Finding
The Child Jesus In The Temple
Fruit
Of The Mystery:
Joy
In Finding Jesus
The
following meditations are provided to assist you
while praying the Holy Rosary. It is offered in a
format where a question is posed to lead the
meditation and then is followed by an answer below
it. It
may be more helpful to grow in your meditation
skills if you try to contemplate the question while
praying this decade of the Rosary, and view the
possible answer upon completing the prayers for the
Mystery.
The
meditations below offer possible answers to
questions regarding these Mysteries.
Because the Wisdom of God is infinite, there
are limitless insights that one may gain from
meditating repeatedly upon the questions surrounding
these Mysteries.
There are no wrong or right answers when
praying the Holy Rosary in this way.
We are simply seeking to be inspired in our
understanding of who Jesus is and how much He loves
us, as the Holy Spirit gently guides us through
reflective prayer.
For
many reasons it may be difficult to engage our minds
to enter into meditating on the Mysteries at hand.
An alternative option is to simply meditate
upon the meaning of the core prayers of the Holy
Rosary as you are praying them.
You may find these reflections on the Our
Father, the Hail
Mary and the Glory
Be prayers to be helpful during these times.
Finding
Jesus
1.
Where do Joseph and Mary look for Jesus before
finding Him in the temple?
How does this help us to find Jesus in our
daily lives?
Before
finding Jesus in Church (the Temple), Mary and
Joseph look for Jesus among family, friends,
neighbors and strangers.
So must we seek to find Jesus within and
among our family, friends, neighbors, and strangers
if we are to successfully find Him in the Church.
2. Mary and Joseph literally found
Jesus in the temple. In our quest to find Jesus in our lives, do we literally
find Jesus in Church?
Jesus
is literally present in the Blessed Sacrament.
If we truly believed that we are going to
literally meet Jesus in Church this Sunday, would
you approach the day with more excitement?
If Jesus is indeed present– Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity – in the Eucharist, do we
approach this Sacrament with due reverence and
devotion. The
more we grow in our faith and love for Jesus’ real
presence in the Eucharist, the more we come to
experience the peace and joy that comes from a
deeper relationship with Him.
3.
Are there any advantages to losing Jesus and
finding Him again?
Experiencing
various emotions and extremes in our feelings
contribute to a heightened level of awareness of
what true joy and peace is.
At times ‘losing’ Jesus is calculated in
Our Father’s loving plan, that we may experience
grief and sorrows and in turn more fully rejoice in
finding Our Lord Jesus.
We find Him in the events and people
surrounding us, but mostly within the temple of our
own bodies and souls where the Most Holy Trinity
dwells for all time and eternity.
4.
Are you looking for Jesus? How so? Does anyone
know you are on this mission?
Knowing
that Joseph and Mary were seeking Jesus among family
and friends, those around them were well aware of
their missing child.
In such a close-knit society, with fair
accuracy we can say that some people went with Mary
and Joseph to help them look for Jesus.
Thus, it is also fair to say that they were
there at the finding of Jesus.
Like Mary and Joseph, when those close to us
know we are searching for Jesus, they will accompany
us. Sometimes
they do this out of pure love for us if they do not
know Jesus yet, and to their delight and joy- they
will find Him.
They must first, however, know we are looking
for Jesus.
5.
What do we learn from Jesus’ question to His
parents that can help us find Jesus when we are
looking for Him?
Basically
Jesus asks Joseph and Mary, why they were looking
for Him, instead of knowing they would find Him
involved in His Father’s business.
When we are seeking Jesus in our lives, He
asks us the same question: where are we looking for
Him? Our
question to ourselves must be: what is His
Father’s business? If we can answer these two
questions we will be sure to find Him.
Some helpful points to consider may be: what
places are we frequenting? (Is Church one of them?);
who are we surrounding ourselves with?; how do we
fill our free time?; are we involved in activities
that selflessly help others in need?
If the answer to these types of questions
indicates that we are involved in His Father’s
business, then we can be sure that we will encounter
Our Lord.
