St. John Chrysostom on Good Friday

Today's second reading from the Office of Readings:

From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop

The power of Christ’s blood

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. Sacrifice a lamb without blemish, commanded Moses, and sprinkle its blood on your doors. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

There flowed from his side water and blood. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolized baptism and the holy eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit, and from the holy eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh! As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.

Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.

And it was night.

A number of years ago, I was part of a week-long class on presenting a dramatized reading of Scripture. We got to pick the passage we wanted to present, and I selected John 9, the account of the healing of the man born blind.

One of Jesus' lines in the passage was always intriguing and a bit mysterious to me: We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night comes, when no one can work (John 9:4). While I wasn't totally "in the dark" about the implications, I admit to being a little puzzled. When, exactly, would night come when no one can work? Didn't Jesus, light of the world, promise to be with his Church always, to the very end of the age? Wasn't the Daystar himself to be eternally with us?

The obvious answer, I thought, was Jesus' death, burial, and descent into hell. For that is when the bridegroom was not with us. But I was only surmising.

The Gospel reading for Mass today, Tuesday of Holy Week, shed a confirmatory light on this. As I listened, it caught me in an entirely new way:

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”...After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”...So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

And it was night. Not just a statement about time of day, but a jarring statement about the state of the cosmos.

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The word "night" in the Gospel of John occurs infrequently, but in revealing fashion:

Nicodemus admitting at night that no one can work Jesus' works without God.

• John 3:2 This man [Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.” [emphasis added]

Jesus echoing his statement in John 9, that walking in the night is useless.

• John 11:10 But if any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.

Nicodemus again coming "at night"--when Jesus had died--to prepare his body for burial.

• John 19:39 Nicodemus also, who had at first come to him by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds’ weight.

Peter and the other apostles unsuccessful in their work before seeing the Resurrected Christ (still in their night).

• John 21:3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat; but that night they caught nothing.

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Of course, the liturgy of the Sacred Triduum leads us to this as well, from the darkness of the vigil kept after the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper, through the striking absence of candles (except at veneration of the Cross and distribution of Communion) on Good Friday of the Lord's Passion, to the utter darkness at the beginning of the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night.

Thanks be to God that the light of Christ banishes the darkness to enlighten and empower us to work his works--into the Eternal Day!

Honoring the Most International Woman I Know

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day. I first encountered this phenomenon internationally--in Russia, in fact. According to the official International Women's Day website, this is a day to "Celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women." Given those parameters, I would be happy to comply by celebrating the most internationally achieved woman I know: the Blessed Virgin Mary, and noting just a few of her momentous achievements in being perfectly faithful to Almighty God.

Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conversion of the Aztecs. Through Our Lady's appearance in 1531 to the humble (now Saint) Juan Diego, and through manifold symbols in the image she left on his tilma, 6,000,000 Aztecs converted to Christ over the course of just six or seven years. Not only did this mean a turn from pagan rituals that included a great number of human sacrifices, but it served to avert what would have been a very bloody war between the Aztecs and the Spaniards. Here are a few more details to fill in the story.

Our Lady of Victory, Saint Pius V, and the Battle of Lepanto. In 1571, a comparatively small naval fleet successfully defended Western Christendom against a much larger Turkish fleet, set on taking Rome and Vienna and establishing Turkish rule in the West. The day before the battle, Pope Pius ordered that the holy Rosary be prayed for victory by all the faithful throughout the West. The next day, the outnumbered, outgunned navies of the Pope, Spain and Venice emerged victorious. Read this story and other stories of the Rosary leading to victory here.

Our Lady of Lourdes and miraculous healings. In 1858, just four years after Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady appeared to (now Saint) Bernadette in Lourdes, France. In the apparition, Our Lady revealed herself as "the Immaculate Conception," and instructed Bernadette to drink from the fountain and bathe in it, upon which Bernadette found a small spring. A chapel was soon built and faithful people began coming in droves to experience a corporate devotion to Mary and to bathe in the spring. Over 60 healings have been recognized by a bishop as miraculous. For many more details, go here.

Our Lady of Pontmain and the Hope of France. As noted here, Our Lady's appearance in 1871 to four children in Pontmain, France, was the catalyst not only of deepening devotion to her, but also of the mysterious halting and later withdrawal of Prussian troops who had been advancing on the area during the Franco-Prussian war.

Our Lady of Fatima, Saint John Paul II, and the fall of Communism. In Our Lady's appearance to three Portuguese children in 1917, she instructed them to pray the Rosary for world peace, for the end of World War I, for sinners and for the conversion of Russia. Many people, Catholic or not, are aware of the important role that Pope John Paul II played in the fall of the Soviet Union. In fact, his teachings and policies were considered so dangerous that the KGB were directed to halt their influence at any cost, including what resulted in a failed assassination attempt. In response, out of gratitude to Our Lady for sparing his life, Pope John Paul consecrated the USSR to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, invoking her prayers for the Communist nation. In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 8--the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Read more of the story here.

