Christ is clothed in a luminous white post-Resurrection garment, walking quietly alongside the two disciples. The scene unfolds in a gentle, pastoral setting, alive with fresh green foliage... green, the colour of new shoots, of hope, of life beginning again.
The Road to Emmaus,
Painting by Liz Lemon Swindle (born 1953),
Painted in 2018,
Oil on canvas
© Liz Lemon Swindle, all rights reserved