Being Lost
1.
Without question Our Blessed Mother loves us as
her very own children.
Knowing how she responded when her Son Jesus
was lost, how do you think she responds when our
faith weakens and we seem to have lost our way in
life?
Our
Blessed Mother loves us so much, each individually,
that just as she searched for Jesus when He was
lost, so she ardently seeks out those of us who are
lost or have fallen down and need our Mother.
2.
Why would God allow His Son to be lost for three
days?
God
uses all things for good purposes.
Though Mary and Joseph may have been terribly
upset, anxious and troubled in their loss,
ultimately it was the cause of a great moment of
joy. We must have struggles and trials to savor His great plans
for us and to have a reference point to contrast His
goodness, peace and joy.
He wishes us to overcome all obstacles to
arrive at a deeper Faith, Hope and Love for Him, as
we realize the immeasurable Love and faithfulness He
offers us.
In
this time we also see Our Father’s love for Jesus.
Although He was willing to begin serving His Father
in public ministry at such an early age, God’s
guidance offered through Mary to return home would
allow Him more time to grow in wisdom and stature,
obedience and humility.
Ultimately, this would prove to benefit Him
in the future for achieving His salvation plan. As a grown man, more people would take His message seriously,
and He would be better able to sustain the brutal
physical, mental and emotional abuse that He would
have to endure in His Passion.
3. Why do the Scriptures tell us
that Jesus was lost for three days in Jerusalem
during Passover while doing His Father’s Will?
This
detail prefigures the Crucifixion and death of Our
Lord Jesus. It
is during Passover in Jerusalem a little more than
twenty years later that Jesus will challenge the
Jewish teachers in the Temple, amaze them with His
Wisdom, and will die and be “lost” for three
days. Just
as Jesus was found and returns home to be present
again among His Mother, family and friends when He
is twelve, Jesus is “found” on the third day as
He Resurrects in order to be present again to those
who love Him.
Prayer in
Difficult Moments
1.
How do we handle difficult moments in our lives?
How do you think Joseph and Mary spent the
three days as they were searching for Jesus?
As
Mary and Joseph traveled from the Passover
celebration in Jerusalem back to their home in
Nazareth, they discovered that Jesus was missing
from the caravan.
Immediately their joy from this celebration
was turned into anxiety and grief.
We learn from other accounts in Scripture
that Mary often prayed and reflected over unexpected
moments in life in the silence of her heart.
Though Joseph and Mary could probably think
of neither sleep nor food or anything else as they
searched for Jesus, they must have prayed without
ceasing to the One who entrusted them with such a
blessed task. Though
this prayer may have been disheveled and distracted
by their emotional state, they persevered until they
finally found Him.
During the difficult moments in our lives we
must remain faithful in prayer to find the grace to
persevere until we also find Jesus who fills us with
His joy and peace.
2.
Why was this time particularly trying for
Joseph?
How
terribly stressful this must have been for Joseph.
On top of the fact that someone you love is
missing, he had been assigned to be the protector of
God’s Son, who was now lost.
It could only have been through prayer that
the grace of God sustained him in this difficult
trial. How
joyful then must the finding of Jesus been for
Joseph when his prayers were answered.
And, yet again, it must have been a roller
coaster of emotions for Joseph as his heart must
have sank when he hears Jesus verbalize that He
knows that God is His Father, and not him.
We see the virtues of Joseph shine, as
humility must have been so necessary in his
character during these times in his life.
The Sacred
Heart of Jesus
1.
What virtues do we see Jesus display during this
event in His life?
When
His parents began to travel home after the Passover
celebration, Jesus remained behind teaching in the
temple for three days, where He felt God had called
him to stay. This was a very bold move for such a young boy.
He must have considered that His parents
would not have been happy with His decision to stay
without their approval, not to mention what other
people would be thinking and saying about the Holy
Family. It
takes much courage to do what God is asking when we
know we will meet the resistance of others,
especially those closest to us.
