Solemnity of St. Joseph
Luke 2:41-51
Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for 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. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.”
He said to them, “Why were you searching 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. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Don’t Lose Sight of Jesus
Shopping with a child is often an adventure, the kind you may not wish to repeat! Imagine today’s story in terms of Macy’s, one minute he’s there…and the next minute, he’s not. Ultimately, we are consoled by the line which says that Jesus returned with Mary and Joseph and was obedient, but imagine the panic of losing God’s Son and having to defend yourself to the Father?
St. Ignatius builds everything upon the reality that our relationship with the Divine is one in which we can recognize ourselves. We forget that we don’t possess a single original emotion – that everything we feel and know finds a reference in God first. So, why the hesitancy to go to God with the things which cause us the most embarrassment or shame? God understands you…deeply. Today, we ask for grace not to lose sight of Jesus and, when we do, not to fear the Father.
—Monique Jacobs has been engaged in active ministry in the Church for 40+ years and accompanies people in her ministry and through spiritual direction using Ignatian methods. She is the Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Reno.
Prayer
I am not alone. Why do I keep forgetting that? You see me, you know me! Every heartbeat mirrors your own. My every emotion finds a reference in you first. Give me the grace to entrust my fragile and often self-centered self to you, the God-who-loves-me. I surrender everything to you – even my most embarrassing vulnerabilities. Your grace is enough for me.
—Monique Jacobs