During phases in our spiritual life, we too “lose the Child Jesus.” Whether through our own fault or not, sensible grace can vanish; to find Him again, we must seek Him in prayer and in His teachings.
Gospel of the Holy Family Sunday
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.’ And He said to them, ‘How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ And they did not understand the saying which He spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man (Lk 2:41-52).
I – The Paradox of the Holy Family
A beautiful Eastern metaphor, related by Hesychius of Jerusalem (fifth century presbyter), describes a veritable impasse among the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, because of their total equality, and the need for some occasion in which the Father could be praised as father, the Son could be entirely son, and the Holy Spirit could give more than He had already given. The solution to this dilemma was to have come, then, at the moment in which Our Lady accepted the incarnation of the Word in her virginal body, thus becoming, the “complement of the Blessed Trinity.” 1
For the accomplishment of such a profound mystery, “God the Father communicated to Mary His fruitfulness, inasmuch as a mere creature was capable of receiving it, in order that He might give her the power to produce His Son and all the members of His Mystical Body,” affirms the great St. Louis de Montfort.2 And “God the Holy Ghost, being barren in God—that is to say, not producing another Divine Person—is become fruitful by Mary, whom He has espoused. It was with her, in her, and of her that He produced His Masterpiece, which is God made Man, and that He goes on producing daily, to the end of the world, the predestinate and the members of the Body of that adorable Head.” 3
Accordingly, the Son would have become Man not only to redeem us, but also to be able to rightfully call the First Divine Person father. For He would do so from within human nature, entirely as son and debtor, since the Son would owe His existence to the Father, as man, and would therefore have to make restitution for what He had given him.
This is the motive, according to Hesychius, by which the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity humbled Himself and became like men (cf. Phil 2:7), and accomplished our Redemption, within human nature. Like a New Adam in terrestrial paradise, He “found His liberty in seeing Himself imprisoned in her [Mary’s] womb.” 4
The greatest exercises the least authority
At first glance, the structure of the Holy Family is a mystery, for St. Joseph holds the highest position of authority, as patriarch and father, having rights over his wife and over the fruit of her most pure womb.
His spouse is the Mother of God, Mother of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. As Mother, she has power over a God who took flesh in her virginal womb and became her Son.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, as son, owes obedience to this foster father—accepting Joseph’s guidance and formation in all circumstances—and to His Mother, who is also His creature. What a great, unfathomable and sublime paradox!
Thus, in the natural order, Joseph is the head; Mary, the wife and mother; and Jesus, the child. But, in the supernatural order, the Child is the Creator and Redeemer; she is the Mediatrix of all graces, Queen of Heaven and earth; and Joseph is the Patriarch of the Church. Joseph, who of himself has the least power, exercises authority over Our Lady, who possesses infused knowledge and the fullness of grace, and over the Child, who is the Author of grace.
God loves hierarchy
Why did God establish this inversion of roles? It was to teach us an important lesson: He loves hierarchy and wants human society to be governed by this principle, of which the Word Incarnate Himself wished to offer example.
We can imagine the readiness, sacrality and tranquillity of Jesus as he helped Joseph in the workshop of Nazareth to cut wood and assemble the parts of a chair, when a simple act of His will would have been sufficient to instantly produce—without need of raw material—the finest furniture seen in history.
Yet, St. Basil affirms, “From His first years being obedient to His parents, He endured all bodily labours, humbly and reverently.” 5 Thus, whenever St. Joseph bid His Son to perform a task, He immediately and reverently set out to accomplish it.
In so doing—honouring his earthly father and accepting, for example, to make a piece of furniture in accordance with the laws of nature—Jesus glorified God the Father, who sent Him. Regarding His obedience to Our Lady, St. Louis Grignion affirms: “Jesus Christ gave more glory to God the Father by submission to His Mother during those thirty years than He would have given Him in converting the whole world by the working of the most stupendous miracles.” 6
Thus, within the Holy Family, we encounter a striking example of love of hierarchy, since Jesus, having deigned to be born and live in a family, honoured father and mother, although He was omnipotent and the Creator of both.
An apparently normal life
We should not suppose that all was absolutely mystical, supernatural and filled with consolations in the Holy Family. Although it cannot be said that the Child Jesus lived from faith—since His soul enjoyed the beatific vision—He wanted His body to experience normal human development. So, for example, He did not speak at birth, although He could speak all the tongues of the world.
