Feast of the Holy Family - A Reflection by Fr. Leo

The story of Jesus teaching in the temple was a common type of story in different religions used to underscore the divine wisdom.  In our case, the divine wisdom of Jesus the Christ.  “All who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.”  For someone so young to speak with such wisdom was a sign that their insights were from on high.  And so it is that Jesus’ life, his words, his deeds, are expressions of his union with the Father in the Holy Spirit.

Poor Mary and Joseph are worried about their son and search for him as normal parents. They are so close to Jesus that they don’t see his divinity as do the teachers in the temple.  They don’t understand that Jesus would be in his Father’s house, they worry.  When we worry and have fear, it is because we don’t see how God is with us in the present moment.  We will always be a bit like Mary and Joseph, trying to understand the presence of God so close to us.

Mary kept all these things in her heart and walked with Jesus as he grew in age and wisdom.  She knew his birth was of God and that Jesus’ life had a purpose beyond what she could understand.  Her great faithfulness was to stay close.  Even at Jesus’ death, Mary is there holding all in her heart.  The experience of Christ risen must have caused her more joy than anyone.

For us, we are blessed to stay close to the Lord, by staying close to each other.  There is a bond that family builds, which creates a rootedness from which we can venture out to find the eternal in all things.  Let us live with trust in each other so that our trust in the Lord may grow, and then in turn we may come to the fullness of wisdom before God and man as Christ did.