Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)
Readings (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Luke 2:41-52 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)
The parents of Jesus 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 group they
went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their
relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem,
searching 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. And when his parents 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 searching for you in great distress.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be
in my Father's house?” And they
did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to
Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these
things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favour with God and man.
Today is the Feast of The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. On 19 March the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Today's gospel refers to Joseph and Mary as the parents of Jesus. Mary says reproachfully to her Son, Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress. To the puzzlement of both Mary and Joseph, Jesus replies, Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?
St Matthew shows clearly the role of St Joseph in the life of Jesus: an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
Joseph's first responsibility was to be the husband of Mary and, as such, was to name her Son, thereby becoming his legal father. In some paintings of the Nativity St Joseph is a background figure, or partly hidden in the dark, but clearly protective of Jesus and Mary, and in an attitude of worship towards the Infant.
But in depictions of the Flight into Egypt, of which there are many, we often find St Joseph leading the way, as in this woodcarving.
The Greek-born Doménikos Theotokópoulos, (1541 – 1614) who settled in Toledo, Spain, as a young man was known as 'El Greco', 'The Greek'. In the painting below he captures the role of St Joseph as a protective parent.
As a child I saw my parents as my father and mother. Now I remember them not only as that but as husband and wife. And sometimes I think that the Church over-emphasises the importance of the family at the expense of marriage, which is the foundation of the family. St Joseph's primary responsibility was to be the husband of Mary and, as such, to be the one known as the father of Jesus, even though Mary's Son wasn't his.
And in today's gospel Mary painfully discovers that, in a sense, he isn't hers either, as he says, Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? At the beginning of his adolescence Jesus was, in his humanity, coming in touch with his heavenly Father's will. The mystery of Jesus being both God and Man is something we cannot fathom. St Paul says that Jesus though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:6).
But this incident shows us that Mary and Joseph as parents suffered the same pain that every parent of an adolescent goes through. They were learning that they did not 'own' Jesus, that they would have to let him go at some stage.
I recall some incidents involving my father. One was when I was no more than three, possibly only two. Like St Joseph, he was a carpenter and made a little saddle that he put on the crossbar of his bicycle on which he went to work every morning. I recall him taking me for a 'spin', probably on a Saturday afternoon, in the area where we lived at the time, I sitting joyfully on the little wooden saddle he had made. It's like a short video in my mind that captures a moment of sheer delight between father and son.
Then when I was around ten he taught me how to ride a bicycle. I borrowed that of a cousin a little older than me. Dad held the back of the saddle tightly so that I wouldn't lose balance and stayed with me patiently. Then at a certain point I realised that he wasn't holding it anymore and that I was moving forward without falling. He knew when to let go.
He taught me how to swim around that same time, with the same approach. He gave me a sense of security - but didn't cling on when I didn't need that kind of security anymore.
And when I was 18 both my parents let me go with their full blessing when I entered St Columban's, Dalgan Park, to become a missionary priest. Their faith was part of the reason I made that decision.
My parents taught me what trust was by trusting me. In Ireland the symbol of adulthood was - and maybe still is, I don't know - the key to the house. I was given the key when I was only 13. None of my friends had that privilege. On one occasion three years later when I came home very late on my bicycle from a dance my parents were waiting at the door sick with worry, as Mary and Joseph were sick with worry when they couldn’t find Jesus. Nobody on our street had a telephone and mobile phones probably weren't even in the imaginations of science-fiction writers then. But all I got was a well-deserved scolding from my parents, standing together, who still trusted me to use my key responsibly.
As I look back now, I see clearly that my parents were husband and wife first, and father and mother second. That did not mean that they saw parenthood as being of lesser importance but that they saw it as being a consequence of being married. I think they had their priorities right.
The Feast of the Holy Family reminds us that marriage is the root of the family. Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21).
Traditional Latin Mass
Sunday within the Octave of Christmas
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 12-29-2024 if necessary).
Epistle: Galatians 4:1-7. Gospel: Luke 2:33-40.
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel . . . (Luke 2:34; Gospel).
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