To all appearances, Our Lady and St. Joseph also led an entirely common life, and like all people, they endured perplexities and anxieties. This Sunday’s Gospel exemplifies this: “Your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.”
II – True God and True Man
The description of St. Luke is the most detailed presented in the Gospels, with regard to the thirty years of Our Lord’s hidden life with his parents, leading us to conclude that it was Our Lady herself who narrated the episode to him.
The Holy Family fulfils the law
“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.”
The Jewish people were obliged to go to the Temple for three feasts—Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles.7 At twelve years of age, Jesus was also obliged go because, as Fillion explains, upon reaching that age every young Israelite became a “‘son of the precepts’ or ‘son of the Law’, that is, subject to all the requirements of Mosaic Law, even the most onerous, such as fasting and pilgrimages to the Temple.” 8
The journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem spanned several days; it was made in convoy, in caravans that filled the streets with faithful journeying to fulfil the law. Pilgrims customarily spent one week in Jerusalem. According to descriptions of authors of the time, including Flavius Josephus, the city became impassable, since it was filled with people from all regions. 9
Jesus set out for the House of God to worship the Father. What a magnificent manifestation of love of hierarchy! What a sublime relationship between the Persons of the Blessed Trinity! What joy the Son of Man must have experienced in fulfilling this precept of the Mosaic Law on the feast of the Passover! Upon seeing the lamb, the symbol of Himself, being offered to the Father in the Temple, He must have pondered how, in redeeming mankind by His bloody sacrifice on the Cross, He would render this symbolic immolation a reality.
He very likely walked about Jerusalem and beheld with human eyes the places where He would later suffer, and felt a rapture of love similar to that which He would later express at the Last Supper: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you” (Lk 22:15). And would Our Lady not have accompanied Him on this journey? Did they perhaps discuss the Passion? Despite the disregard of men, they were a spectacle to the Angels of Heaven.
Jesus offers no explanation
“And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it.”
During these journeys, the Jewish people usually formed two groups—that of the women, and that of the men. The children sometimes accompanied their mothers, and at other times their fathers. At nightfall, father, mother and children gathered for supper and to spend some time together before retiring to rest.
This was likely the arrangement on the way to and from Jerusalem. And considering the inevitable confusion that the departure of a caravan from an overcrowded city would entail, we understand why Our Lady only realized that the Child was missing at the end of the first day, when she met up with St. Joseph. Filled with distress, they sought Him in vain among their relatives and acquaintances.
The distress of Mary and Joseph
“But supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.”
We can imagine the great sorrow of Mary and Joseph and their bewilderment with a situation which they could not explain. They knew that the Messiah must teach His whole doctrine and afterward be condemned to death. This filled them with dread, as the Glossa affirms, “lest Herod who sought Him in His infancy, now that He was advanced to boyhood might find an opportunity of putting Him to death.” 10 In torment they must have searched for Him along the way, fearing to find Him dead.
To the pain of perplexity regarding Jesus’ disappearance, was added that of the uncertainty of the moment. What was happening? Consumed by sorrow, Our Lady surely recalled the prophecy of Simeon: “A sword will pierce through your own soul” (Lk 2:35).
She undoubtedly suffered anxiety, affliction and anguish, but with a superior peace of soul. Perhaps Mary Most Holy even wondered if she were to blame for the separation from her adorable Son, and if this were a divine reproof for some failing in Her love for God. She reached the depth of affliction and felt the sword of sorrow pierce her heart. Perhaps she and St. Joseph imagined that they had been found unworthy to guard that Treasure, through a lack of correspondence to their mission, placing them in great desolation.
Our Lord’s eagerness to witness
“After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.”
After realizing that they had lost Jesus, Our Lady and St. Joseph had to await daybreak before making their way back. Night fell again soon after they arrived in Jerusalem, so they could only go to the temple on the third day. Our Lady knew that this would be the most likely place to find her Son.