These, of course, are just a few of the ways our Blessed Mother has proven herself to be the model for all women--and indeed, all humanity. We have not even mentioned her roles in Kibeho, Rwanda; Akita, Japan; Lipa, Philippines; Knock, Ireland; Siluva, Lithuania; or many other international sites. May she continue her truly international mission of drawing people of every tribe, tongue, and nation to her Son!

The Virtues of Eyelids

Amongst the things Jesus preached in that preeminent, if chillingly surgical, discourse we know as the Sermon on the Mount, is the line, If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell (Mt. 5:29). This line follows immediately after his admonition against looking at a woman lustfully. 

Though I have moved in a number of Christian circles of various stripes for a majority of my 44 years, I have yet to encounter even one monoptic Christ-follower. Even fundamentalists and biblical literalists seem to have backed off from the literal interpretation of this instruction (unless, of course, they never lust…but that is a matter for another day). And this is right and just, for Jesus does not instruct self-mutilation, but rather outlines in striking hyperbole the need to avoid occasions of sin. And yes, the eye can be a ready vehicle for sin to enter the body, as Jesus again points out later in the same Sermon (see Mt. 6:22-23).

While it is reasonably certain that we are not to take an ice-pick to the baby blues (or browns, or greens, or hazels, etc.), we can still mount a ready defense against the lust (or greed, or envy, or anger, etc.) of the eye: indeed, a physical defense. Eyes, you see, wonderful gift that they are, come equipped with lids. With truly minimal effort, we can stave off all sorts of optical occasions of offense…simply by closing our eyes. I duly intend to work at making this practice part of my spiritual discipline.

Closing one’s eyes in order to see? Yes. Much like silence being the prerequisite to hearing God’s voice, in true divine-economy fashion, opting for blindness readily becomes the vehicle for divinely given sight (see Jn. 9:39ff.).

The Annunciation: a Marian Feast for Catholics and Protestants

Today, March 25, the Catholic Church across the world celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation--commemorating the time when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary to announce to her that she would bear the Son of God to the world. As she gave her simple fiat, all of history, all of creation was altered forever.

While there still exists much uneasiness and division between Catholics and Protestants over views of Mary, the Annunciation is a celebration with a deeply Marian character that offers a place for conciliation between people of both Catholic and Protestant traditions. This is true for at least a few reasons:

1. The event it celebrates is explicitly biblical. Although Catholics would argue that other Marian feasts--such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption--are built on strong biblical foundations, Protestants are often suspicious, because the events these other feasts commemorate are not explicitly found in Scripture. Not so with the Annunciation--it is right there in Luke 1:26ff.

2. The focus is clearly Jesus. Again, Protestants tend to be reluctant to embrace some Catholic views on Mary because they seemingly detract from the focus on Jesus. (Perhaps the quintessential example of this would be the Catholic view of Mary as "Co-Redemptrix.") The Catholic Church clearly states that she believes what she does about Mary because of what she believes about Jesus (Catechism, #487), and this is clearly evident in the Annunciation--while Mary plays a central role, the focus of the narrative is the Incarnation of Jesus.

3. Mary plays a central role. While the focus of the Annunciation is the Incarnation of Jesus, it is also clear that Mary plays an indispensable role in the whole event. Catholics need not fear that Mary is a "throw-away" character or a random choice. Mary is clearly graced by God. She is "blessed among women." Her fiat is freely given. It is her blood that runs in Jesus' veins, her DNA in his cells.

4. Incarnation is key. While doctrinal differences between Catholics and Protestants abound, both see the Incarnation of God as the profoundly central teaching / mystery of the Christian faith. The Annunciation is the great feast of the Incarnation--the Word-made-flesh. Moreover, since nearly all Protestants celebrate the birth of Jesus, surely there can't be much opposition to commemorating his conception.

While Catholics might be hesitant to sit down at a feast in honor of Reformation Day (October 31) and Protestants might shy away from toasting the Blessed Virgin on the Assumption (August 15), it stands to reason that we can come together in prayer and celebration on this holy day.

Making an Enemy of Death

When it comes to preparing for death, very many respected and intelligent--as well as devoutly Christian--people have proposed the virtue of "making friends with death." I believe I do understand the sentiment--to put away all fear of death and embrace it (as one would a friend) as an inevitable and natural reality. I also see the pastoral value of such a sentiment.

