Gospel (on the Road to) Emmaus

About the Book

Born in Indiana, Dr. Edward J. Clemmer is a social psychologist by profession. He now lives with his Maltese wife, Jane Zammit, and enjoys dual citizenship with Malta. His four sons by a previous marriage continue to live in America. His personal journey with the Lord into this Gospel (on the Road to) Emmaus began in a moment of grace on 12th September 2003, as Ed was on his way to the priest. The context for this initiation was the Feast of Exultation of Holy Cross (14th September), as the source of every grace is derived from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. The gospel is explained for us as the author and reader journey with the Lord as potential disciples. Our journey begins at Bethany near the Jordan with John the Baptist preaching and baptizing. Part 1 continues up to the Transfiguration of Jesus. Volume One reaches its climax before the Lord’s final journey to Jerusalem, when Jesus returns to Bethany where the Baptist had preached. Volume Two resumes with the Lord’s healing and preaching at Bethany near the Jordan. Part 2 concludes in Bethany near Jerusalem with the Lord’s dinner celebration with Lazarus, after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. This celebration anticipates the Lord’s death and resurrection, and ours in Christ. Part 3 takes up the Grand Liturgy of the Lord’s “New Creation,” with Holy Week. The book initially concludes with a retrospective of the incarnation, of Jesus as God-with-us, and with the parallel coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. Then, in the Part 4 conclusion of this gospel, our post-Emmaus journey with the risen Lord returns to our post-Pentecost life in the Holy Spirit. The author’s seven-year personal journey through this Gospel Emmaus ends in 2010 with the Feast of Sukkot, just as when the Lord also had anticipated the Holy Spirit. But the Lord provides us with his own conclusion: although he had healed “ten lepers” as they were on their way to the priest, only one had returned to give thanks.

About the Author

Dr. Edward J. Clemmer began his life-journey in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1948. He is a Roman Catholic with a Christian family history on both sides of the Catholic/Protestant Reformation divide. His secondary education was in minor seminary under the Crosier Fathers at Wawasee Preparatory, Syracuse, Indiana. After a year of college study at Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, Ed finished his first degree back home at the University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne) with B.A. (Cum Laude) double majors in Psychology and Social Work. After a first year of graduate studies in psychology at the New School for Social Research (New York), Ed took his M.S. (R) in General Psychology and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology at Saint Louis University (1975), where he discovered the Jesuits and the original Glory & Praise liturgical music.

His full-time professional career in university teaching and research as a social psychologist would last for another twenty-one years, as he specialized in social cognition, developmental psychology, language use, empirical aesthetics, and communication studies. Ed is a founding "Member Emeritus" of the Association for Psychological Science. His published research in psychology and medical fields appears in several international journals: The Journal of Psycholinguistic Research (1980), Language & Speech (1979), American Journal of Orthodontics (1979), Visual Arts Research (1984), Communication Monographs (1984), American Psychologist (1986), Political Communication and Persuasion (1991), and Midwifery (2010). His early research in the psychology of language includes a book chapter: Sabin, Edward J., Clemmer, Edward, J., O’Connell, Daniel C., & Kowal, S. (1979). A pausological approach to speech development. In A. W. Siegman & S. Feldstein (Eds.), Of Speech and Time: Temporal Speech Patterns in Interpersonal Contexts (pp. 35-55). His more recent book addressed the social and political psychology of the Opposition Leader of the Malta Labour Party: Alfred Sant Explained: In-Novella ta’ Malta fil-Mediterran. Malta: PIN, 2000.

His teaching posts have included longer or shorter stays at Saint Louis University (1976-1980), SUNY at Oswego (1980-1981), Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne (1981-1986), Emerson College, Boston (1986-1991), St. Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire (1991-1992), where he discovered the Benedictines. His regular teaching has included units in General Psychology, Sociology, Developmental Psychology, Cognition, Sensation & Perception, and Social Psychology. His specialized teaching units in social psychology have included Personality Theory, Language Development, Psychology of Language, Anomalistic Psychology, Psychology of Religion, and Political Psychology.

Life circumstances (including a divorce) brought Ed to Malta, the island of St. Paul, and to the University of Malta on October 12th (1992-1996), where Ed married his Maltese wife, Jane, a tourist guide, in 1996 (September 3rd); they were remarried in the church in 2008 on the Immaculate Conception feast (December 8th). Jane is Ed’s European Rosetta Stone: with her multi-lingual fluency and his understanding, they share five languages together: English, Maltese, Spanish, Italian, and French. Four other languages are part of their cultural equation. Ed’s better knowledge of Latin matches Jane’s Portuguese; his elementary German matches his wife’s elementary Dutch. Ed’s four sons by his first marriage are thriving in various parts of the United States. Together he and his wife share cultural interests in music, theatre, cinema, literature, and art. But on 12th September 2003, Ed began his journey into writing the Gospel (on the Road to) Emmaus. And after seven years of daily dedication to the task, the written work (in two volumes) was concluded on 10th October 2010. Accordingly, the gospel is explained for us as we are two disciples walking with the Risen Lord on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32).