When they finally encountered Him, the Virgin Mother and St. Joseph, immersed in woe, took no notice of the admiration that the Child Jesus had awakened among the doctors—“amazed at His understanding and His answers.” The great exegete Lagrange points out: “The approval of the doctors would have been apt to flatter the parents, and would especially have given occasion to the loving complacency of a mother; but Mary was consumed with sorrow and taken by surprise.” 11
St. Bede comments that the Child Jesus was witnessing to His mission before the teachers of the Law, eighteen years before the start of His public life: “To prove that He was God, He answered them in a sublime manner when they questioned Him.”12 By doing this, He helped them understand that the time of the Messiah and the liberation of the Jewish people had come. Not liberation from Roman rule, but spiritual freedom unto eternal salvation: the gates of Heaven would be opened!
Mary asks with astonishment
“And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.’”
The astonishment cited in this verse can be understood in two ways. Firstly, in the manner explained by St. Thomas Aquinas: they were looking for the cause, the reason in the midst of the effects.13 Secondly, they were astonished to find the Child fulfilling His mission at such a young age, and to witness His self-manifestation.
Here, Mary and Joseph show the example of how to act when sensible grace is withdrawn. Before all else, we ought to avoid any attitude of revolt, recalling that if it happened, it was willed by God. Providence allows mishaps, tribulations and difficulties, to unite us more closely to God. Let us accept everything in the spirit shown by Jesus’ parents, and when we meet Our Lord once again, we too will be astonished.
There is no hint of complaint in Our Lady’s question. With her exceedingly upright conscience, she expressed affliction and perplexity, desiring an explanation by which she could better serve God. In face of life’s problems, our attitude must also be resigned and loving.
A reply appropriate to His divine nature
“And He said to them, ‘How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’”
In this question—which reveals the mother’s concern for her son—the Virgin Mary takes Jesus’ human nature into consideration. And He, responding with another question, focuses on His divine nature.
With this answer—which, according to Fillion, constitutes “the program of His entire ministry” 14—we can conjecture that the Child Jesus had instructed Our Lady as to how he was to fulfil the will of the Father, and how this divine calling surpassed the bonds of blood. He wished to tell his earthly parents that His divine mission was superior to family ties.
Did He thereby admonish Mary and Joseph, whom He Himself chose as His parents? St. Bede offers an inspired commentary: “He does not reprehend them because they seek Him as their son, but He helps them to elevate the eyes of their soul to see what He owes to the One of whom He was the eternal Son.” 15 Jesus Christ had a mission to fulfil and He desired that his earthly parents understand that all must be subordinate to the Heavenly Father.
Mary’s example in face of incomprehension
“And they did not understand the saying which He spoke to them.”
Why did Our Lady and St. Joseph not understand? It is because God did not give them insight at that moment, so that they could gain greater merit in only later understanding the reasons for the Child Jesus’ conduct.
Mary did not comprehend the words of her Son, but, as revealed in the following verse, she lovingly kept “all these things” in her heart, certain that the incident held a lesson.
In our spiritual life, this should be our attitude toward all that transcends us and is beyond our understanding. We should peacefully and confidently guard events in our heart, reflecting on them over time, recalling Our Lord’s promise: “The Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). Sooner or later, the Holy Spirit will enlighten our understanding, to the measure useful for our sanctification and the fulfilment of our mission.
In this episode, the Divine Master also teaches that, at times, even our relatives may not understand attitudes that we assume in the firm resolution to fulfil moral or religious obligations. If this happens, let us not be perturbed.
The great value of recollection
“And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and His mother kept all these things in her heart.”
Most likely to prevent the erroneous interpretation that, in order to obey the Eternal Father, we must disobey our earthly parents, St. Luke subtly adds that Our Lord spent the rest of His life in submission to Mary and Joseph. St. Bede states: “What would the Master of virtue do, other than fulfil this pious duty? What would He do in our midst other than precisely that which He wished us to do?” 16
So, He let His parents bring Him back to Nazareth and He remained obedient to them until the beginning of His public life, nearly two decades later. What does this long period of hidden life signify? It expresses the great value of recollection. Evidently, Jesus was already prepared to fulfil the will of the Father; yet, after affirming that He had come to fulfil this will, Jesus follows Our Lady and St. Joseph, and begins another eighteen years of hidden and recollected life.