But the Scriptures portray death in a much different way: death is the enemy--the final enemy, in fact, to be destroyed by Christ. Death is the "wages of sin," and only enters the natural order when catalyzed by blatant disobedience of the God who is life itself. Further, Jesus came that we may have life, and have it in abundance...to take away the sting of death. 

In this Lenten season, now halfway gone, I propose we be careful not to make death too close a friend. Is death inevitable? Yes. Is it natural? It is now, yes. But living as creatures united to Christ and his death through baptism, we are called to live the heavenly reality in the here-and-now. We are to be blessed (and to receive comfort) by mourning sin and death. Because of the friend we have in Jesus, death, still the enemy, is made supremely impotent. Christ's perfect love, evermore being perfected in our hearts, drives out the fear of death. Indeed, Jesus' own death on our behalf transforms death from being a terrible end to being merely a transition to a new beginning--from being the hopeless dead end to being the entrance to eternal life. As Christians, our role is not so much to become friends with death as it is to laugh in its face, for it has been exposed as what it truly is--the powerless enemy of Almighty God.

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae

     Today is the great Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, commemorating the visit the Archangel Gabriel paid to the Blessed Virgin Mary, announcing to her the privilege she would have, given her consent, of bearing the Son of God to the world.
     I am captivated by the Great Mystery of the scene: a heavenly messenger visits a lowly young woman (girl, really) essentially to bring her laud and seek her cooperation with God--her permission, one might even say--in bringing about the Incarnation: the cardinal event of human history and the salvation of the world. The humble servant nature of God is revealed not only in the Word-made-flesh, but also in the very act of the Annunciation itself.  

Our loving Father seeks

our permission for,

our cooperation with, 

his work in our lives.

     And when that cooperation, that permission, is given, and the unbridled love of God is let loose in our lives, things happen! Redemption! Transformation! Salvation! Behold, New Creation! 
     So, if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Rather, fiat! ...be it done unto me according to thy word.

The Unsettling Silence

There is a great deal of noise in my life. A small part of it is a welcome addition, such as the joyful shrieks of young family members, the playful growl of my dog as we wrestle, etc., but most of it clamors to steal my attention away from things of greater importance. What's worse, I not only put up with this noise, I actually invite it in—I use such noise as an escape from the pressures of job, school, relationships, responsibilities.

In yesterday’s Gospel lesson (Matthew 8:5-11), the centurion, upon telling Jesus of his servant who is ill, and Jesus expressing his willingness to come and cure him, says, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed.”

Only say the word.

Advent is a season of entreating the Word to say the word, of asking the Spoken to speak comfort and joy, health and life, love and mercy. But I fear that, with all the noise in my life, I may not be able to hear this word when it comes in a still, small voice, in the cry of a babe.

This Advent, my prayer is that I might bring personal determination to the centurion’s prayer, which the Catholic faithful claim for our own at each Mass just before receiving Christ, and that I may sacrifice the empty ease of noise for the unsettling silence—eagerly listening for the word, that my soul may be healed.

A Life of Lent

I have heard from many a devout Catholic that Lent is their favorite liturgical season. At first, this assertion seems counter-intuitive. Why would one prefer a season of penitence, abstinence, and discipline (like Lent) to one of celebration, exultation, and abundance (like Easter)? After seeking to engage the practices of Lent ever more fully each successive year, I think I’m beginning to understand.

The season of Lent, with its discipline, is a time of intentionally, mindfully resisting the innate human tendency of pridefully casting God aside and humbly letting go of those things which inhibit our perfected relationship with God—bad habits and stubborn sins, yes! These should be the first to go. But also any obstacle, even “good” things, anything that would seek to take the life-giving place of God in our lives. This is the intent, the spirit, of Lenten fasting and abstinence.

To identify these obstacles in one’s life, one need only ask: What is it that I can’t live without? If your mind, like mine, is flooded with ideas (coffee, chocolate, ale, Netflix, Facebook, my car, my iPad…), indeed, if your answer is anything other than “God,” “Jesus,” or “the Most Holy Eucharist,” then God has graciously given us suggestions for Lenten abstinence.

This may seem extreme. It may appear as if I am saying that living Lent is tantamount to living like cloistered monks and nuns. If you are thinking that, let me reassure you: that’s exactly what I’m saying…at least inasmuch as religious sisters and brothers take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

By way of explanation, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on what virtues we are cultivating through our Lenten abstinence. To be sure, there are many, but three that rise to the fore are detachment, holiness, and love…virtues which coincide particularly well with the traditional core Lenten practices of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. Now consider how religious vows coincide to these Lenten practices and to Lenten virtues:

·         Poverty – to eradicate the attachment to worldly goods. Money is not my Lord.

