From the responsorial psalm: “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table. Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 2:41-52)
When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them.
Luke tells us the story of Jesus at the age of twelve during a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his parents for the Feast of the Passover. After the feast, Mary and Joseph begin their journey home, assuming Jesus was with them in the caravan of travelers. Returning to Jerusalem, they find Jesus after searching for him for three days. After finding him in the temple among teachers who are astouned at his wisdom, Mary questions why Jesus has done this to them and expresses her anxiety. In that moment, Mary did not understand what Jesus means when he explains that he was in his Father’s house. Over time, as Jesus “advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man,” Mary came to undersand more deeply that her son, and stepson of Joseph, was the Son of God. Through Mary’s help, we come to know the Son and the Father.
God, help me see the examples of perfect faith in you as modeled by the Holy Family. Mary speaks for herself and for Joseph when she said she looked for Jesus with great anxiety, yet in finding him they were astonished at his wisdom and closeness to you. As Jesus grew, he advanced in his love for you and sought your favor in every word and action. Give me the grace, Lord, to be free from all anxiety through the intercession of the Holy Family and in the knowledge that I am in the midst of Jesus, who sits at your right hand, whenever I seek your favor and do your will. Holy Family, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.