We should also consider recollection, contemplation and seclusion to be an excellent preparation to perform our duties well. There was never a contemplative community as admirable as that of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Nazareth. It is impossible to imagine anything surpassing it. The great theologian Father Antonio Royo Marin recalls that, “some Holy Fathers were pleased to say that Jesus’ chief occupation in Nazareth was the agreeable task of sanctifying His beloved Mother Mary and his foster father St. Joseph to a continually increasing degree. Nothing could be more sublime, logical and natural.” 17
Growth in wisdom, stature and favour with God
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man.”
St. Augustine, St. Thomas and most theologians affirm that Jesus possessed grace, wisdom and sanctity in a supreme degree, from the first instant of His conception.18 And that He not only possessed them but was Grace, Wisdom and Sanctity itself, in substance.
Still, He grew physically with the passage of years, taking on adult form, “but without exteriorly exceeding the general laws of human development,” Fillion emphasises.19 He manifested increasing Grace and Wisdom according to his age. He did not become greater in substance, but in manifestation alone. According to the Angelic Doctor, this was because “in the course of time He did more perfect works, to prove Himself true man, both in the things of God, and in the things of man.”20
III – Prayer and Doctrine
How does this Gospel apply to our spiritual life? During phases of our existence, we feel that we have “lost the Child Jesus”. Whether through our own fault or not, spiritual consolation vanishes and we feel abandoned. What should we do when we perceive that we are bereft of sensible graces and all that which sustained and encouraged us in the practice of virtue?
This Gospel passage teaches us to imitate Mary and Joseph and to go in search of the Child Jesus: that is, to seek sensible grace when it withdraws from us. When we are beset by affliction or aridity, we should search for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, necessary for our sanctification that we will not obtain if we beseech the Eucharistic Jesus.
Yet, we must not forget that, in the Temple, Our Lord was among the teachers of the Law, which could well signify the importance of doctrine to sustain us in times of trial—and point to our need for a good and solid doctrinal formation.
Whoever is about to embark on a long voyage prepares travel documents, appropriate clothing and everything he will need in advance. We must do the same; to prepare to traverse phases of aridity we must pray much and know doctrine well. If principles are well impressed on our souls, the leaves of the tree of Faith will hold fast when the winds of trial blow. ◊
Notes
1 Cf. JOURDAIN, Fr. Z. C. Somme des grandeurs de Marie. Paris: Hippolyte Walzer Ed., 1900, Tomo I, p. 56.
2 MONTFORT, St. Louis G. de. True Devotion to Mary. TAN Books and Publishers Inc., Rockford, Illinois, 1985, n. 17.
3 Idem, n. 20.
4 Idem, n. 18.
5 ST. BASIL THE GREAT. In lib. relig. apud AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Catena Aurea. Buenos Aires: Cursos de Cultura Católica, s.d., p. 73.
6 MONTFORT. Op. cit., n. 18.
7 Cf. Ex 23:14; 24:23; Dt 16:16.
8 Cf. apud TUYA, OP, Fr. Manuel de. Biblia Comentada – V Evangelios. Madrid: BAC, 1954, p. 781.
9 Cf. Idem, ibidem.
10 Apud AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Op. cit., p. 71.
11 LAGRANGE, OP, Joseph M. Vida de Jesucristo según los Evangelios. Madrid: Edibesa, 1999, p. 52.
12 BEDE, St. Apud AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Op. cit., p. 70.
13 AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica, I-II, q.32, a.8, Resp.: “Now wonder is a kind of desire for knowledge; a desire which comes to man when he sees an effect of which the cause either is unknown to him, or surpasses his knowledge or faculty of understanding.”
14 FILLION, Louis-Claude. Nuestro Señor Jesucristo según los Evangelios. Madrid: Edibesa, 2000, p. 88.
15 BEDE, St. Apud AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Op. cit., p. 71.
16 Idem, p. 72.
17 ROYO MARÍN, OP, Fr. Antonio. Jesucristo y la vida cristiana. Madrid: BAC, 1961, p. 274.
18 Cf. For example: ST. AUGUSTINE, In Sermone LVII, de diversis; Tract. 108 in Ioan., n.5; De trinitate, I, 15, c.26, n. 4; AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica III, q.7, a.12.
19 FILLION. Op. cit., p. 86.
20 AQUINAS, St. Thomas. Summa Theologica III, q.7, a.12, ad 3.