·         Chastity – to master one’s desires and direct them to God. My desires are not my Lord.

·         Obedience – to forsake the worship of the self-God and to learn humility. My will is not my Lord.

Hence, we have a diagram that looks something like this:

Fasting---Chastity---Detachment

Prayer---Obedience---Holiness

Almsgiving---Poverty---Love

If the correspondence seems somewhat forced, I would argue it’s because of the intimate interrelation of each of the disciplines, vows, and virtues: they all work together to cultivate Christlikeness.

Scripturally, I find Hebrews 13 to be a great witness to all of this:

Hebrews 13: 1 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison…and those who are ill-treated…5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have …16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have… [almsgiving; poverty; love]

Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled…9…it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, not by foods…14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. [fasting; chastity; detachment]

Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith ...17 Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls …Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you. [prayer; obedience; holiness]

So, why a post on Lenten disciplines on the brink of Holy Week, so near the end of Lent? Of course, monks and nuns do not take their vows only for Lent, any more than the author of Hebrews intended that his words be observed only during Lent! No. The author of Hebrews, those who take religious vows, and yes, my devout brothers and sisters who favor Lent above all—they all understand the Great Lent…which is none other than our earthly life! Just as Lent is the gestation period for the Easter Triduum, Lenten discipline practiced throughout our lives forms us, remakes us into the image of Christ, and thus prepares us to live in the eternal Kingdom of God—to live united, in Christ, with the God who is love. Spending our days here on earth in living out the disciplines of Lent is actually equivalent to receiving the life—life abundant!—that God gives. And this is exactly what God wishes for us and from us: an earthly life dedicated to God by gratefully receiving the life that God gives!

This is what Lent is all about.

This is what Catholicism is all about.

This is what a personal relationship with Jesus is all about.

This is what faith is all about.

Therefore the author of Hebrews can say:

…let us also [like those who came before us] lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

When Easter arrives, let us celebrate and feast, in anticipation of being eternally united with God through Christ. But throughout our earthly lives, let us cultivate the spirit of Lent in our thoughts, words, and actions, that we might humbly be incorporated into the pioneer and perfecter of our faith and thus receive life abundant.

The Evangelistic Nature of the Joyful Mysteries

During my hour of Eucharistic adoration today, I opted to pray the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary (instead of the Glorious Mysteries, which are typically prayed on Wednesdays). Although I had stated an intention for the Rosary as I began to pray, it seemed the Lord had different ideas, for when I was but two decades in, I couldn’t remember what it was anymore. Instead, I found myself reflecting on how evangelistic the Joyful Mysteries are. Let me explain:

The First Joyful Mystery: The Annunciation.

Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end."

At the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary, and Jesus is conceived in her womb. At the time of our Baptism, the same Holy Spirit of God makes us members of Christ, incorporating us into him. New life springs up inside of us, and this new life is Jesus Christ.

The Second Joyful Mystery: The Visitation.

Luke 1:39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

At the Visitation, Mary, with Jesus growing in her womb, goes to visit her relative, Elizabeth, in order to share with her the wondrous thing that has happened to her. When we are reborn with the life of Christ, we go and tell the wondrous thing that has happened to us. In presence, word, and deed, we bear witness to the new life at work within us.

The Third Joyful Mystery: The Nativity of Our Lord.

Luke 2:4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

At the Nativity, Jesus is born in the flesh for the salvation of the world. The Church’s witness to Christ in presence, word, and deed is the way Jesus and the salvation he offers is borne to the world today.

The Fourth Joyful Mystery: The Presentation in the Temple.

Luke 2:22 And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord") 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And inspired by the Spirit he came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word; 30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation 31 which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to thy people Israel."

At the Presentation, Mary looks on as Simeon (and also Anna) encounters Jesus for himself and experiences the joy of knowing him. When we bear Christ to others through presence, word, and deed, we can expect that others (perhaps especially those seeking out consolation from God) come to see Christ for themselves, in their eyes, and in their hearts. And they also behold and participate in the joy of his salvation!

The Fifth Joyful Mystery: The Finding of the Boy Jesus in the Temple.

Luke 2:41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; 43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; 47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when they 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 looking for you anxiously." 49 And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

At the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, we find that even Mary, though sinless, learns that Jesus’ agenda supersedes her own. As we bear witness to Christ, we too come to realize that Jesus is the one who guides and directs our witness…and that his witness is relentless, sometimes taking precedence over our cultural and religious customs, even when they are good and holy in their own right.

Thanks be to God for the fruits of prayer, contemplation, and Eucharistic adoration. May we all follow our Blessed Mother’s lead in bearing Christ to the world!