As we consider the mind of Christ, even at
such a young age, this was an act of love toward His
parents. In
His Wisdom He knew it was time He must open their
hearts to grow in their mission of raising Him, as
He revealed to them His knowledge that He was truly
the Son of God.
2.
We do not hear anything about Jesus’ life for
another eighteen years after He was found in the
temple. What
do we learn about the Sacred Heart of Jesus in this
last time before He re-emerges for His public
ministry at thirty years of age?
Before
He enters into His hidden life in Nazareth, we catch
a glimpse of how much He truly loves His Father and
the Divine Plan above all things.
The zeal of His Sacred Heart moves Him to
boldly begin to proclaim the truths of God to those
in the highest authority and most educated in the
temple laws. In
that culture the teacher would often ask the
questions to the students.
As Jesus questioned the doctors of the law,
He was trying to open the eyes of their heart to the
truths of His Father which He believed so
passionately. As
we learn from the following encounter with Mary and
Joseph, He was completely absorbed in “His
Father’s business.”
3.
How did the Immaculate Heart of Mary shape the
Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout His life?
It
was not only on the Cross that Jesus made an
offering for our sins.
Throughout His life on earth He offered every
step, every word, and every action as an act of
reparation for the sinful decisions we make.
Our Blessed Mother lived her sinless life in
this way, which must have shaped the Most Sacred
Heart of Jesus as He grew in wisdom and grace.
We can see how the Blessed Virgin Mary
repairs for our sins in the likeness of Christ in
all of the Joyful Mysteries.
This becomes most clear when we compare them
with the Sorrowful Mysteries: Consider Jesus’
Agony in the Garden- Just as Jesus repairs here for
those who do not surrender to the Will of God as He
repeatedly prays “Thy Will be done,” Mary’s
“yes” in the Annunciation to God’s Will for
her to become the Mother of Jesus repairs for those
who deny the will of God; In the Scourging at the
Pillar, Jesus repairs for those who abuse their
bodies for selfish works and pleasures.
As Mary places her new monumental concerns of
becoming the Mother of God beneath the needs of her
aged cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy, her Visitation
repairs for these abuses also; In the Crowning with
thorns, Jesus repairs for all those who do not
worship Him as the King of Heaven and earth.
In the Nativity, Mary helps to repair for
these same sins as she offers true adoration and
worship to Christ the King from the moment she gives
birth to Him. In
the Carrying of the Cross, Jesus repairs for the
disobedient and proud who reject their crosses, by
carrying His with complete humility and love.
Mary also repairs for pride in the Mystery of
the Presentation as she obediently gives the most
precious gift of her Son back to God in the temple.
And just as Jesus teaches us to rise again
after our falls with our crosses, Mary also shows us
this when she falls and loses Jesus.
She teaches us that when Jesus is missing in
our lives, we must quickly return back to Church to
find Him; In the Crucifixion, Jesus literally dies
to Himself that we may have the opportunity to be
washed of all of our sins and have new life in Him.
In each of the Joyful Mysteries, Mary dies to
her ‘self' as she becomes one with the life of
Christ. Our
Blessed Mother lives alone to fulfill the Will of
God, and offers all of her good works to repair for
those whose souls are in need of salvation.
Temples of
God
1.
Because the Holy Trinity dwells within us we are
temples of His glory.
Do we reverence His presence within us?
Do people who meet us find Jesus within this
temple?
If
we truly believe that God dwells within us we must
act accordingly.
This means choosing very carefully what we
allow to enter within these temples, with substances
such as food, drink, drugs, and even things we take
in through our other senses such as what we listen
to, conversation we indulge in, what we view on the
television and the internet, etc.
These things that we take in enter the
presence of God.
They also shape our thoughts and the purity
of our hearts.
If what we take in impacts the purity of what
leaves our bodies in the form of words and actions,
surely they affect how we radiate God’s pure love
to others. If
we desire to be witnesses for Christ, we must
consider that in this age where not many attend
Church on a regular basis, that we may be the only
temples or Churches that people may visit to
encounter God.
Thus it is critical that we maintain this
temple as a holy place filled with God’s pure love
alone.
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