On a solemnity that strongly recalls the Resurrection, the living story, wounded hope, and renewed promise, the feast of Saints Simeon and Cleophas in Emmaus took on a particular significance this year. The homily of Fr. Francesco Ielpo, Custos of the Holy Land, resonated as an urgent invitation not to remain prisoners of pain, disappointment, or the night.
El-Qubeibeh, whose Arabic name means “small dome,” is located about 11 kilometers northwest of Jerusalem, in the Palestinian Territories, just beyond the separation wall between Israel and the West Bank. Christian tradition identifies it as Emmaus, the place to which the disciples were heading after the resurrection when Jesus became their companion on the road. Here, the remains of the Crusader basilica are preserved, along with an ancient dwelling recognized as the “house of Cleophas,” in addition to traces of the ancient village arranged along a Roman road. The land was purchased in 1861 by Marchesa Paolina de Nicolay and donated to the Custody of the Holy Land. Today, the village is predominantly Muslim, but the sanctuary continues to attract Christian pilgrims and visitors, remaining a significant presence for the local community, a sign of dialogue and ecumenical witness.
In his homily, Fr. Ielpo recalled the experience of the two disciples walking with sad faces, disappointed by a hope that seemed broken—the liberation that appeared never to arrive. This is the image of every man and woman who hopes for political or spiritual salvation and instead finds themselves in the night of failure. In this situation, it is not the disciples who seek Jesus, but He who takes the initiative, becoming a companion on the journey, entering into their pain and disillusionment. Jesus illuminates their path through Scripture, showing that suffering is not blind but finds meaning and fulfillment in the words of the prophets, and finally restores hope through the gesture of breaking bread—in that Eucharist that brightens the evening and renews the community.
The message took on a special resonance for the Custody, which today lives in a challenging time marked by conflict, tension, and poverty, with hopes often severely tested. Emmaus El-Qubeibeh, situated in a border area and crossed by divisions, remains a concrete sign of welcome and spiritual resilience. Walking alongside the men and women of this land means, as the Custos emphasized, not being distant spectators but companions on the journey, sharing the Word and the Eucharist so that the Risen Lord may illuminate even the densest nights of suffering.
The reference to “sad faces” was not an abstract image, but an invitation to acknowledge suffering without hiding it, to allow oneself to be reached by Jesus even when He seems distant, and to live the breaking of bread as a daily practice of sharing and caring for others. The disciples of Emmaus, after recognizing Him, immediately set out to announce their experience to others: in the same way, Christians today, in the Holy Land and around the world, are called to be witnesses amid contradictions, fears, and wounded hopes.
The feast of Simeon and Cleophas in Emmaus is therefore not a rite of nostalgic memory, but an invitation to transform sadness into hope, disappointment into witness. With the message of the journey, the companionship of the Risen Lord, the illuminating Word, and the nourishing Eucharist, Fr. Ielpo called the Christian community not to close themselves in resignation, but to open themselves to the mystery of the Resurrection even in darkness. For the Christians of the Holy Land, and more broadly for all, this celebration becomes a living sign: hope can be broken, the night can grow deep, yet the risen Jesus continues to walk with the discouraged, offering a new horizon and making visible the light when He breaks the bread.
Francesco Guaraldi
