The Finding in the Temple
March 31, 2011 | XVIII.Grace: An intimate knowledge of our Lord, Who has become man for me, that I may love Him more and follow Him more closely.
Text for Prayer: Lk. 2: 40-50
Reflection: An 18-year-old boy, Paul, enters Notre Dame Cathedral on Christmas Day 1886: he is a bright non-believer. Hearing Vespers and taking in the architectural beauty of the cathedral, he leaves convinced not only of God’s existence, but that God had ordered the world and placed mankind at the center of it. The French poet, dramatist, and ambassador Paul Claudel’s (1868-1955) entire adult life was influenced by, and dedicated to, his Catholic faith. His own sister, Camille, was a famed sculptress who rejected the faith of their forbears for her entire life. Like Paul Claudel, Jesus’s life of faithful service to God – being “about my Father’s business” – starts in a temple of God, and would face rejection.
After reading of Jesus’ birth in Luke’s Gospel, we learn nothing of his childhood save that he grows in age, strength and wisdom. Like every good observant Jewish family, Mary and Joseph take the young Jesus every year up to Jerusalem for the days-long feast of Passover. And then Jesus turns twelve years old, and with God’s favor upon him (Lk 2:40), he decides to remain at the temple. Joseph and Mary set out to return to Nazareth in a caravan, unaware of their lost son.
Posted by Mr. Joseph Simmons, S.J. in XVIII.